he Chicago Cubs are taking a flier on a veteran pitcher who was recently released by Major League Baseball’s worst team.

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The Cubs signed veteran left-hander Austin Gomber to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa, where he started Tuesday night’s game.

While the deal wasn’t previously reported, per the MLB.com transaction tracker, Gomber was signed on Aug. 26. Since he was signed before Sept. 1, he is eligible to play in the postseason for Chicago this season.

Gomber had an impressive debut with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate, pitching five shutout innings while allowing just two hits and one walk with five strikeouts.

The left-hander was released by the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies in late August, but is now getting an opportunity with the playoff-bound Cubs.

Gomber, 31, made 12 starts with the Rockies this season, sporting a career-worst 7.49 ERA across 57.2 innings pitched. He had just 34 strikeouts to 17 walks, allowing 48 earned runs and an abysmal 16 homers.

While Gomber was horrible at the hitter-friendly Coors Field — sporting an 8.58 ERA across 28.1 innings — he wasn’t much better on the road, accruing a 6.44 ERA over 29.1 innings. Gomber was on a one-year, $6.35 million deal, and the Rockies will pay him the remainder of his money to not play for them.

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Gomber now has an opportunity to turn things around with Chicago ahead of his impending free agency. The Winter Garden, Florida native has plenty of familiarity with the Cubs after beginning his career in the National League Central with the rival St. Louis Cardinals.

Gomber was drafted by St. Louis in the fourth round of the 2014 draft and debuted in 2018. He appeared in a total of 43 games (15 starts) with St. Louis before being a headliner in the Nolan Arenado trade ahead of the 2021 season — a move that didn’t pan out for Colorado.

Gomber had a 1.86 ERA in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with the Cardinals. His lowest end-of-season ERA with the Rockies came in 2021, when he had a 4.53 mark across 23 starts.

Overall, across 125 appearances (109 starts) with Colorado, Gomber went 28-44 with a 5.31 ERA.

Chicago is taking a chance on the Cardinals’ former top prospect with a zero risk signing. If he pans out, he could provide innings for the team down the stretch and potentially even in the postseason. If not, he’ll head to free agency next month costing the Cubs virtually nothing.