Chicago Cubs Land Multiple Pieces in Trade With Dodgers

The Chicago Cubs have added another pitching piece in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It's been a busy couple of days for the Chicago Cubs after a quiet start to their offseason that had many fans worried about what they were doing this winter.

After landing Japanese star Shota Imanaga in free agency, they quickly turned their attention to making more roster additions in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

According to Juan Toribio of MLB.com, the Cubs are acquiring veteran reliever Yency Almonte and infielder Michael Busch, who ranked as the Dodgers' No. 2 overall prospect in 2023.

Busch was a first round pick of Los Angeles in the 2019 MLB Draft.

In 2021, he slashed .267/.386/.484 with 20 home runs and 67 RBI across 107 games at the Double-A level. This earned him a spot on the 40-man roster before the 2022 season to protect him in the Rule 5 Draft.

Busch continued his hot hitting in the minors that season and eventually made his Major League debut in 2023.

He struggled with a .167/.247/.292 slash line, but did hit two homers and drove in seven runs across 27 games.

Still, the 26-year-old is considered to be a talented player and could address some of the issues Chicago has had at the third base position heading into 2024.

Almonte has spent the last six years of his career in the Majors with the Colorado Rockies and Dodgers. He has an ERA of 4.51 over 191 appearances during this time with an above-average ERA+ of 104.

The 29-year-old should give some much needed help to the Cubs' bullpen who struggled late down the stretch in 2023.

Despite his ERA of 5.06 last year with Los Angeles, he's posted under a 3.00 ERA in three of his six Major League seasons.

Jeff Passan of ESPN is reporting Chicago is sending out prospects Jackson Ferris and Zyhir Hope, neither of whom are ranked within their Top-30.

The Cubs selected the 19-year-old left-handed Ferris in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft. He spent last season as a starter with their Single-A affiliate, posting an ERA of 3.38 across 18 starts.

Hope is an 18-year-old outfielder who was taken in the 11th round of last year's draft and played 11 games with their rookie team.