The Chicago Cubs have officially lost right-handed pitcher Jimmy Herget to another organization as the Colorado Rockies announced that they claimed the reliever off waivers on Friday.
Herget, 31, was only with the Cubs for a couple weeks at the end of the 2024 season, when Chicago picked him off waivers from the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 13. The righty made four appearances at Triple-A for the Iowa Cubs, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings, but Herget wasn’t ever called up to appear in the majors for the Cubs. Now, the 2015 sixth round pick is off to the Rockies.
The Cubs had previously designated Herget for assignment earlier this week, when the team added left-handed pitcher Rob Zastryzny to their 40-man roster.
The Colorado Rockies announced today that they have claimed RHP Jimmy Herget off waivers from Chicago-NL.
The Rockies’ 40-man roster is at 38 + 2 60-day IL. https://t.co/15Bu4ha9Ne
— Rockies Club Information (@RockiesClubInfo) November 8, 2024
So, no change for the Cubs and their 40-man roster as Herget was already off of it, but now we know that he did not pass through waivers with the Rockies giving him a new opportunity.
The 31-year-old has pitched in the big leagues for four different organizations. Herget made his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2019, but after only logging 6.1 innings he was claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers in the offseason. The righty pitched in 20 games for Texas during the shortened 2020 season, but only pitched four times for the Rangers in 2021 before he joined the Los Angeles Angels and made 14 appearances with them in the final couple months of the regular season.
Herget’s best season came in 2022, when he pitched 69 innings and recorded a 2.48 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 49 games with the Angels. He had a fantastic K/BB ratio of 63/15 and saved nine games for Los Angeles, but he struggled in 2023, posting a 4.66 ERA in 29 innings and then began the 2024 season in Triple-A.
On May 2, 2024, the Braves acquired the pitcher in exchange for cash and then he spent the rest of the year getting called up to Atlanta and sent back down to the minors before the Cubs scooped him up.
Herget made a total of eight relief appearances in 2024 with the Braves. His overall numbers are decent as the right-hander has a career 3.54 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with a 3/1 K/BB ratio in 155 MLB innings.