*Photo from Bay News 9*
The Chicago Cubs have acquired INF Isaac Paredes from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for 3B Christopher Morel and RHP's Hunter Bigge and Ty Johnson, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The trade has been confirmed.
Paredes originally signed with the Cubs to kickstart his professional career, and now returns to the organization in a trade. He's under team control until the end of the 2027 season, and will provide needed power to the Cubs lineup. His 16 home runs are tied for Ian Happ to lead the Cubs, and he hasn't played for them yet.
This season is Paredes' 5th year in the majors and 3rd with the Rays. He was named an AL All Star with a .245/.357/.435 slash line with a 127 OPS+, hitting 16 home runs and 19 doubles to go with 55 RBI's in 101 games.
Chicago president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said in a statement "As we have stated, our goal is to add players that will help us not just this season, but into the future. In the last two days, we feel we have worked toward that by trading for those types of controllable players. Acquiring Paredes adds a proven bat to our lineup immediately and for years to come."
The return for the Rays starts with Morel, who has become kind of stuck in quicksand this season. He showcases great power but has struggled with consistency at the plate. That made him expendable for the Cubs despite having one more year of team control than Paredes.
By going to Tampa Bay, the Rays hope a change of scenery can unlock Morel's full potential. He's started games at 6 different positions in the majors but has exclusively rotated between 3rd base and DH this season.
Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said of Morel "Christopher Morel is a player that we are really high on. It’s a power bat, live body that has experienced some tough luck with his batted balls this year. You see a lot of life under the hood. A little more positional versatility. Can fit us in an assortment of different ways as we go forward."
Morel is in the middle of his 3rd major league season, all in a Cubs uniform. He has a .199/.302/.373 slash line with an 89 OPS+ to his name so far, mashing 18 home runs with 7 doubles and 51 RBI's in 103 games, working 47 walks.
Another piece the Cubs are getting is Bigge, a reliever who made his big league debut this season. He's allowed one run with two walks and 5 strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings in the majors. He has a 1.17 ERA and 0.78 WHIP in the minors this season, averaging 13.5 strikeouts per 9 innings in 15 1/3 innings pitched over 14 appearances.
Johnson was a 2023 draft pick of the Cubs and is playing in his first professional season. Between Low A Myrtle Beach and High A South Bend, Johnson has a 3.54 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, averaging 12 strikeouts per 9 and 3.2 walks per 9 over 61 innings in 10 starts and 8 relief appearances.
This is the first notable move for the Cubs, who also acquired Nate Pearson from the Toronto Blue Jays. The Rays have now traded Paredes, Jason Adam, Zach Eflin, and Randy Arozarena as they shift their focus this season.
Comments
Post a Comment