Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Cubs Make Fulmer Signing Official, Move Heuer to 60-Day IL

Originally posted on On Tap Sports Net | By Ryan Sikes | Last updated 2/20/23

The Cubs announced a pair of moves on Monday impacting their 40-man roster.

The Cubs officially announced the signing of right-hander Michael Fulmer on Monday, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.

To make room on the 40-man roster, relief pitcher Codi Heuer was moved to the 60-day injured list as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery.

Fulmer had reportedly agreed to terms earlier this month and was throwing at the Cubs' Spring Training complex in Mesa, Arizona, despite no deal being officially announced.

The 29-year-old began his career as a starting pitcher, but injuries forced him to the bullpen.

The long-time Detroit Tiger was traded to the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline last year. Between both teams, Fulmer made 67 relief appearances, spinning a 3.89 ERA in 63.2 innings of work to go along with 61 strikeouts and a .247 average against.

The Cubs have done well in the last couple of years finding bullpen arms and either making them valuable assets or flipping them for prospects.

Heuer was acquired, along with Nick Madrigal, in the Craig Kimbrel deal in July 2021. He made 25 appearances with the Cubs in the second half of that season, fanning 17 batters in 28.2 innings. The 26-year-old struggled with his command at times, allowing 13 walks over that span.

He underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2022 after injuring himself in an unsupervised workout during Major League Baseball's lockout.

Heuer is not expected to be ready for the start of the 2023 season, but he could be available as soon as June, according to multiple reports.

"I started my mound progression about a month ago," he told Marquee Sports Network last week.

"Everything feels great; the ball's coming out well. Just slowly getting back into it, not full intensity yet, just getting my feel back for pitches and back into game speed.

"Everything feels great. No complaints."

As part of his recovery, Heuer has had the opportunity to develop a more traditional four-seam fastball and complement it with a sinker.

The 26-year-old featured three pitches in 2021. Adding another pitch to his arsenal would give him another option to confuse opposing batters.

"The plan is I'm trying to split my heater into a more traditional four-seam -- work up in the zone with it -- and then have a more traditional sinker," Heuer explained.

"Before, I had a four-seam, but it played a little bit like a sinker, so I'm trying to split it to have two legit, workable fastballs here. We'll see."

Heuer has been throwing three bullpen sessions per week and is setting to re-introduce his breaking pitches into the mix.

This article first appeared on On Tap Sports Net and was syndicated with permission.

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