Last offseason, the Chicago Cubs took a chance on Colin Rea, an Indiana native who was battling back from Tommy John surgery. The big right-hander did not disappoint and exceeded all expectations, earning Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year honors as the anchor of the Iowa Cubs rotation.
Rea, 29, never saw big league action with Chicago – but that doesn’t mean he won’t in 2020. The team added him to the 40-man roster, thus protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft. As the team moved on from the likes of Kendall Graveman, keeping someone like Rea in the fold makes more sense than ever before.