Trade: Chicago Cubs Swing Deal for Reliever with Los Angeles Dodgers

The Chicago Cubs have added a reliever to the back end of their bullpen, swinging a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the recently DFA'd right-hander Ryan Brasier.

The Chicago Cubs are acquiring right-handed reliever Ryan Brasier in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, sources tell ESPN. Brasier, 37, was DFA'd last week but should get leverage innings for Chicago.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 5, 2025

Brasier had a quality season-and-a-half with the Dodgers, posting a 1.85 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP across 66.2 innings with them. He had a 63:15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He had spent his previous six seasons with the Boston Red Sox, with mixed results.

The 37-year-old has pitched in plenty of high-leverage innings over his career, and the Cubs will likely use him that way.

The Dodgers ran into a numbers crunch when they signed closer Kirby Yates last month to a crowded bullpen, and were forced to designate Brasier for assignment.

“It’s a good thing when your roster is that talented,” Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes said. “But it obviously creates difficult decisions.”

That difficult decision was easier one for the Cubs, who were able to acquire the veteran Brasier. He'll slot in behind the also newly-acquired closer Ryan Pressley, along with youngster Porter Hodge, who had a splendid finish to the 2024 season as the Cubs closer.