The Chicago Cubs have traded for Texas Rangers starting pitcher Cole Hamels.
Texas will receieve three players, including prospect Rollie Lacy and reliever/spot starter Eddie Butler as well as a player to be named later.
The Cubs will also get some money from the Rangers to help cover the rest of Hamel's contract for this season and his $6 million buyout for 2019.
Lacy was a 17th round pick of the Cubs in 2017. He had some success at South Bend this season and was promoted to Myrtle Beach. Meanwhile, Eddie Butler's time with the Cubs is up, appearing in 21 games since 2017. That included making 11 starts last year when the rotation was hit with injuries. Butler made eight relief outings this season, posting a 4.08 ERA in 17.2 innings. Overall, Butler was 5-4, with a 3.98 ERA in 72.1 innings with the Cubs after being acquired from the Colorado Rockies. For more on Hamels, head over to this link. Basically, the Cubs just need Cole Hamels to be average and maybe they get lucky and the lefty pitches better than expected. He's not here to save the Cubs, Hamels just needs to be what Tyler Chatwood was supposed to be, a solid back-of-the-rotation starter.
