Why are the Cubs agreeing to pay one pitcher $575,000 to get healthy in 2019?

Kendall Graveman isn’t likely to pitch in 2019. He underwent Tommy John surgery this last July and was non-tendered by the Oakland Athletics in November. The Chicago Cubs just gave the free agent $575,000 anyway. And if you’re wondering why any of this makes sense, you’re not alone. But the thinking behind it actually has some merit.

Despite not being able to rely on Graveman’s services next season, Chicago could end up with an all-time great bargain.

And the recent history behind this type of deal makes it a worthy gamble for the Cubs.

Graveman’s full contract with the Cubs

This deal is all about the long-term return for Chicago. Not necessarily in 2019, but in 2020. While Graveman’s contract will pay him just more than half a million dollars to rehab, it’s the player option for $3 million going into next year’s offseason that’s the real selling point for both sides.

The deal gives the 28-year-old righty a little more than a full year to get himself healthy and prove that he can pitch the way he did from 2015-17 when he posted a 4.11 ERA over 407 innings with 255 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.359.

If for some reason Graveman can make it back even sooner, say in 2019, the Cubs will give him a payday of about $2 million, according to Fancred’s Jon Heyman.

That’s an extremely small risk for someone who could end up as a solid back-of-the-rotation starter, or even slide into the bullpen for a pennant race. If he doesn’t show too much progress, Graveman becomes a free agent after the 2019 season and the Cubs barely notice the wasted money.

Granted, Chicago already has one pretty expensive rehab project in Yu Darvish at the moment, but Graveman’s age is certainly a factor here. He won’t turn 30 until December of 2020 and has proven himself in the big leagues. Tommy John surgery also doesn’t scare off as many potential suitors for free agents as it once did, and getting low-cost assets has become big game in the Majors.

It’s a risk worth taking and certainly not without precedent.

The Rays continue setting trends

Nathan Eovaldi was only a few years younger than Graveman is now when the Tampa Bay Rays signed him for $2 million in February of 2017 with no intention of seeing him pitch the following season. Eovaldi was coming off the second Tommy John surgery of his career at that point and had been released by the New York Yankees only a few months earlier. However, the $2 million, one year deal with the Rays came with a club option of another $2 million for the 2018 season.

After returning to the field, Eovaldi barely made it to July of 2018 before contenders started to call the Rays about trading for him. Fast forward a few more months and the right-hander was leading the Boston Red Sox to a World Series title. Just when the story couldn’t get a happier ending, Boston ends up giving Eovaldi a four-year, $68 million contract to remain with the Red Sox.

All of which is to say that the Cubs taking a flier on Graveman feels a bit like playing with house money. In Graveman’s case, there aren’t too many jobs that let you sit around for a year getting paid more than $500,000 without working. Those are opportunities you can’t pass up.

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee

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