Examining Cubs transactions during the expansion era: 2021……
In 2021, the Cubs World Series core was granted another opportunity to compete. And they did have a successful beginning. They were 42-33 and tied for first place in the NL Central after combining to pitch a no-hitter against the Dodgers on June 24.
They then went on an 11-game losing run and finished 5-17 in their next 22 games, which led to Jed Hoyer’s office hanging a “FOR SALE” sign.
March 7: Traded Duane Underwood Jr. to the Pirates for Shendrik Apostel.
Again, no, that name is not something I made up. Curacao native Apostel participated in 18 games with the Cubs rookie league in 2021; he has not played baseball since.
In 2012, the Cubs selected Underwood in the second round as a highly-coveted prospect. Despite ranking among the Top 100 prospects in 2016, he was never successful as a starter.
He was successfully converted to a reliever by the Pirates, but his 2023 season was cut short due to injuries. He has given them negative bWAR (-0.2) overall.
April 5: Traded James Norwood for Dauris Valdez, acquired from the Padres
Hard-throwing right-hander Norwood appeared in just five games for the Cubs and never made much of an impact.
After 2022, Valdez finished his career in the Cubs system, having pitched in just a few games due to an injury.
Now for the deadline moves. Starting immediately after the All-Star break, the Cubs dealt out nine players in eight deals. Here’s a synopsis I penned three summers ago while things were starting to settle down, along with each contract and how it worked out for both sides.
July 15: Bryce Ball was acquired for Joc Pederson from the Braves.
I will say this: Had the Cubs retained Kyle Schwarber, they most likely could have acquired a higher trade value than Ball, who was released from the team last summer.
Pederson’s OPS in 64 games with Atlanta was.752, only a little bit higher than his OPS in Chicago (.718).
Though he did not lead the Cubs to a postseason place, Chafin had a very excellent season (2.06 ERA, 0.839 WHIP in 43 games) and was very good in Oakland.
With the Cubs, Deichmann went 4-for-30 with 14 strikeouts and is now a free agent.
Palencia has the opportunity to turn this into a great offer. In 27 games with the Cubs in 2023, he shown flashes of brilliance, striking out 33 batters in 28⅓ innings. In a few weeks, he will turn 24. In 2024, he should be a major part of the Cubs bullpen. He can be a very excellent reliever in this league if he can master command and control because of his powerful throwing ability.
On July 29, Kevin Alcántara and
Alcántara has excelled in the Cubs organisation and has the potential to develop into a very talented MLB player. It may take him a year or two to make it to the majors because he is 21 years old and is probably playing Double-A ball this season. But thus far, he has fulfilled every requirement.
The Cubs put Vizcaino on the restricted list because he did not submit the following report:
He was never a pitcher for the Cubs.
July 29: Ryan was traded for Bailey Horn by the White Sox. Tepera Horn, a 25-year-old, was been added to the Cubs’ 40-man roster. He will have an opportunity to make the Opening Day roster, and I believe he has a good chance of making it because the Cubs could always use more lefthanders.
Before departing as a free agent, Tepera pitched rather well for the White Sox during the postseason, posting a 2.50 ERA in 22 games (0.7 bWAR). Later on, he pitched for the Cardinals and Angels, and of course, he will always be remembered for that one MVP vote from 2020 that went wrong.
July 30: Pete Crow-Armstrong was acquired from the Mets in exchange for Trevor Williams and Javier Báez. Fast-forward ten years, and
After a turbulent period in New York, where the Mets failed to make the playoffs, Javy signed a big-money deal with the Tigers, who have used him horribly. Williams signed with the Nats in 2023 after having a respectable year (2022) as a swingman for the Mets, where he recorded a 5.55 ERA and -0.1 bWAR.
The Cubs could end up winning this by a HUUUU.
July 30: Sent Alexander Canario and Caleb Kilian to the Giants in exchange for Kris Bryant
For the Giants, who were eliminated from the postseason, KB recorded a.788 OPS and 1.1 bWAR. He then inked a lucrative contract in Colorado. He has had two seasons thus far marred by injuries, and it took him until early 2023 to hit his first home run.
When Canario was given a chance to play in the major leagues in September of last year, he went 5-for-17 and hit a grand slam against the Pirates.
This season, he will have the opportunity to play in the Cubs outfield. In the future, this might be yet another fantastic bargain for the Cubs.
July 30: Traded Craig Kimbrel for Nick Madrigal and Codi Heuer from the White Sox.
The most hilarious aspect of this trade is how awful Kimbrel played the Cubs after it was completed. Kimbrel let up three home runs and six runs to his former teammates in four games versus the Cubs in 2021, recording an ERA of 20.25. He left the Sox as a free agent after finishing with a 5.09 ERA and 0.0 bWAR overall.
Heuer and Madrigal, ugh. At the timThe deal was not very beneficial to either team. Still, those home runs off of Kimbrel were hilarious. This is the last one Andrew Romine hit in the major leagues and the only one he hit while a Cub of the deal, everyone had prior MLB experience. They had both played well for the Red Sox. And they were both injured. Heuer
July 30: Jake Marisnick was acquired in exchange for Anderson Espinoza from the Padres.
At the time of this trade, Marisnick was a fan favourite and had a respectable playing career for the Cubs. In 31 games, he only had a.472 OPS and -0.2 bWAR for the Padres, and in seven games for the Cubs in 2022, Espinoza had a 5.40 ERA and 0.0 bWAR. So, a meagre “win” for the Cubs?
In summary, the Cubs acquired significant future potential from these deadline moves, yet out of the players that were dealt, only Rizzo has played close to his pre-trade level. These transactions could receive a “incomplete” rating since the Cubs haven’t yet reaped a significant MLB value from them. I will, however, award them a B based only on promise.
Survey
Leave a Reply