The trade deadline stretch is usually about big names and prospect packages, but sometimes the most Cubs move of the week is a journeyman reliever getting his fourth (or is it fifth?) look at Wrigleyville. Jake Woodford was designated for assignment by Chicago earlier this week, went unclaimed on waivers, elected free agency, and then turned right back around and signed a minor league deal with the same organization that just cut him loose.
MLB Trade Rumors confirmed the re-signing on the wire.
If that sounds like a lot of roster paperwork for one guy, that's because it is. Woodford has bounced through 6 different organizations since early 2025, suiting up at the big league level this year alone for the Diamondbacks, Brewers and Cubs before Chicago DFA'd him and then scooped him right back up. He'll head to Triple-A Iowa to work out of the rotation, giving the organization some rotation and bullpen depth to lean on as the big league roster deals with a rash of pitching injuries.
This is actually Woodford's second go-round with the Cubs specifically. A 2015 first-round pick by the Cardinals, he made his MLB debut with St. Louis in 2020 and had his best run there in 2022, going 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA mostly out of the bullpen. St. Louis non-tendered him after that 2023 season, and it's been a nomadic existence ever since — he's carried a rough 5.25 career ERA across 7 MLB seasons, with an ERA hovering near 7.00 over his last 144 1/3 innings.
None of that makes Woodford a marquee addition, and nobody's pretending otherwise — this is a minor league flier, not a rotation savior. But that's exactly the point. With Chicago's pitching staff banged up in the middle of a playoff push, adding a guy who can start or relieve, knows the org, and is stashed at Triple-A ready to be summoned costs nothing and covers a real need. Woodford's sinker still touches 93.7 mph, and the underlying metrics reportedly play better than the ugly ERA suggests, so there's at least a case he's more useful than his numbers say.
Don't expect this to be Woodford's last transaction of the summer. Depth arms like him churn through waivers and DFA cycles constantly once rosters expand and injuries pile up, and the Cubs have shown they're comfortable running it back with him whenever a need pops up. Keep an eye on the Iowa rotation — if Chicago's injury list doesn't clear up, Woodford could be back in a big league uniform sooner than later.