Chicago Cubs Pulled Off One of the Best Trades at Deadline
It's been a month since the contenders separated themselves from the likes of the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals.
Some great moves were made, such as Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers, Michael Lorenzen to the Philadelphia Phillies. Others. . . not so much. Pretty much every player traded to the Los Angeles Angels now sits in another dugout thanks to an unprecedented salary dump at the end of August.
However, in MLB.com's latest opinion column, the Chicago Cubs pulled off the seventh-best trade when they acquired third baseman Jeimer Candelario.
He is what MLB contributor Sean Murphy had to say about the trade.
"We have another reunion in our No. 7 spot. Candelario signed with the Cubs as a 16-year-old international free agent in 2010 and broke into the big leagues with them in 2016. Some considered him the top position player available at the Deadline, and he made those people look really smart when he celebrated his first game back on Chicago’s North Side with a four-hit performance.
"Then he did it again the next night.
"Sadly, Candelario wouldn’t bat .800 for the rest of the month, but he did boast a strong .305/.370/.524 slash line with 12 RBIs through his first 23 games following the trade. He has slumped over the past week, but Candelario will be integral to the Cubs’ efforts to track down the Brewers in the NL Central."
Candelario has definitely helped reshape the Cubs lineup down the stretch. He has provided a solidifying force at third base, something they have been missing at both corner infield spots this season.
And now all of a sudden the Cubs are in the second Wild Card spot sitting just behind the Phillies.
It's not all on Candelario, but he has played a large part in the recent surge.
Great trade, indeed.
