Cubs Trading for Former Dodgers 1st Round Pick

Michael Busch Part of Cubs-Dodgers Trade

All right, so here's a quick update. The Chicago Cubs appeared to be ready to pull of a low-level trade for a reliever, but now reports are indicating that this will be a bigger deal than first anticipated. Former first round pick Michael Busch is also included in this trade package that's coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Busch was selected in the 2019 MLB Draft, picked 31st overall out of North Carolina.

The left-handed hitter put up great numbers in the minors, but struggled in 27 games with the Dodgers at the major league level in 2023. Busch had a slash line of .167/.247/.292, with two home runs in 72 at-bats.

Earlier Post

The Chicago Cubs are reportedly working on a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for right-handed relief pitcher Yency Almonte. The 29-year-old already settled his arbitration salary with the Dodgers earlier in the offseason and is set to make $1.9 million for the 2024 season.

Almonte began his MLB career with the Colorado Rockies, getting his first cup of coffee in the big leagues during the 2018 season. The right-hander has made a total of 196 appearances between his time with the Rockies and Dodgers, all coming out of the bullpen. Almonte has a career 4.51 ERA with a 1.32 WHIP in 207.1 innings.

Almonte has certainly had his fair share of success, but unfortunately he has not been able to be consistent on a yearly basis. During his rookie campaign, Almonte recorded a 1.84 ERA in 14 games, but then struggled in 2019, when the righty had a 5.56 ERA in 34 innings. However, he rebounded once again and was a good reliever during the shortened 2020 season, when he had a 2.93 ERA in 27.2 innings. But the inconsistency struck again and in 2021 Almonte had the worst season in his big-league career, recording a 7.55 ERA in 47.2 innings.

Following his disastrous 2021 season, the Rockies outrighted Almonte off their 40-man roster, which eventually led the pitcher to elect free agency. Almonte signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers during spring training in 2022 and made his debut with Los Angeles in the middle of May. Almonte was fantastic in his first year with the Dodgers, only allowing four earned runs in 35.1 innings, which comes out to a 1.02 ERA.

But once again Almonte couldn't string back-to-back good seasons because last year he had a 5.06 ERA in 48 innings.

Almonte features a fastball that sits at about 95-96mph, while also throwing a sinker, cutter, change up and slider.

Like they've been accustomed to doing for a while now, the Cubs are going to have several fringe-MLB relievers reporting to spring training to compete for a role in the bullpen and considering that Almonte is out of minor league options, he might have a leg up on the competition.