Right-handed Yu Darvish came close to winning his first Cy Young award last season and finished second in the voting until Trevor Bauer, but that was not enough to keep him in a Cubs uniform. The Cubs decided last Sunday to trade Darvish to the Padres in a deal that was officially finalized earlier this week. Chicago receives five players in exchange for Darvish and catcher Victor Caratiniwhether the team made the right call can definitely be discussed.
With the move from Darvish, the cost-saving Cubs saved almost all of the remaining $ 62MM ($ 59MM, to be exact) on the $ 126MM six-year contract they gave to the former Ranger and Dodger before 2018. Caratini, meanwhile, is just over $ 1MM next season just because of arbitration, and he will only be eligible for free agency after 2023. Eventually, the Cubs let go of a front-row starter and a solid, inexpensive catcher in this deal. . The Padres, who clearly insist on a World Series, should benefit at least in the short term. After all, they upgraded their roster – one that was 37-23 in 2020 – without giving up their absolute best prospects.
For the farewell of Darvish and Caratini, the Cubs got some immediate help in law Zach Davies, who excelled last year in his lone season with the Padres. But the 27-year-old Davies is only manageable next season, which means he may not be a long-term piece for the Cubs, and the former brewer was more of a solid starter than a top-of-the-line shooter for most of his career. In other words, the Cubs cannot realistically expect the 2021 version of Davies to turn into production like the production Darvish gave them last season.
Together with Davies, the Cubs have secured some good prospects in some shortcuts – Reginald Preciado and Yeison Santana – as well as two outfielders in Owen Caissie and Ismael Mena. At the time of the trade, all four were among the top 20 farmers in a very good Padres system. MLB.com now places Preciado 10th, Caissie 11th, Santana 17th and Mena 18th among the Cubs prospects. The Cubs dream of these four eventually becoming legal big leagues, but even if they do, it’s going to take a while. Apart from Santana, who turned twenty last month, every member of the group is a teenager.
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