One of the biggest names on the trade market is headed to the World Series champions.
The Chicago Cubs have reportedly finalized a deal to acquire reliever Wade Davis from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for outfielder Jorge Soler.
The Davis-Soler trade is now official. #Cubs get elite closer to try to defend title, #Royals get power potential in corner OF
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 7, 2016
This may turn out to be the rare trade that is hugely beneficial to both teams. Davis effectively replaces Aroldis Chapman as Chicago’s closer, and they don’t come much better than he is. Davis’s ERA over his past three seasons is a remarkable 1.18, with a WHIP of 0.892. For the Royals, they likely weren’t going to be able to afford Davis, who is entering the last year of his deal. Thus, they decided to get something for him while they could, and they get a fairly young corner outfielder with lots of power who will be under contract affordably through 2020, his age 28 season. Soler will also help the Royals recover some of the pop they lost when Kendrys Morales departed for Toronto
The Cubs fended off interest from a number of other teams to get Davis, including this fellow contender. It’s a great deal for them as they try to defend their title, and it makes sense for Kansas City as well.
