NEWSLETTER
A new signing popped up on the Chicago Cubs’ transaction log: lefty Mitchell Tyranski.
Tyranski, 26, put up a 3.83 ERA over 42.1 innings at High-A last year in the Dodgers organization, striking out 47 and walking 21. Were you scouting things based solely on that information, and knowing about the recently reduced stateside organization limits, you could understand why the Dodgers would’ve wanted to see much more out of a relief-only guy of his age at High-A. So they released him at the end of Spring Training as part of the bloodletting that happens in every organization nowadays at that time.
Being unfamiliar with Tyranski, I gave him a quick look, and it’s an interesting situation. The Dodgers drafted Tyranski out of Michigan State in the 12th round in 2019, where he had found success in the bullpen and then in transition to more frequently starting that year as a junior. He made some rookie ball appearances that year for the Dodgers and then … nothing. We know the 2020 season was gobbled up by the pandemic, but Tyranski also logged no innings in 2021 or 2022. It turns out, he had the worst-timed Tommy John surgery ever, taking place just before the 2021 season opened up. Ultimately, the recovery cost him both of those two seasons, which meant that when he finally did return to the mound in 2023, it’d been almost four years since his last in-game appearance.
So, then, what you’ve got here for the Cubs is something more like an extreme reclamation play, rather than a move with near-term expectations. With a year back on the bump under his belt, and now in a new organization, maybe Tyranski develops quickly (as he’ll probably need to in order to stay in the organization beyond this year). There’s no risk in giving him a look, especially at this point in the year – although the org limits are still in place, you’ve accumulated injuries at this point and have available spots and innings.
For now, Tyranski has been assigned to Low-A Myrtle Beach, but I expect that he’ll have the opportunity to climb rapidly if his performance justifies it.
