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By Jon Vankin
Contributing Sports Writer
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Coming off back-to-back 83-win campaigns, the Chicago Cubs made a series of offseason moves prior to this season, and it paid off. The Cubs won 92 games, qualifying for the postseason for the first time in a full, 162-game season since 2018, advancing to the National League Division Series before suffering elimination in five games at the hands of the 97-win Milwaukee Brewers.
With the 2025-2026 offseason only a couple of weeks old, the Cubs are already sending signals that they plan to be active once again. While no major moves are expected before the annual winter meetings, held this year from Dec. 7 through Dec. 10 in Orlando, Florida, the Cubs are wasting no time making minor ones that hold the potential to make an impact sometime a few years in the future.
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The Cubs made one such move on Thursday when they agreed to terms with Sam Mettert, an undrafted amateur free agent pitcher who graduated from St. John's earlier this year, according to ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers.
The 22-year-old right-hander went from college to continue his baseball development at Tread Athletics, a "player development company specializing in both remote and in-house coaching," according to the company's LinkedIn page. The Cubs have made a practice of dispatching their scouts to Tread facilities in search of talent, and with Mettert's signing, have now acquired six pitchers from the program, all on minor league contracts.
Mettert strikes an imposing figure on the mound, at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds. His fastball was recently clocked at 98.5 mph at Tread Athletics, which reportedly caught the Cubs' eye and led to his signing on a minor league deal.
In two years at St. John's, Mettert's numbers did not give a lot for major league scouts to get excited about. In 47 2/3 innings over 39 games, all in relief, the Indianapolis native posted a 7.17 ERA with 33 walks, though he struck out 51.
Mettert also pitched in the Cape Cod League, a popular summer league for collegiate players and pro prospects, putting up a 4.50 ERA in 11 games for the Wareham Gatemen, striking out 22 in 11 innings.
Mettert had not been fully set on a big league career, according to a report by Cubs HQ. He had been planning to start graduate school when the call came from the Cubs that set him on a professional baseball career path.
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