Cubs Trade Hisanori Takahashi to Rockies for PTBNL or Cash
Are you a veteran with the Chicago Cubs on a minor league, currently toiling away at AAA Iowa?
If so, don’t plant too many roots, because you’ll soon be shipped out of town. So it is today with lefty reliever Hisanori Takahashi, who, like Brent Lillibridge and Alberto Gonzalez before him, briefly made some time with the Cubs before heading down to Iowa. And, like Lillibridge and Gonzalez, Takahashi has been dealt for a player to be named later, according to Troy Renck.
Takahashi was one of the Cubs’ more promising non-roster invites to Spring Training, but he was caught up in some early ineffectiveness coupled with a roster crunch. He had been pitching ridiculously well at Iowa, posting a WHIP well under one and an ERA well under two. He heads off to a competitor in Colorado, where he’ll likely serve as minor league depth on a team more likely to need him than the Cubs. Indeed, he could eventually move into their bullpen and contribute meaningfully in the second half.
As with Gonzalez and Lillibridge, I don’t expect the return here to be particularly noteworthy.
With more and more space clearing out at AAA, we’re likely to see some promotions from AA to AAA at some point in the coming weeks.
MINOR UPDATE: The Cubs have now announced the deal, and it comes with the “or cash” appended to the end. That confirms that the return is going to be fairly unremarkable, which you already knew.)
