The Cubs sent Yu Darvish packing to the Padres in exchange for ace pitcher Zach Davies Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. Padres also send four minor league players to the Chicago in this deal. Along with Darvish, the Padres get catcher Victor Caratini and three million dollars in the deal.
With the Cubs’ two southpaw pitchers Jon Lester and Jose Quintana testing free agency, Davies should fit right into the top part of their pitching rotation. On their way to Chicago, the new young prospects are 17-year-old shortstop Reginald Preciado, 18-year-old outfielder Owen Caissie, 18-year-old outfielder Ismael Mena, and 20-year-old shortstop Yeison Santana.
The Cubs are not openly saying they are in rebuild mode, but looking at the moves made, it would be safe to say so. A pitcher like Davies is just what the team needed in their rotation right now.
In sending Darvish to the Padres, they free up 23 million that Darvish was expected to receive in 2021. Davies’ base salary in 2020 was only 5.25 million. The team saved themselves 17.75 million in this deal.
Last year Davies had a career-best 2.73 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings for the Padres. He will be eligible in the next offseason for arbitration.
The Cubs are looking to put Davies in the number two spot in the rotation behind right-hander Kyle Hendricks and right-hander Alec Mills. Minor league pitcher Adbert Alzolay is being looked at for one of those rotation spots. They are hoping to bring back into the fold lefty Jon Lester.
Cub fans were hoping to snag a few heavy hitters like Will Myers or Jake Croneworth. The moves that the team is making are again a clear sign that the team mission for the 2021 season is to save money and rebuild.
Written by Omari Jahi
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
CBS Sports: Cubs’ Zach Davies: Shipped to Cubs; by RotoWire
Cubs: Cubs add Davies, 4 more in Darvish deal; by Jordan Bastian
Cubs Insider: Cubs Complete Big Salary-Dump Trade with Padres for Zack Davies, No Top 10 Prospects; by Evan Altman
Featured and Top Image by Keith Allison Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Bryan Green’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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