Chafin leaves 'em laughing on way to Oakland
Cubs manager David Ross said he found out during the course of Monday's game that a deal was being worked out to send reliever Andrew Chafin to Oakland. Chafin stayed in the Cubs bullpen as usual until the game ended.
"I'm sure he found out maybe in the bullpen at some point. News travels fast," Ross said. "I grabbed him when he came off the field. He told me, 'One bad outing and he gets traded?' So me made me laugh pretty good at that one. That was a pretty good line from him."
In his last appearance for the Cubs, Chafin gave up 3 runs without retiring a batter on Saturday against Arizona. Before that, the left-hander didn't allow a run in 26 consecutive outings.
Chafin was popular among fans and teammates. He was always bouncing around the field during batting practice, trying to make tough catches, and was active on social media searching for a beater car to drive around town.
"This guy's a culture-changer," Ross said. "This guy's been a leader in the bullpen. The way he takes the ball, it doesn't matter what situation I bring him in, it's the same stuff. It's the same heartbeat, it's the stuff, it's command of both sides, it's the secondary pitch that's really good.
"Oakland's getting a really nice pitcher and a really nice human being that goes out and does his job and is a really good teammate. We're going to miss him."
The Cubs acquired Chafin, 31, in a trade from Arizona last season while he was injured. He ended up appearing in five games in 2020, including playoffs. He posted a 2.06 ERA this season in 43 games.
"He's an unbelievable teammate, unbelievable human being overall," Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks said. "The energy, the positivity he brings every single day, you can't replace it. Oakland's really lucky in who they're getting and we're really going to miss him."
In return, the Cubs got outfielder Greg Deichmann, who will report to Iowa; and Venezuelan right-handed pitcher Daniel Palencia, who had been playing in Single A, from the Athletics.
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