The Chicago Cubs have acquired Jeimer Candelario and Jose Cuas before the MLB Trade Deadline on August 1st. Are there more deals in store for the Cubs?
Third baseman Jeimer Candelario was traded to Chicago Cubs from the Washington Nationals and relief pitcher José Cuas shortly after from the Kansas City Royals before the MLB Trade Deadline. The trades were finalized a few hours ago.
Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic broke the news for Candelario via Twitter earlier
Cubs acquire Jeimer Candelario from Nationals, source tells @TheAthletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2023
The Chicago Cubs sent LHP DJ Herz and INF Kevin Made to the Nationals in the deal for Candelario. OF Nelson Velázquez was sent to the Royals as a one-for-one swap in the Cuas trade.
Cuas has appeared in 45 games, giving up 46 hits in 41.2 innings. Has a 4.54 ERA in his 2nd season in the big leagues. He may start at Triple-A Iowa. Unclear right now. https://t.co/75oydTjvE5
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) August 1, 2023
Jeimer Candelario
Candelario will return to the team after spending his first two seasons with the Chicago Cubs from 2016 to 2017. Candelario signed with the Cubs in 2010 as international free-agent from the Dominican Republic.
Candelario spent six seasons with the Detroit Tigers after being traded to the team as a part of the deal that sent Justin Wilson and Alex Avila to the Cubs. The twenty-nine year old big leaguer inked a one-year deal with the Nats this past offseason. This will be a needed upgrade at third base for the Cubs.
The eight-year veteran is slashing a .258/.342/.481 with 16 home-runs, 30 doubles, 53 RBI’s and an OPS+ of 128 this season for the Nationals. This will be a major upgrade from the Cubs platoon trio of Patrick Wisdom, Nick Madrigal and Miles Mastrobuoni.
Candelario is a tremendous upgrade with the bat and slightly plus defender with a 0.5 dWAR on the season so far. Madrigal is a better overall fielder but is more naturally suited at shortstop or second base. Wisdom has had a touch more pop in his bat but is currently below the Mendoza line with the Cubs needing more consistent hitting at this position.
Jose Cuas
Cuas debuted for the Royals last year at age twenty-seven as a relief pitcher and pitched a moderately successful rookie year on a 4-2 record in 47 games with a 3.58 ERA in 2022. The second-year pitcher is having a rougher sophomore season posting a 4.54 ERA in 41.2 innings for the Royals but boasts an impressive 27.1 strikeout percentage.
Cuas spent around five seasons in the minors bouncing from official Major League affiliates along with three seasons for Independent league teams and stints in the Dominican Winter League. The Chicago Cubs must see something promising in Cuas to trade away Velazquez for him. Hopefully Cuas can provide some additional help in the bullpen.
The Cubs still have needs on their pitching staff and adding another significant bat to the lineup would certainly put them in a position to compete for the NL Central Division crown. The team only trails four games back from the Cincinnati Reds and three and a half from the Milwaukee Brewers.
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