Wick signed a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays on Wednesday, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports.
Wick signed a minor-league deal with Atlanta on Thursday but was cut after just four days, and he'll now head north to join the Jays organization. Wick has struggled in Triple-A this season, accumulating an 8.60 ERA and 1.76 WHIP through 30.1 frames. If he's able to get things under control with Triple-A Buffalo, Wick could join the MLB roster as bullpen depth later this season.
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Braves' Rowan Wick: Finds new team
Rotowire
Wick signed a minor-league deal with Atlanta on Thursday.
Wick failed to make the Opening Day roster for the Cubs, which came as a surprise. He was dumped altogether by the team July 15 but has now landed with a new team. If he pitches well for Triple-A Gwinnett, he could have the chance to work in a low-leverage role for the big-league club.
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Rowan Wick: Dropped by Cubs
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The Cubs released Wick on Saturday, Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reports.
Wick failed to make the Cubs' roster out of spring training and has put up an 8.60 ERA and 1.76 WHIP across 30.1 innings with Triple-A Iowa. His recent MLB history could earn him a minor-league deal from another franchise, but he will have to show significant improvement in order to have any chance at appearing in the majors this season.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Outighted to Triple-A
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Wick cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Iowa City on Monday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Wick appeared on track to make the Opening Day roster, but the Cubs had other plans. Even so, he'll be a candidate to emerge with the big-league squad later on in the season after posting a 4.22 ERA and 1.69 WHIP with a 69:29 K:BB over 64 innings a season ago.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Likely to work in setup role
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With Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger viewed as the Cubs' top closing options, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, Wick may have to settle for setup work.
Wick was second on the team with nine saves last season, but with veterans Fulmer and Boxberger coming over in the offseason, the former may have to settle for setup work. Wick has the ability to miss bats, but he's been inconsistent during his MLB career. If he's not seeing regular save opportunities, his fantasy value will be limited.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Avoids arbitration
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Wick agreed to a one-year, $1.55 million contract with the Cubs on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.
Wick finished second on the team in saves last season with nine behind David Robertson (14), but he didn't exactly secure the job heading into 2023. The right-hander struggled to a 5.06 ERA and squandered three of his final five save chances after Aug. 11. The job will be up for grabs again in spring training.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Earns save Wednesday
Rotowire
Wick worked around a walk to toss a scoreless ninth inning and earn the save in Wednesday's win over the Blue Jays. He struck out one.
Wick has struggled recently, as he entered Wednesday's contest with a 5.73 ERA and 1.82 WHIP this month, but he was able to right the ship at least for a night. He also worked behind Brandon Hughes, who tossed 1.1 innings Wednesday to earn a hold. Both pitchers should continue to see save opportunities moving forward, likely based on matchups.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Gets hit hard in loss
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Wick (4-7) allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits while retiring only one batter to take the loss Saturday against the Brewers. He walked one and struck out one.
Chicago starter Drew Smyly tossed six scoreless innings, but Wick quickly unraveled in the seventh. The frame started with two singles and then an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt. The big blow was a Christian Yelich home run with two runners on to put Milwaukee up 4-0. Wick has struggled this month with a 6.30 ERA, and it looks like the Cubs trust Brandon Hughes a bit more with closing duties at this point. Wick's fantasy value takes a significant hit if he's not seeing save chances.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Earns win Wednesday
Rotowire
Wick (4-6) tossed 1.2 scoreless innings of relief and earned the win Wednesday against the Cardinals. He allowed two hits and also struck out two.
Wick had a rough weekend, blowing a save Saturday and then taking the loss Sunday against the Brewers. This was his first appearance since then, and the righty was able to bounce back and pitch well. Wick could still see some save opportunities moving forward, though lefty Brandon Hughes has moved into the closer mix, and the two pitchers could be deployed in the ninth inning based on matchups.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Takes loss Sunday
Rotowire
Wick (3-6) allowed one run on a hit and a walk in an inning of work to take the loss Sunday against the Brewers.
Wick was charged with a blown save Saturday for allowing a go-ahead, two-run home run, and he continued to struggle Sunday. The righty has allowed earned runs in three of his last four appearances, and he now has a 4.38 ERA for the season. Wick still figures to see some save opportunities for the Cubs moving forward, though lefty Brandon Hughes is also in the mix after earning a pair of saves the past few days, and Wick could fall out of favor altogether if he keeps struggling.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Earns save Wednesday
Rotowire
Wick pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record the save in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Nationals.
Wick didn't have any strikeouts for the second straight outing, but he didn't allow any runs or blow a save like he did Tuesday. The righty now has three saves in four chances since Chicago traded David Robertson at the deadline earlier this month. That's boosted Wick's fantasy stock a great deal, and he'll likely remain the closer the rest of the season, though the 49-67 Cubs might not offer a ton of opportunities.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Secures another save
Rotowire
Wick earned a save against the Reds on Thursday, striking out two batters in a perfect ninth inning.
Wick worked the count full to two of the three batters he faced but came out on top with a 1-2-3 inning. The right-hander picked up his third save in the past four days and extended his scoreless streak to 11 contests. During that stretch, he's posted a 15:3 K:BB over 12.1 innings while notching three saves, one hold and two wins.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Notches sixth save
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Wick gave up a hit and struck out two over 1.1 scoreless innings Wednesday to record his sixth save of the season in a 4-2 win over the Nationals.
The 29-year-old extended his scoreless streak to 10 appearances and 11.1 innings, and Wick has picked up two saves and a win during his three trips to the mound in August. The Cubs don't seem to have any better options to close, so he'll likely continue to see ninth-inning work despite a lackluster 4.02 ERA, 1.68 WHIP and 48:21 K:BB through 47 innings on the season.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Earns fifth save
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Wick worked around a hit to fire a scoreless inning and earn the save in Monday's 6-3 win over the Nationals. He struck out two.
With David Robertson, Scott Effross and Mychal Givens all getting moved before the trade deadline last week, Wick looks like the last man standing for saves in Chicago. The righty now has five of them for the season, which matches his career-best total from last year. Wick had closer steam heading into 2022 but ultimately saw Robertson take the lead in the team's bullpen, though the former could now be primed for increased fantasy value down the stretch due to decreased competition.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Gets win, could be closer
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Wick (3-5) gave up one hit and one walk with zero strikeouts over 1.1 innings Friday against the Marlins en route to the win.
He got the final out of the top of the eighth inning before the Cubs took the lead in the bottom of the frame, giving Wick his third win of the campaign. With David Robertson in Philadelphia, Wick is the leading candidate to get save chances for the Cubs over the final eight weeks of the season.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Tagged with second straight loss
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Wick (1-5) allowed three runs on five hits while retiring just two batters to take the loss Saturday against the Dodgers.
Wick was tagged with the loss for the second straight day, and Saturday's performance was particularly discouraging. It was the third time this season the righty allowed three runs in an outing. Wick is now sitting with an ugly 5.30 ERA, which would be his worst mark since his 2018 rookie season, when he posted a 6.48 ERA across 10 games with the Padres. He's not a fantasy asset at this point.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Takes loss Friday
Rotowire
Wick (1-4) allowed an unearned run on a hit and a walk in the 10th inning of Friday's 4-3 loss to the Dodgers. He didn't retire any batters.
Wick got the unenviable task of entering in the bottom of the 10th inning with the game tied and an automatic runner on second. He intentionally walked Freddie Freeman but then allowed a single to Will Smith, which brought home the speedy Trea Turner to end the contest. Wick has struggled this year with a 4.63 ERA and 1.74 WHIP across 35 innings, and he's firmly behind David Robertson in the bullpen hierarchy. Wick has allowed 12 runs (nine earned) in his last 10 innings.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Logs shaky save
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Wick saved Saturday's 4-2 win against the Diamondbacks, allowing one run on two hits and a walk with three strikeouts in one inning.
After Chicago scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to take the lead, Wick was brought in for the save and permitted the first two batters to reach base, bringing the tying run to the plate. The 29-year-old was able to retaliate and strike out three of the next four batters -- surrendering a run-scoring single as well -- to secure the victory. Wick has now registered three of Chicago's last four saves and has struck out an impressive 17 batters in 12.2 innings while posting a 1.42 ERA.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Earns second save
Rotowire
Wick worked around two hits to log two scoreless innings and earn the save Wednesday against the Padres. He struck out two.
Regular closer David Robertson hit the injured list Monday for undisclosed reasons, which fits the pattern teams have used when a player lands on the COVID-19 injured list. Wick appears to be next in line, as he saw the first save opportunity in the former's absence. Robertson has been lights out this year with a 1.50 ERA, though Wick has also been stellar, as he now has a miniscule 0.77 ERA and 14 strikeouts across 11.2 innings to go along with two saves. It looks like both relievers should have fantasy value the rest of the way, though Robertson is the preferred option as long as he's seeing the bulk of the save chances.
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Cubs' Rowan Wick: Strikes out two in relief win
Rotowire
Wick (1-0) earned the win in relief Sunday against the Rockies after tossing a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out two.
Wick struggled in his season debut after allowing one run on two hits with no strikeouts through two-thirds of an inning against the Brewers on April 7, but he has bounced back well since then and is on a run of three straight scoreless outings. He's given up three hits while posting a 5:1 K:BB over that aforementioned span, and he also has two holds.
