The Cubs signed Tyler Beede to a minor league deal Monday, taking a flyer on a pitcher who was once a top prospect but has struggled to find his footing in recent years.
Ari Alexander reported the signing comes with a spring training invite. It’s the kind of low-risk move teams make when they’re looking for depth and hoping to catch lightning in a bottle.
Beede’s got the pedigree. The Giants made him the 14th overall pick out of Vanderbilt in 2014, though he’d already been drafted once before by the Blue Jays in 2011. He chose college instead of signing then.
The 32-year-old right-hander made his MLB debut in 2018 and spent parts of four seasons with San Francisco before bouncing around. He’s pitched for the Pirates, spent 2023 in Japan, then had a brief stint with the Guardians in 2024.
That’s where the trail goes cold. Beede didn’t pitch in the majors at all in 2025.
His career numbers tell the story of unrealized potential. He’s carrying a 5.55 ERA across parts of six big league seasons, though he’s shown he can miss bats with an 8.1 strikeout rate per nine innings.
The 2025 season was rough. Beede started in Triple-A St. Paul in the Twins organization and posted an 8.00 ERA in seven outings. From there, he tried the independent Atlantic League with Long Island, where he managed a 5.48 ERA in five starts.
He even went to the Mexican League for three starts, where things didn’t improve much with a 7.43 ERA.
So yeah, it’s hard to see what the Cubs are banking on here. But that’s the nature of these spring training invites – sometimes a change of scenery and a fresh start can unlock something that’s been dormant.
The Cubs aren’t committing much beyond giving Beede a chance to prove he’s got something left. For a guy who’s traveled the world trying to rediscover his form, it might be his last shot.
