Before the Cubs won eight straight games in late July, it looked like they were headed towards another deadline selloff. Due to this and Dansby Swanson’s alleged request to Jed Hoyer not to sell off every year, the Cubs made a few minor “buy” trades at the deadline.
Miles Mastrobuoni and a few other acquisitions kept McKinstry from a position on the Cubs squad. Considered unnecessary, he was sent to Detroit in exchange for Guzman, who had initially signed on as an infielder.
Guzman, who turns 26 in May, struggled in his debut season at Double-A Tennessee, where he will most likely begin in 2024.
With the exception of first base and catcher, McKinstry was an almost full-time player with the Tigers, putting up 1.1 bWAR in 148 games at bat (.231/.302/.351).
This deal works well for Detroit for the time being.
For a moment, it appeared like a brilliant idea to get Candelario again after he was dealt to Detroit in 2017. He batted.485/.541/.727 (16-for-33) with five doubles and a home run in his first nine games back in blue pinstripes. He had four hits in each of his first two games with the Cubs.
Naturally, no one can play that way for long, and as his batting started to decline, he got hurt and missed 13 games in September. Not that Candy’s absence had anything to do with it, but the Cubs had finished 8-5 in the 13 games prior to those 13 games, so it wasn’t all that bad. Could the Cubs have won one or two more games during that run and advanced to the postseason with the presence of a healthy Candelario? We’ll never be aware of it.
Made is 20 and Herz is 22. Since none of them have advanced past Double-A, it may take a few years before we find out if the Nats gained any valuable additions from this trade. Both still have the potential to be successful MLB players.
Despite the fact that all three players were then in the lower leagues, I’m still including this transaction.
In order for Tampa Bay to get Rodriguez, the Cubs persuaded the Rays to assume what was left on Sampson’s deal, and that seemed to matter for luxury tax calculations. Two days later, the Rays dismissed Sampson, and on September 6, Roberson was released after five games for the Iowa Cubs with a 20.25 ERA (perhaps due to an injury).
ManRod is the only other player who might potentially add value to this transaction. With the Rays, he appeared in 15 games at Triple-A Durham and recorded a 3.06 ERA and 1.302 WHIP. He is listed on the Rays’ 40-man roster, and I believe they will give him every opportunity to be on the team on Opening Day.
