Flexen (1-0) worked around a hit and a walk to toss two scoreless innings of relief and earn the win in Tuesday's 5-4 victory over the Marlins. He struck out one.
Making his fourth appearance in the majors this season, Flexen picked up his first win. After working as a starter in recent years, the veteran has transitioned to the bullpen in 2025, and he's off to a good start for the Cubs. Flexen has yet to allow a run across seven innings of work and he's struck out six. The righty has also covered multiple innings on two occasions, giving Chicago some valuable length in relief.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Monday that Flexen could enter the rotation in place of the injured Shota Imanaga (hamstring), Tony Andracki of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Counsell also mentioned prospect Cade Horton as a possibility, but Flexen, unlike Horton, is already on the 26-man and 40-man rosters, giving him a potential edge. After changing his arm slot, Flexen posted a 1.16 ERA and 21:8 K:BB over 23.1 frames with Triple-A Iowa and then tossed three scoreless frames this past Friday out of the bullpen against the Brewers. Imanaga's next turn comes up this weekend in New York versus the Mets.
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Cubs' Chris Flexen: Nabs three-inning save
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Flexen allowed a hit and two walks while striking out four over three scoreless innings to earn the save in Friday's 10-0 win over the Brewers.
This was the first save Flexen has posted since the 2022 campaign with the Mariners. He was just selected from Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, and this was his major-league season debut after covering 23.1 innings with a 1.16 ERA and 1.17 WHIP as a starter with the minor-league club to begin the year. Flexen threw 36 of 54 pitches for strikes in this outing. While he performed well and spared the bullpen, he could still ultimately get rotated off the big-league roster if the Cubs decide they need a fresh reliever in the coming days.
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Cubs' Chris Flexen: Officially added to roster
Rotowire
The Cubs selected Flexen's contract from Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Flexen altered his arm slot before posting a 1.16 ERA and 21:8 K:BB over 23.1 frames covering five starts with Iowa. The righty will work as a long reliever for now, but making starts at some point this year is possible if he pitches well.
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Cubs' Chris Flexen: Will have contract selected
Rotowire
The Cubs plan to select Flexen's contract from Triple-A Iowa, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.
Flexen could have opted out of his minor-league contract May 1 if not added to the big-league roster by then, and the Cubs have decided to keep him around. The righty changed his arm slot at Iowa and has posted a 1.16 ERA and 21:8 K:BB over 23.1 frames covering five starts. He's expected to serve in a long-relief role for now and will be officially added to the roster Wednesday or Thursday.
Cubs' Chris Flexen: Signs minor-league deal with Cubs
Rotowire
Flexen and the Cubs agreed on a minor-league contract Monday, pending a physical, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.
Flexen will join the Cubs organization after compiling a 4.95 ERA and 1.52 WHIP with 123 strikeouts over 160 innings in 33 appearances, including 30 starts, with the White Sox in 2024. The right-hander will now have a chance to prove himself with the team at spring training.
Flexen (3-15) picked up the win Thursday against the Angels, allowing five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts across 6.1 scoreless innings.
Flexen helped the White Sox avoid its 121st loss of the season Thursday, logging his first scoreless start of more than five innings this season. The outing dropped Flexen's ERA under 5.00, bringing it to 4.95 across 160 innings. The 29-year-old isn't scheduled to pitch again in 2024, and he'll exit the campaign on a high note. Flexen logged a 3.52 ERA and a 40:17 K:BB across his final nine starts.
Flexen (2-15) took the loss against the Padres on Saturday, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks over five innings while striking out three.
Flexen ran into trouble throughout the contest, allowing the leadoff man to reach in four of his five innings of work. The right-hander surrendered the first two runs of the contest on a two-run shot from Xander Bogaerts in the bottom of the second and was again victimized by the long ball in the fourth as San Diego took a 3-0 lead. Flexen went on to allow four runs on the night, something he hadn't done in any of his previous five starts, while also issuing multiple walks for the sixth time in his last seven outings. He's now lost his last 12 decisions (spanning 23 starts).
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White Sox's Chris Flexen: Eight strikeouts in no-decision
Rotowire
Flexen did not factor into the decision in Saturday's 7-6 win over the A's. He allowed six hits and two walks while striking out eight over five scoreless innings.
Flexen had one of his better outings of the season as he completed five innings without allowing a run for just the second time all year. The 30-year-old struck out a season-high eight batters and lowered his ERA to 5.09. Despite pitching well and exiting with the lead, Flexen couldn't get the win, and he has now gone 23 straight appearances (22 starts) without recording a win.
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White Sox's Chris Flexen: Notches quality start
Rotowire
Flexen did not factor into the decision in Sunday's win over the Red Sox, allowing two earned runs on six hits and one walk while striking out six in six innings.
The only runs allowed by Flexen came on a pair of solo home runs -- a second-inning blast by Connor Wong and a Wilyer Abreu long ball in the sixth. Flexen has now recorded a quality start in three of his last four appearances, logging a respectable 4.15 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 20:7 K:BB in 21.2 innings during that stretch. Even with the recent uptick in performance, the 30-year-old is well off the fantasy radar. He's tentatively scheduled to take on the Athletics next weekend.
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White Sox's Chris Flexen: Takes another loss
Rotowire
Flexen (2-14) took the loss Monday against the Orioles, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks across 3.1 innings. He struck out five.
Flexen labored through three-plus frames, requiring 95 pitches (54 strikes) to retire just 10 batters. He's now lost 11 straight decisions (covering a span of 21 outings) and leads MLB with 14 losses this season. The right-hander has a 5.36 ERA in 137.2 frames in 2024.
Flexen (2-13) allowed three runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out four over 6.1 innings to take the loss in Tuesday's game versus the Rangers, which was completed Wednesday.
Garrett Crochet started before the game was put into a weather delay just four pitches in. Flexen stayed on turn by entering the game officially as a reliever and turned in a decent performance for his second outing in a row. He's now gone four appearances without yielding a home run. Flexen is at a 5.29 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 94:55 K:BB through 134.1 innings over 28 outings (25 starts). He'll likely return to a starting role for his next game, which is projected to be at Baltimore early next week.
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White Sox's Chris Flexen: First in for suspended game
Rotowire
Flexen will be the de facto starter Wednesday for the resumption of Tuesday's suspended game versus the Rangers, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Tuesday's starter, Garrett Crochet, threw only four pitches in the top of the first inning before the game was delayed and eventually suspended. Flexen had been slated to start the regularly scheduled contest Wednesday, but he will now be the first to take the ball in the suspended game and the White Sox will go with a host of relievers in the nightcap.
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