Cubs sign SF Giants first-rounder to add pitching depth after Cade Horton injury

After a brief foray into free agency, Tyler Beede is back to pitching at the affiliated level. According to Tommy Birch of The Des Moines Register, the former SF Giants first rounder has reunited with the Chicago Cubs on a minor league deal.

Cubs sign SF Giants first-rounder to add pitching depth after Cade Horton injury

The Cubs were dealt a devastating blow after it was announced that Cade Horton was set to undergo season-ending elbow surgery. He was coming off a solid 2025 campaign, where he posted a 2.67 ERA in 23 outings for the Cubs.

Presumably, the Beede signing was to add another veteran arm in the upper minors after the depth chart took a hit. He is already familiar with the Cubs organization, as he spent the spring in Cubs camp but did not make the team out of spring training and was subsequently released.

The Giants followed the same pattern with Eric Haase. He was competing for the backup catcher job, but he did not break camp with the club and was let go. That was another brief foray into free agency, as the Giants brought back Haase on a minors pact at the end of March.

The Giants originally selected Beede in the first round of the 2014 draft out of Vanderbilt University. Oddly enough, it was his second time being selected in the first round. The first time came in 2011 by the Toronto Blue Jays, but he did not sign.

A few rounds later, the Giants also drafted Logan Webb, who has become the ace of the rotation. They drafted Matt Gage in the 10th round as well.

As the Giants won their third title in five years that year, they were hoping that the future of the rotation featured Beede. He made his debut with the club in 2018, but received an extended look in 2019. He pitched to a 5.08 ERA across 117 innings that season. The overall results were not that strong, but there were a couple of promising stretches. Most notably, Beede pitched to a 3.28 ERA in the final five starts down the stretch.

The righty pitcher underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020, and was unable to replicate some of those strong stretches in 2019. He was placed on waivers in 2022, and picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates to finish out that season. Beede has also pitched for the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians organizations. Overall, he has registered a 5.55 ERA across five major league seasons.