The Royals and Cubs reportedly agreed to a trade to alleviate the congestion in the Cubs outfield:
The Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs have agreed to a trade that will send reliever Wade Davis to Chicago in exchange for outfielder Jorge Soler, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Rumors surrounding Davis buzzed up on Tuesday, with Kansas City reportedly set on dealing him and the Nationals also involved in talks.
The 31-year-old two-time All-Star missed a large chunk of last season due to arm problems, but could bolster the bullpen of the defending World Series champion Cubs if healthy.
According to the report, the teams are examining physicals and will announce the deal Wednesday morning.
I’m wondering if rather than spend tons of money on a free-agent closer if they Cubs try to use Davis in the role. If he’s healthy, he is certainly a good option. Soler is an atypical Royals hitter in that he strikes out quite a bit, but also walks a good deal. His ability to get on base is a above average, while his ability to hit for average is just okay. His power is also pretty good. He’s just entering his prime this season, so this could turn out to be a great move for the Royals.
Agreed all around.
this is a good deal for both clubs.
The Royals pick up a DH in Soler who wasn’t seeing the playing time in Chicago Cubland.
The Cubs get a great bullpen guy in Davis.
It’s win-win on both sides.
The Royals win a bit on the salary side.
Do strikeouts matter anymore? With Soler and their other masher at first to drive in runs, this frees the rest of the Royals to claw and steal and bunt their way around the bases. I really like the move.
And it very much helps the Cubs, who seriously seemed short a bullpen arm in the post season.
I see this as win win all the way.
Art Kyriazis, Philly
PS Dave, great column!!! the best in all of baseball!