The Chicago Cubs had a very busy day of wheelings and dealings. First, around 11:10 A.M. Central, they announced the acquisition of right-handed pitcher Aaron Brooks. The Oakland Athletics hurler was acquired via trade for sort of everyday regular outfielder Chris Coghlan.
Coghlan hit .250 with 16 homers and 41 RBI in 148 games last season. He joined the Cubs in the 2014 preseason and hit .268 in 666 games with the Marlins (2009-13) and Cubs (2014-15) over the course of his Major League career.
You’re first reaction to this deal may have been “what? why?” Your second reaction may have been “Is there at least one Aaron Brooks in every major sport at all times?” It certainly seems that way. Likewise with Steve Smiths and Chris Browns.
Brooks pitched part of the last two seasons with Kansas City and Oakland since being selected by the Royals in the ninth round of the 2011 Draft. He was acquired by Oakland on July 28, 2015 as part of the trade that sent Ben Zobrist to the Royals. See it’s the circle of life and everything is interconnected. Brooks has gone 3-5 with an 8.38 ERA (ouch) in 15 big league appearances, including 10 as a starter.
So on paper this seems like a deal that’s a lot worse than the last time the Cubs did business with the A’s (Addison Russell trade).
However, 20 minutes later the Cubs sent out another press release in which they announced the contract extension of Dexter Fowler.
To make room for Fowler, left-handed pitcher Zac Rosscup has been placed on the 60-day disabled list. This news prompted this Tweet, which is pretty much all the analysis you need on the Rosscup portion of this transaction:
https://twitter.com/Darth_Stout/status/702912433279496192
Fowler, who’s been the subject of incessant trade rumors lately (especially with the Baltimore Orioles) returns to the Cubs after batting .250 last season with 102 runs scored, 17 home runs, 149 hits and 84 walks. He hit .272 (73-for-268) with a .389 on-base percentage and a .463 slugging percentage, good for an .852 OPS, in 71 games after the All-Star Break.
Now the seemingly non-sensical Coghlan deal makes perfect sense, especially when you consider what the Cubs line-up will be this season.
Possible Cubs' lineup: CF Fowler, 2B Zobrist, 1B Rizzo, 3B Bryant, LF Schwarber, RF Heyward, C Montero, P, SS Russell.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) February 25, 2016
So you have a fair bit of roster re-shaping today as speed closer to Thursday’s Spring Training opener versus the Milwaukee Brewers.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram