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Today we look at the Cubs’new left-handed reliever.
Hoby Milner came to the Cubs as a free agent after spending a year as a Texas Ranger, where he had a little success, as he has had during a long career, previously with the Phillies, Rays, and Brewers. His ERA and peripherals weren’t so great, early in his career, but he seems to have righted the ship and has been dependable for years. Lifetime, he’s 13-9, 3.82 in 341 innings, in which he has logged 321 strikeouts, issued 94 bases on balls, and opponents have hit a rather high .252 against his offerings.
He throws a lot of ground balls. In 2025, his pitches resulted in 9 GIDP and he has 33 all-time. He’s a middle-reliever-type with a lot of holds on his baseball card. He’s likely to make the Opening Day roster and alternate with Caleb Thielbar.
Milner’s lifetime bWAR is 1.1 (2.8 fWAR). He signed a one-year, $3.75 million contract this past December. Milner is 35, 6’3”, 187. Projections have him throwing 60 innings with an ERA around 4.00 and three wins. He has four pitches, relying heavily on his sweeper and sinker, with a changeup and four-seamer worked into the mix.
His results the last few years have been pretty consistent, though nothing to write home about. But the Cubs love guys like Milner, ostensibly because the longtime vets deal with playoff pressure better than others, and have more predictable outcomes.
We’ll see. It’s always possible that a player at his age drops off. But Milner looks good to go right now. He’s got some good funk. We need the funk. Give us the funk.