Brewers lose reliever with questionable control on waivers to division rival

For right-handed pitcher Enoli Paredes, his latest trip through waivers did not last all that long. The 28-year-old was designated for assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 20 before being claimed off of waivers by the Chicago Cubs on Monday.

Paredes, originally signed to a minor league deal with the Brewers this past offseason, spent the majority of the 2024 campaign in Triple-A, suiting up for the Nashville Sounds. In a total of 27 minor league appearances, he posted a 1.99 ERA with 48 strikeouts against 12 walks.

Despite the fact that Paredes has battled through some injuries this year, he was also able to appear in 20.2 innings in the big leagues. His 1.74 ERA certainly looks impressive on paper, he also walked 10 batters while striking out just 14. His 6.1 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 are both below-average and suggest that his low ERA has much more to do with luck than anything else. His 3.55 FIP is not terrible either, but the fact that it's nearly two runs higher than his ERA says a lot.

Brewers lose Enoli Paredes on waivers to the Cubs

In Paredes, the Cubs are landing a cheap, controllable reliever who could turn into a useful asset down the line if he can get that control under, well, control. His 17 big league appearances with the Brewers were the first he made since 2022, when he wrapped up a three-year stint on the Astros.

All throughout his career, especially in the big leagues, it's been all about a complete lack of control for the 5-foot-11 hurler. No team has cracked the code yet on how to dial him down a bit and get his offerings to land for strikes more frequently.

The Cubs will not need to make a corresponding move to add Paredes to their 40-man roster. It's unclear as of now which level he'll report to, but the Cubs are currently 12th in baseball in reliever's ERA (3.80) and 15th in FIP (3.94). For a club that's out of contention, Paredes could either be an infrequently used middle-reliever or simply high-minors filler, just like he was in Milwaukee.