Cubs officially add RHP Kendall Graveman to 40-man roster
The Cubs and right-handed pitcher Kendall Graveman have agreed to terms on a one-year Major League contract with a club option for the 2020 season. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Graveman’s contract reportedly includes incentives and a club option for 2020. Graveman will make $575,000 in 2019. The club option for 2020 is worth $3 million and does not include a buyout according to Bruce Levine. If the Cubs do not pick up the option for 2020, Graveman will become a free agent.
Jon Heyman reported if Graveman is on the Cubs’ active roster for one day next season, his 2019 season increases to $2 million. Graveman can earn an additional $500,000 in performance-based bonuses.
The Cubs’ 40-man roster now stands at 38 players.
Graveman, who on Friday turned 28, was Oakland’s Opening Day starter for the second-straight season in 2018, but had his campaign cut short due to a right forearm strain in late May that eventually led to Tommy John surgery on July 30 (performed by Dr. Keith Meister). Graveman was 1-5 with a 7.60 ERA (29 earned runs in 34 1/3 innings) and a 1.66 WHIP in seven starts with Oakland and 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA (12 earned runs in 24 innings) in four starts with Triple-A Nashville prior to his season-ending injury.
Graveman is 23-29 with three complete games, one shutout, a 4.38 ERA (217 earned runs in 446 innings) and a 1.37 WHIP in 83 career big league appearances, all but five as a starter, in all or parts of five seasons with the Blue Jays (2014) and Athletics (2015-18). He has averaged 2.6 walks per 9.0 innings, having issued 130 walks compared to 286 strikeouts in 446.0 innings. The right-hander has limited left-handed hitters to a .269 batting average (235-for-875).
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Graveman was selected by Toronto in the eighth round of the 2013 Draft out of Mississippi State University, and made his Major League debut the following season, pitching to a 3.86 ERA (two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings) in five relief appearances for the Blue Jays in 2014.
Graveman was traded to Oakland, Nov. 28, 2014, in a five-player deal that netted the Blue Jays infielder Josh Donaldson. In his first season with Oakland in 2015, Graveman was 6-9 with a 4.05 ERA (52 earned runs in 115 2/3 innings) in 21 starts before setting career marks with 10 victories, 31 starts, two complete games and 186 innings pitched in 2016. He was 6-4 with a 4.19 ERA (49 earned runs in 105 1/3 innings) in 19 starts during the 2017 season that was shortened due to two stints on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder.
• Kendall Graveman’s Page on Baseball-Reference
