The free agent market has been ice cold this year, but that has not stopped the Cubs from making a flurry of minor moves to shore up their pitching depth going into the 2018 season. They may not be flashy transactions, but as we all know, it is much more than just the Opening Day roster that makes an impact throughout the season.

It is often the pitchers that start the season as the number seven or eight starter in the organization or the pitcher stuck in a middle relief role in Iowa that end up playing crucial roles for the team in the dead of the summer.

For the Cubs, the moves began in the bullpen with the addition of Dario Alvarez on a Major League deal. The deal guarantees the 28 year old lefty a spot on the 40-man roster and a chance of occupying the middle relief role that Brian Duensing held going into last season.

Alvarez had mixed results in his time with the Texas Rangers last season, holding his ERA down to 2.76 in 16.1 innings at the MLB level and 2.33 in 27 innings in Triple-A. Unfortunately his advanced metrics did not follow suit as he was the owner of a 4.63 FIP and 6.23 xFIP while in Arlington. During his stint in Triple-A, the journeyman sported a 31.3% strikeout rate to go along with a decent 8.7% walk rate.

The second relief option that the Cubs have picked up so far this offseason is another lefty, this one only 26 years old: Kyle Ryan. The former Detroit Tiger spent the first six years of his career as a starter with mixed results before being converted to a reliever in 2016.

During his first season as a full-time reliever, Ryan spent almost the entire year at the Major League level. That season he pitched his way to an impressive 3.07/3.33/1.13 ERA/FIP/WHIP slash line in 55.2 innings. He saw those stats plumet this past season, a season in which he actually spent nearly the entire year in Triple-A. At that level he struggled to a 4.96/5.04/1.81 slash in 45.1 innings.

Unlike Alavarez, the minor league contract for Ryan will mean that he can be shipped back and forth between Iowa and Chicago as the season goes on. Look for him to regain his 2016 form.

Moving on from the relievers (slightly), the Cubs have reportedly signed former Atlanta Braves top prospect Ryan Weber. Drafted way back in 2009, Weber took quite some time to make his way to the upper levels of the minors with Atlanta and even got featured as a back end top 30 prospect before making his Major League debut in 2015.

The definition of a swing man, Weber has had his fair share of starts at both the Major and Minor League levels in addition to his time spent in the bullpen. In 2017, he called the Seattle Mariners organization “home” and absolutely tore it up during his 31.2 innings in Triple-A. His 0.85/3.40/0.76 slash line was prove of that.

Weber does not necessarily have the advanced stats of a prototypical reliever with his very low 16.2% strikeout rate and even lower 3.4% walk rate. As it stands right now, Weber figures to be solid rotation depth and will figure to start of the years in Iowa. With a lack of Major League rotation depth at this point, he already slots in as one of the top options if a current starter were to go down with an injury.

The most recent minor signing the Cubs have made was the signing of Daniel Camarena. Yet another lefty, Camarena is a starter formerly of the New York Yankees farm system. After spending the majority of 2017 in Double-A, he also put in 35.2 innings in Triple-A. The 25 year old has spent his entire career as a starter at this point and will slot in behind Weber in Iowa as more rotation depth.

His combined stats between the two levels this past season include a 3.65 ERA, 5.9 K/9, and 2.4 BB/9.

None of these moves this offseason have been flashy. They aren’t sexy. They might not even make a big impact at the Major League level in 2018. But make no mistakes about it, each of these minor moves are crucial to the depth and success of the Chicago Cubs in 2018.