Royals agree trade Wade Davis to Cubs for Jorge Soler
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, the teams announced.
Rumors surrounding a Davis trade swirled on Tuesday, with Kansas City reportedly set on dealing him and the Nationals also involved in talks.
Davis, 31 and a 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. Davis had a 1.87 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings last season, and has converted 47 of 55 save chances in his career. He is set to make $10 million next season before hitting free agency.
Soler, a power-hitting outfielder from Cuba, batted .238 with 12 home runs in 86 games with Chicago last season, with his availability limited due to injury. By the playoffs, he had fallen behind in Chicago’s deep outfield rotation. The Cubs signed outfielder Jon Jay last week and are expected to return Jason Heyward, Kyle Schwarber and Albert Almora next season.
The Royals are also reportedly in talks to trade speedy outfielder Jarrod Dyson, with the Athletics mentioned as a serious possibility.
