PITTSBURGH -- The Cubs have signed veteran left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer to a Minor League deal and will assign him to Triple-A Iowa, manager Craig Counsell acknowledged on Wednesday. The club has not yet confirmed the move.
Bummer was released by the Braves on May 19 after logging a 7.63 ERA across 15 1/3 innings (19 appearances).
“He struggled in Atlanta this year, but he also had a lot of success there,” Counsell said before his team faced the Pirates on Wednesday night. “We’ll try to get him better and see what happens.”
Bummer started his big league career in 2017 on Chicago’s South Side, pitching in parts of seven seasons with the White Sox. His best full season came in 2019, when he posted a 2.13 ERA across 67 2/3 frames. A few weeks into the 2023-24 offseason, he was traded to Atlanta as the headliner in a seven-player deal. For his 10-year career, Bummer owns a 3.94 ERA and 442 strikeouts over 397 innings.
The Cubs, who strung together two separate 10-game winning streaks earlier this season, are riding a 10-game losing streak entering Wednesday’s game against the Pirates. They currently have four relievers on the injured list.