Veteran Chavez to the Cubs: Could it have an effect on the team?

On July 19, the Chicago Cubs made their first deadline move, recieving veteran righty Jesse Chavez from the Texas Rangers for minor league lefty Tyler Thomas. This was a surprise move from the Cubs for their fans, like me, who have payed little or no attention to how well Chavez has done with Texas this season. With the Cubs having some injuries with pitchers like Brandon Morrow and Yu Darvish, this addition really helps, as Chavez has had experience as a starter and reliever in the past and has had a solid season so far. In this article, I will breakdown how the trade works for the Cubs this season and potentially for the Rangers in the future.

First, I’ll breakdown what this trade means for the Rangers. This trade has no downsides for Texas, so there’s realistically no way they can lose the trade. Chavez is a veteran and they’ll be rebuilding for the next few years, so he wouldn’t be a loss at all for their future team. Also, losing him would make their team worse, which could give them a higher draft pick come next year’s draft. Not only that, but they also got a decent young pitcher for him, so he can help them next season.

Thomas had a decent season in South Bend for the Cubs, as he posted a 3-5 record, 2.88 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 81 strikeouts, 14 walks, and a .210 BAA in 75 innings pitched. Even though this has only been in Class A, he’s still 22 and has some pretty decent potential and could blossom into a solid reliever and maybe even a 4-5 starter. So trading a rental veteran for a good young lefty is absolutely incredible for Texas and is definitely one of the best highlights for their process this season.

Now, what does this trade mean for the Cubs. Although losing a good pitcher in a nearly desolate farm system is not great, but getting Chavez is a definite plus for this current season. Currently this season, Chavez has been pitching well out of the pen with a 3-1 record, 3.28 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 56 SO, 12 BB, and a .249 BAA in 60.1 innings pitched. Now, Chavez is likely going to be a rental because Morrow and Darvish are locked down to long-term contracts. Unless they decide to DFA Brian Duensing or send Randy Rosario to Triple-A, he’ll likely be hitting the market and sign with another team.

Now, as you could’ve probably told, Chavez is a free agent after the current season. Right now, Darvish and Morrow look to be out for a few weeks, so Chavez helping to replace those stats will definitely help. If Morrow and Darvish return in August or September, then Chavez might not pitch in the postseason, as Rosario and Duensing will likely have his spots. If they decide to choose him over Rosario, he can definitely be a solid postseason reliever, especially with the fact that he’s able to pitch multiple innings in appearances.

So, in the grand scheme of things this trade is very insignificant, but I think the Rangers won it, because Thomas has been doing very well, and even if it’s only in Class A, the Cubs could really use him with their farm system being one of the worst in baseball. Another reason is because the Rangers have literally no downsides with this trade. They got a solid prospect out of a guy who won’t be on their future good team. The Cubs didn’t significantly lose this trade though, as Chavez helps them now rather than in the future.