Cubs Sign Webb To New One-Year Deal

Jacob Webb finished the season with a 3.36 earned run average, a figure that rose above his 3.00 mark from his time in Texas.

The Chicago Cubs announced on Sunday that they have signed the right-handed reliever to a new one-year contract. The agreement includes a club option for the 2028 season. This move marks the first step in team president Jed Hoyer’s plan to restructure the pitching staff for the upcoming year.

Webb assumed the closer role after Daniel Palencia suffered an injury that kept him out of action for a large portion of the campaign. During the summer months, manager Craig Counsell designated Webb as his primary late-inning option. He recorded 24 consecutive scoreless appearances and finished the season as the team leader in saves with nine. However, his performance declined late in the year. He gave up the lead in four of his final 11 relief outings, resulting in a 9.90 ERA in that specific stretch. This late-season dip contributed to the team's loss of home-field advantage in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

Hoyer acknowledged the challenges faced by the relief corps during his end-of-season press conference in late October. He stated that he did a poor job with the bullpen this year and noted that the players acquired the previous winter did not produce as well as they did a year earlier. While the unit finished with a 3.90 ERA, placing them in the middle of the sport, Webb represented a success story within a broader effort to replicate the previous year's performance.

The team also added another pitcher to the bullpen on Monday. They claimed right-hander Eric Orze off waivers from the Minnesota Twins. Orze, a graduate of Glenbard North High School, posted a 5.66 ERA this season. He previously recorded a 3.02 ERA in 33 appearances for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2025.