Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Adrian Sampson continued to impress Sunday afternoon in the Cubs' 8-3 victory over the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
Sampson allowed just one run on four hits and no walks over six innings. Sampson's lone run came off a Bryan Reynolds homer.
Sampson has allowed a total of five runs over his last five starts. He has a 1.55 ERA and 1.03 WHIP during that stretch.
The Cubs signed Sampson, 30, to a minor league contract in May, and Sampson now making a strong case to be a coveted free agent addition to the backend of another team's pitching rotation, if the Cubs do not resign him upon the completion of the 2022 season.
The Cubs have a crowded mix of starting pitching options for 2023 already on their 40-man roster, including veterans Kyle Hendricks and Marcus Stroman, youngsters Keegan Thompson, Justin Steele, Hayden Wesneski, Matt Assad and Adbert Alzolay, and prospects Caleb Kilian and Jordan Wicks.
It remains unclear how Sampson will fit into the team's plans for the future, but the Cubs' surplus of pitching options will make the prospect of signing a highly priced free agent pitcher this winter less desirable. Signing a pitcher like Carlos Rodon at a time when the Cubs aren't ready to compete for a National League Central division title, would take away a rotation spot, that the club could use to continue to evaluate young pitchers like Steele, Thompson, Wesneski and others.
Sampson was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Bellevue College in the fifth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. After stints with the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and the Korean, KBO League's Lotte Giants, Sampson is making the most of his opportunity, and should receive a Major League contract from some team this offseason.
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