Cubs acquire third baseman Ian Stewart

The Cubs waited until the official end of the winter meetings to pull off a trade.

On Thursday night, they traded outfielder Tyler Colvin and infielder DJ LeMahieu to the Colorado Rockies for third baseman Ian Stewart and minor-league reliever Casey Weathers, a right-hander.

The key to the deal is the 26-year-old Stewart, whom the Cubs expect to be their starting third baseman, replacing free agent Aramis Ramirez. Stewart suffered through a terrible 2011 after hitting 18 home runs in 2010 and 25 in 2009. This year, he had a hitting line of .156/.243/.221 with no homers in 48 big-league games, and he also spent time at Class AAA Colorado Springs.

Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer called Stewart a “gifted third baseman” and said he believed a change of scenery would help him at the plate. Hoyer also said the Cubs flew Stewart into Chicago this week to have his troublesome left wrist examined. Inflammation in the wrist ended Stewart's season in August.

“We had Stewart circled at the beginning of the off-season as a very good fit,” Hoyer said. “He had a disappointing 2011 season, but we felt he had a ton of potential in there.”

Hoyer added that he felt Stewart was “searching” at the plate this year by changing his stance and changing the position of his hands while at bat.

The Cubs have acquired two left-handed bats recently in Stewart and right fielder David DeJesus, whose signing all but sealed Colvin's ticket out of town.

“No question a change of scenery can make a big difference,” Hoyer said. “We hope it does for both sides. We hope Colvin can bounce back as well.”

Colvin, 26, was a major disappointment this year. After hitting 20 homers in 2010, Colvin batted only .150 with 6 homers in 2011, when he also spent 50 games at Class AAA Iowa.

The Cubs' first-round pick in 2006, he saw his rookie season of 2010 end in mid-September when he suffered a collapsed lung after being struck with a piece of a broken bat.

LeMahieu, 23, was a second-rounder in 2009. He made his major-league debut this season, batting .250 with 2 doubles in 37 games. At Class AA Tennessee this year, LeMahieu batted .358.

Weathers, 26, was selected by the Rockies in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2007 draft out of Vanderbilt. He underwent Tommy John surgery in October 2008.

At Class AA Tulsa this year, he was 2-2 with a 5.32 ERA in 44 relief appearances.