As tentatively expected, outgoing Chicago Cubs infielder Luis Vazquez had just enough value to merit a trade, even if not so much value as to get a meaningful piece in return.
Instead, as just announced by the Baltimore Orioles, the Cubs have sent Vazquez, whom they DFA’d earlier this week, to the O’s for cash. Basically, it means the Orioles wanted to claim him on waivers, but they figured he wouldn’t make it to them in the priority order, so they sent the Cubs a little extra cash to get the deal done.
From the original write-up on the Vazquez DFA, which made room on the 40-man roster for utilityman Jon Berti, in case you missed the rationale:
The premium defensive shortstop hit .263/.347/.432/104 wRC+ at Iowa last year in his age-24 season, and very briefly got a cup of coffee in the big leagues.
The decision to DFA Vazquez is implicitly a decision to retain Vidal Brujan, who has much more big league experience (but has yet to find success at the plate) and is more versatile, but who does not have any minor league options remaining. The Cubs clearly like Brujan, and believe in the former top prospect’s potential.
Risking the loss of Vazquez is also a decision to retain utility infielder Ben Cowles, who hits righty like Vazquez, but who doesn’t have the defensive chops. The Cubs must project his bat better, and obviously the Cubs did just acquire Cowles last summer and put him on the 40-man roster in the fall.
There’s also Rule 5 Draft pick Gage Workman, whom the Cubs don’t HAVE to keep until Spring Training, but it’s long been clear they intend to give him a serious look for a bench job (and/or want to work out a Spring Training trade with the Tigers to retain Workman’s rights free from Rule 5 restrictions).
Maybe the Cubs believe they can find a trade for Vazquez, who is an elite defender at shortstop and still has the potential to be something like a below-average (but not terrible) big league bat. That’s actually a valuable guy to have on your 40-man roster with options remaining, so if it’s not a trade, then I fully expect Vazquez to be claimed off of waivers. I hope the Cubs know what they’re doing on this one.
I suppose I should add that the presence of Matt Shaw and James Triantos – fellow infield options, even if not necessarily starting-caliber gloves at shortstop – makes it all the more plausible to justify losing Vazquez. I wonder if the Cubs will also look to add a veteran infielder on a minor league deal, and the sum of the situation was such that it was not likely Vazquez would get the call, even in a depth role, unless there were an extreme flurry of injuries. There are just a whole lot of depth guys in this mold, even after the departures of Miles Mastrobuoni, David Bote, Patrick Wisdom, and Nick Madrigal.