'We're really happy': Cubs acquire Castellanos, Kemp, trade reliever Edwards
The Chicago Cubs did not make a huge trade-deadline splash Wednesday.
Instead, they made a few moves that culminated a gradual process of changing things, a process that began in early June, when they signed closer Craig Kimbrel.
That process continued with this past weekend's trade for left-handed reliever Derek Holland and into Tuesday, when they dealt for right-handed reliever David Phelps.
On Wednesday, they made a flurry of moves.
Their biggest was obtaining right-handed-hitting outfielder Nicholas Castellanos from the Detroit Tigers for minor-league pitchers Alex Lange and Paul Richan. Lange was the Cubs' first-round draft choice in 2017.
The Cubs also added outfielder-infielder Tony Kemp from the Houston Astros in exchange for backup catcher Martin Maldonado, whom they acquired on July 15 for pitcher Mike Montgomery.
In a move that might have surprised some, the Cubs traded beleaguered relief pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. to the San Diego Padres for left-handed pitcher Brad Wieck. Both Edwards and Wieck have been pitching at the Class AAA level, and Wieck will go to Class AAA Iowa for the Cubs.
In finishing this gradual process, the Cubs feel they've shored up a bullpen that has struggled for much of the season and added to an offense that has had trouble against left-handed pitching and in hitting with runners in scoring position.
“That was a flurry,” said general manager Jed Hoyer on a conference call. “You always work hard for a lot of weeks, and the last week in particular, you're kind of hunkered down getting ready for the deadline. I guess it always takes a deadline to spur activity, and obviously the last hour (before the 3 p.m. CDT deadline), really the last 15 minutes, was really active.
“I think we're all coming down from that a little bit. We're really happy. I think we made moves that can really help us win.”
Castellanos' name had been linked with the Cubs for last couple of weeks. The 27-year-old Castellanos had an overall line with the Tigers of .273/.328/.462 with 11 home runs, 37 doubles and 37 RBI. Against left-handed pitching, he is batting .347 compared with .257 against righties.
“I think when you watched us play over the last few months, it felt at times that we were kind of a bat short in our lineup at times,” Hoyer said. “Nick is a professional hitter. Obviously, he kills lefties. That's something we've really struggled with. We think he's going to give a professional at-bat against righties and lefties.
“We felt that was the kind of hitter we needed to target at the deadline.”
Castellanos has played right field and been the designated hitter for the Tigers this season. Kemp, a left-handed batter, had a line of .227/.308/.417 with 7 homers and 17 RBI with the Astros. He played second base as well as left and center fields.
“I feel with Castellanos and with adding Kemp, we think we added some versatility,” Hoyer said. “Castellanos can play right and left. Kemp can certainly move around the diamond, and we've needed that. Our position-player group of late has felt a little short. We've talked about that, that we've kind of lacked the depth of at-bats that we've had recently with our team.”
Hoyer said that trading Edwards was a case of a player needing a change of scenery.
Edwards and Montgomery were the two pitchers on the mound in the 10th inning of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, with Montgomery getting the save against the Cleveland Indians to secure the Cubs' first world championship in 108 years.
Edwards spent time on the injured list this season and was optioned to Class AAA Iowa twice. With the Cubs, he was 1-1 this year with a 5.87 ERA.
“I wish Carl nothing but the best,” Hoyer said. “We got him in 2013 in that (Matt) Garza deal (with Texas), and he's been wonderful part of our bullpen for a long time. I always felt like he was a guy that was a bit underappreciated by the fan base, to be honest. This guy had, I'd say, were three dominant seasons for us in the bullpen.
“In 2016, he got two of the three outs in the 10th inning in the biggest game in Cubs history. We'll never forget his contributions. I really enjoyed him as a person. There's no other way to say it, but we felt like it was time for a change of scenery. That happens in sports. You get to a place with a certain organization or whatever it is about that setting, maybe losing confidence or you lose some of your mojo … and we felt we were at that point.
“I think he's going to go to San Diego and have success, and when he does have success, I'm going to be the happiest person for him, given what he did for us.”
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