The Chicago Cubs acquired relief pitcher Tommy Hunter from the Baltimore Orioles for AAA outfielder Junior Lake.
Hunter was the 54th overall pick of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers. He made his debut in 2008 and has played for the Rangers and Orioles over the course of his 8-year career. He was a starter until the 2013 season. He compiled a 33-24 record in his 5 years as a starter. He has 15 saves, but has not been in the closer’s role this season.
The Cubs wanted to strengthen their pitching staff before the trade deadline. They picked up Dan Haren from the Miami Marlins to give them a 5th starter, and now they have Hunter to help in the bullpen.
“As a staff, both as starters and relievers, we can shut teams out, we can keep it to two, three runs a game,” starter Jake Arrieta said. “That’s good for our lineup to not feel pressured to score a ton of runs. We just need them to score a few.”
The Cubs are chasing the San Francisco Giants for the second Wild Card spot. The Giants overtook the Cubs last week, and they improved their team by getting pitcher Mike Leake from the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs hope that they can make up those 2 games. Did they do enough?
“We definitely have enough,” Arrieta said.
Hunter will be a free agent at the end of the season.
All MLB trades are pending medical reviews.
Quotes and Statistics are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com.