The Chicago Cubs were on the acquiring side of a DFA resolution last night (Sean Newcomb), and it looks like they are on the trading side today.
This past weekend, the Cubs designated pitcher Cory Abbott for assignment to open up a spot on the 40-man roster, and rather than subjecting him to waivers, it appears the Cubs have found a trade partner:
Cubs trading RHP Cory Abbott to the Giants, sources tell @Stadium and @BallySports.
— Russell Dorsey (@Russ_Dorsey1) April 21, 2022
Note that the Giants’ GM is former Cubs exec Scott Harris, so he would have plenty of familiarity with Abbott from his younger days. Perhaps they will have more success getting the fastball/slider mix to play at the big league level. The Cubs had decided it wasn’t going to happen with them.
I would not expect the return to be significant. Perhaps a low-level flyer prospect? A PTBNL? Stay tuned.
UPDATE: Insignificant, indeed. The return is just cash, per Robert Murray. When a player is claimed off of waivers, that claim costs $50,000 (goes to the team that loses the player). So, this trade suggests the Giants wanted to claim Abbott but didn’t think he would last to them on the priority list, and thus they paid the Cubs more than $50,000 for the trade. With all hope that Abbott can find a way to succeed with the Giants, there just wasn’t a lot of trade value there.