Chris Flexen DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Chicago Cubs right-handed pitcher Chris Flexen earned his first save of the season during their demanding victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday evening. Flexen was called on to log the last three innings of work after starter Ben Brown tossed six shutout frames. With the Cubs holding a sizeable lead throughout the evening, they did not call on their typically high-leverage options. Flexen allowed just one hit and two walks across his three innings of work. He did not allow a run and struck out four. This was the 30-year-old's first appearance for the Cubs this season. He opened the campaign with Triple-A, but given the season-ending injury to Justin Steele (elbow), the Cubs may opt to keep Flexen on the MLB roster. Last summer, the veteran tossed 160 innings of work to the tune of a 4.95 ERA with the White Sox, operating primarily as a starting pitcher. He could eventually earn spot starts, but for now, he should not be targeted in any formats, serving in a bulk relief role.

The Chicago Cubs called up right-hander Chris Flexen from Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, sources told ESPN's Jesse Rogers. The 30-year-old veteran gets the call to the big leagues after going 3-0 with a 1.16 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 21 strikeouts and eight walks in 23 1/3 frames over five starts at Iowa to begin the year. Flexen's solid results on the farm have come after he made a change to his arm slot. It remains to be seen if he can continue to be that successful in the big leagues with the Cubs, where he's expected to work in a long-relief role out of the bullpen, at least initially. Flexen won't have much fantasy appeal, even in deep leagues, unless he eventually earns a starting-rotation spot. In his seven big-league seasons, Flexen has a 4.95 ERA and 1.49 WHIP with a weak 16.4% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate in 153 outings (110 starts), so not much will be expected of him.

The Chicago Cubs signed free-agent right-hander Chris Flexen to a minor-league deal on Monday that is pending a physical, sources tell The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma. Flexen will stay in Chicago in 2025 after going 3-15 for the White Sox with a 4.95 ERA (4.80 FIP) and 1.52 WHIP with 123 strikeouts and 63 walks over 160 innings in 33 appearances (30 starts) in 2024. He was even worse the prior season with the Seattle Mariners and Colorado Rockies, going a combined 208 with a 6.86 ERA (6.22 FIP) and 1.67 WHIP with 74 strikeouts and 38 walks in 102 1/3 frames over 29 outings (16 starts). The 30-year-old veteran has a career 4.95 ERA and 1.49 WHIP with a well below-average 16.4 percent strikeout rate in his seven MLB seasons. Flexen will enter spring training with the Cubs as pitching depth and should be avoided in all fantasy leagues.