Pedro Strop, one of the best relievers in Cubs franchise history, has agreed to join Nick Castellanos on the Reds with a one-year, $1.825 million deal. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s just $250,000 less than the Cubs have given out in MLB guarantees this offseason. The contract has another $1.5 million in incentives for games pitched and finished, though some of the thresholds may be difficult to reach.
Héctor Gómez, a Dominican sports journalist, was first to report Strop’s connection to the Reds and subsequently broke news of the agreement and the incentives. Strop will need to pitch at least 75 games to max this out, which isn’t going to be easy since he last exceeded 69 games in 2015.