The Chicago Cubs have addressed their need for help in the bullpen by acquiring left-hander Mike Montgomery from the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported the Cubs and Mariners were close to a deal that involved Montgomery going to Chicago in exchange for minor leaguer Dan Vogelbach. The Cubs would later announce the deal, adding it would be Montgomery and RHP Jordan Pries going to Chicago, while Vogelbach and RHP Paul Blackburn would be heading to the Mariners.
It only seemed like a matter of time before the Cubs added at least one reliever before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. It's the one glaring weakness for the team, which entered play on Thursday ranked seventh in the National League with a 3.82 relievers ERA, per ESPN.com.
Montgomery has been terrific out of Seattle's bullpen this season. The 27-year-old has a 2.34 ERA with 49 hits allowed and 54 strikeouts in 61.2 innings. His 174 ERA+ would rank second among Chicago relievers with at least 20 appearances, per Baseball-Reference.com.
After a promising start to the season, the Mariners entered Wednesday with a 47-47 record and 5.5 games out of a wild-card spot. If they are starting to go into sell mode, moving a good reliever for an everyday player makes sense.
Vogelbach has put up some big numbers in the minors, owning a .290/.389/.486 slash line since 2011. Passan noted that Vogelbach draws comparisons to Billy Butler of the Oakland A's because he's strictly a designated hitter who can really hit.
The Cubs had no need for Vogelbach, who would be limited to first base in the NL if he had to play defense. Anthony Rizzo has that position locked down in Chicago for a long time.
The Mariners don't have an immediate opening at designated hitter with Nelson Cruz primarily serving that role and signed through 2018, though he has also played in right field if they want to sacrifice defense to get more offense in the lineup.
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