CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs pitcher Colin Rea stood at his locker inside the Wrigley Field home clubhouse before the team’s Aug. 17 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates and reflected on the tough times in his career. The Cascade, Iowa, native, who has a silver-and-blue nameplate and a comfy chair behind him in the spacious room, didn’t always have it this good, especially when he thought about walking away from the game, not just once but twice.
“If I had a backup plan, there’s a chance that I maybe would be doing that right now,” Rea said during an interview with the Des Moines Register.
Rea still hasn’t figured out what will come after his baseball career. Fortunately for him, he’s never really had to. The 35-year-old has found a home in Chicago this season, becoming one of the team’s most consistent pitchers. His solid season has provided the Cubs with some much-needed pitching and gave Rea’s career a boost.
“He’s been an absolute workhorse,” said Chicago outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.
The right-hander has complied a 10-5 record with a 3.96 ERA and 93 strikeouts across 127 1/3 innings through Aug. 20. While Rea has been one of the team’s surprise stories, success like this has long been expected out of the small-town Iowa kid who also briefly played baseball at Northern Iowa.
The high hopes for Rea began shortly after the San Diego Padres selected him in the 12th round of the 2011 draft. As Rea worked his way up through the minors, he became one of the organization’s top pitching prospects, earning an invitation to the All-Star Futures Game. He made his big-league debut in 2015 and went 2-2 with 4.26 ERA in six starts with the Padres.
Rea’s career appeared to be headed in the right direction after he made 19 starts with the Padres in 2016 before being briefly shipped to the Miami Marlins. When it was discovered Rea was hurt at the time of the trade, he was sent back to the Padres, where he underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2017 season. The road back to the majors wasn’t easy for Rea, who suffered a torn lat and struggled in Double-A and Triple-A in 2018. The Padres then released him.
“Those things can happen so fast,” Rea said. “Before you know it, you’re hurt and you’re released and then you’re on a different team (with) a new organization.”
Rea didn’t think he’d even make it back to the big leagues. That was the first time in his career that he contemplated walking away from baseball. But he persevered and signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs prior to the 2021 season. He spent most of the season in his home state pitching for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.
Rea regained his form, earning Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year honors, and made one appearance for Chicago. Still, Rea didn’t feel great about how he was feeling physically. Once again, he contemplated stepping away from baseball. But several factors kept him going.
“Probably just having the love for the game and just (being) all-in on this career and really not having anything else in mind in what I want to do when I’m done,” Rea said.
Rea went to Japan and spent most of the 2021 season pitching for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He said the time there helped him get to a better place mentally and physically. He stopped worrying about whether he would make it back to the majors. Rea also made strides physically, changing the way he worked out in the weight room and what he did between starts. He also tinkered with his delivery.
The moves were career-changing with Rea as he briefly came back to the United States to pitch for the Brewers and their Triple-A team later in 2021. After spending the 2022 season in Japan, the Brewers brought Rea back to the organization. The move paid off for Rea, who made massive strides again. He learned how to repeat his delivery and discovered how to best use his four-seam and two-seam fastballs. The team taught him when to go up in the strike zone and helped him figure out his changeup.
“I feel like going to Milwaukee was a big change for me,” Rea said.
Rea went 6-6 with a 4.55 ERA in 26 games, including 22 starts, with the Brewers in 2023. A year later, he was even better, winning a career-high 12 games and compiling a 4.29 ERA. The success earned him a one-year big-league contract with the Cubs, reportedly worth $5 million in guaranteed money. Rea was brought on to eat innings for the Cubs either in the bullpen or the rotation. So far this season, he’s done both.
With Chicago’s pitching staff dealing with injuries to Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon this season, Rea has helped fill their void. His arrival helped keep the team in the playoff hunt while Imanaga and Taillon worked their way back and with Steele out for the remainder of the season.
“He’s very much effectively done that for us and done it at a high level that’s made him really important,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said.
Rea has also provided veteran leadership in the clubhouse with his calming demeanor. Even in the toughest of times, he doesn’t get rattled.
Rea’s willingness to keep going and do whatever the Cubs need of him has earned him the respect and admiration of his teammates.
“I love playing for Colin,” Crow-Armstrong said.
Rea said he’s always believed in his ability. He just needed to stay healthy and keep getting opportunities. Now that he’s gotten both of those things, Rea believes he belongs in the big leagues. Any talk of life after baseball has been put on hold.
Still, it’s something he does wonder about. In past years, Rea has returned home to farm with his family. He hasn’t ruled out doing that … for fun.
“That would be nice to do as a hobby,” Rea said. “But as far as a second career, I have no clue because I don’t want to go back to school or anything.”
That’s not a big worry right now with how well Rea is pitching. Now in the midst of his seventh season in the big leagues and the Cubs in a pennant race, the timing couldn’t be much better.
“Its been a lot of fun,” he says with a smile.
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.
This story has been updated with Rea’s pitching stats through Aug. 20.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Cascade native Colin Rea thought about retiring twice. Now he’s a big part of Cubs success.
Reporting by Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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