CHICAGO — Colin Rea did not know how many starts he would make for the Cubs when he signed with the ballclub last offseason, but the veteran righty turned into a valuable piece for the pitching staff. As the rotation dealt with injuries throughout the year, Rea stepped in and stepped up as a reliable arm for manager Craig Counsell.
Rea and the Cubs have decided to continue their partnership for at least one more season. On Thursday morning, the Cubs had reached an agreement with the righty on a one-year contract worth $6.5 million guaranteed that includes a team option for ‘27, a source told MLB.com. The team has not confirmed the deal.
“Colin was exactly what we had hoped for and probably more,” Counsell said during the playoffs. “Man, he’s just been the glue. He’s been a lot of glue for us, is the best way to describe it.”
The new deal with the 35-year-old Rea replaces the $6 million team option that the Cubs had for the ‘26 season as part of the contract signed last winter. Under the restructured pact, Rea is set to earn $5.5 million in ‘26 with another $7.5 million available (or a $1 million buyout) in the form of the team option for ‘27.
The Cubs lost lefty Justin Steele for the season due to a left elbow injury in April and saw other starters hit the injured list at various points. Initially a part of Chicago’s bullpen, Rea slid into the rotation and finished the year with the second-most innings thrown (159 1/3) on the pitching staff. That came after the righty logged 167 2/3 frames one year earlier for Milwaukee.
Overall, Rea finished with a 3.95 ERA in 32 appearances (27 starts), which also included three games finished and one save. With a six-pitch mix, the right-hander racked up 127 strikeouts against 44 walks and was seemingly improving as the year went on. Rea posted a 1.93 ERA in his final four starts in September, including striking out a career-best 11 on Sept. 18 in Cincinnati.
During the postseason, Counsell utilized Rea as a multi-inning relief option in the National League Wild Card Series against the Padres and the NL Division Series against the Brewers. Overall, the righty surrendered just one run across 7 2/3 innings between his three outings in the playoffs.
“When I talked to Colin in the offseason,” Counsell said last month, “and tried to lay out, ‘This is what’s going to happen and this is what we would like to happen,’ it’s this faith that Colin had to have in us to know that he wasn’t maybe in the top-five starters to start the season, but was going to make a lot of starts.
“I knew he was going to make a lot of starts, but you can’t promise that at the beginning. For him to have faith to join us, I think, was really important.”
