The price tag on Colin Rea’s club option for 2027 was so right on the line of acceptable ($7.5 million with a $1 million buyout, so a $6.5 million decision) that I honestly didn’t have much of an opinion on it. If the Cubs picked it up, great, fine, they got their swing man back at a reasonable price. If they didn’t pick it up, great, fine, they have another $6.5 million to work with this offseason, and could always still bring Rea back later on.
So the decision reported today, that the Cubs are declining the option, neither surprises nor bothers me:
The Cubs have declined their option on pitcher Colin Rea, per a source. He ranked second in innings pitched for them each of the last 2 years. Solid contributor until they added at the deadline in July, then didn’t see as much time on the mound. He’s a free agent now.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) November 2, 2026Colin Rea, 36, put up a 4.34 ERA for the Cubs this year (6% worse than league average by ERA-) over 137.0 IP. He made 19 starts and 15 relief appearances, which highlights his value: he could give the Cubs whatever type of innings they needed in a given week, and he could do it at only a slightly below-league-average level of results. That doesn’t transform a roster, but it does provide a lot of value. Hence the close call on the options decision.
That said, Rea’s peripherals took a pretty big hit this year compared to 2025, and perhaps the Cubs worry the results would eventually follow (and/or they feel like the market won’t value him at $6.5 million in any case).
We’ll see if the Cubs do engage with Rea on a new deal – you may remember, last time around, they tore up the old option and made a new deal with a new club option – but it’s possible he falls into the category of arm the Cubs would want to wait to see how things shake out after the lockout ends.
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