CHICAGO – The aggressive San Diego Padres traded for another big arm on Tuesday night and acquired Yu Darvish in a trailer with the Chicago Cubs.
The Padres got Darvish, catcher Victor Caratini and cash from the Cubs for right-hander Zach Davies and four young minor players. Converted Caratini caught Darvish in Chicago and batted .241 with 16 RBIs last season.
Davies finished 7-4 this year with a 2.73 ERA in 12 starts for San Diego. The package of prospects heading to Chicago includes Owen Caissie, an 18-year-old fielder selected by the Padres in the second round of this year’s amateur series.
The 34-year-old Darvish was 8-3 with a 2.01 ERA in 12 starts for Chicago during the pandemic shortened season and finished second in the NL Cy Young Award race. He has three years and $ 59 million left on the $ 126 million six-year deal he signed with the Cubs before the 2018 season.
San Diego also completed a big trade Tuesday with Tampa Bay for left-back Blake Snell. The 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner was sent from the Rays to the Padres for a package of four players: right-handers Luis Patino and Cole Wilcox, and catchers Francisco Mejia and Blake Hunt – all popular youngsters from a San Diego system has been holding the farm for years.
The Padres reached the playoffs for the first time since 2006 this year, but their rotation with injuries was in shambles when the post-season arrived. They have St. Louis was beaten in the first round before being swept away by their NL rivals, the world series champion, Los Angeles Dodgers, in three division series games.
Mike Clevinger, who was acquired by Cleveland in August, will only be taken back after an operation in Tommy John after 2022, but the Padres have other quality starts in Dinelson Lamet and Chris Paddack. The left-handed MacKenzie Gore is one of the best prospects in baseball.
Darvish is in the midst of a career renaissance after struggling with his arrival in Chicago. He was limited to eight starts and 40 overs in 2018 due to injuries. He started regaining his form in 2019, with a 2.76 ERA with 118 strikeouts in 81 2/3 overs over his last 13 starts.
He got right this year where he left off and helped the Cubs win the NL Central title. The right-hand man attributes part of his turnaround to a more deliberate style he used when he was a stargazer in Japan. He also developed a relationship with Caratini that would help his move to San Diego.
Four years after a historic World Cup championship, Chicago is undergoing retraining under Jed Hoyer, who was promoted to president of baseball operations after Theo Epstein retired in November. Veteran outfielders Kyle Schwarber and Albert Almora Jr. was dropped on Dec. 2, but the Darvish deal is the team’s biggest move since Hoyer took over.
There may be more transactions on hand. Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo, the all-star sluggish, are eligible for free agency after next season. But the Cubs may still be arguing, while Hoyer is reworking the roster due to the frugal atmosphere in NL Central.
Small players Reginald Preciado (17) and Yeison Santana (20) and fielder Ismael Mena (18) were also acquired by the Cubs in the Darvish trade.
Padres Acquires RHP Yu Darvish in Cubs Breeding Trade, originally published on NBCSports.com