Report: Cubs close to acquiring Davis from Royals for Soler
After reportedly hitting a brief bump during negotiations, the trade that will send Wade Davis to the North Side appears to be back on.
The Chicago Cubs are reportedly close to acquiring the All-Star closer from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for outfielder Jorge Soler, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Reports of the Cubs closing in on Davis first surfaced earlier Tuesday night, but excitement was quickly tempered due to an apparent "snag" in the process. That hold-up turned out to be the Washington Nationals, who were reportedly making a late charge to grab Davis away from Kansas City.
Still, there may be a few more kinks to iron out in this apparent one-for-one transaction, and it's not expected the trade will be completed by the end of night Tuesday, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
Another factor in delaying the proposed deal to Chicago might be Davis' health; the Cubs are reportedly closely examining his medicals before finalizing the trade, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Despite his effectiveness last year, Davis hit the disabled list twice with the same injury - a flexor strain - and missed all of August due to recurrence of the ailment.
If the trade is completed, Davis would step into the closer's role that was left vacant when Aroldis Chapman reached free agency. Though they have been connected to both Chapman and another free-agent stopper in Kenley Jansen, a Davis deal would likely close the door on either of those players signing with the North Siders.
An All-Star for the Royals each of the last two seasons, Davis formed the backbone of the team's bullpen during their back-to-back AL pennants in 2014 and '15. Since 2014, when he became the Royals' set-up man, the 31-year-old has been lights out, posting a 1.18 ERA, averaging over 11 strikeouts per nine innings, and allowing just three home runs. Davis also allowed just one earned run across 20 postseason appearances for the Royals.
Davis, who will be a free agent after this season, is owed $10 million in 2017.
Soler was signed to a nine-year, $30-million contract by the Cubs in 2012 after defecting from his native Cuba. He hit .238/.333/.436 with 12 homers and 66 strikeouts over 264 plate appearances in 2016, while missing two months with a hamstring injury. He went 2-for-6 with a triple in the World Series.
The 24-year-old was deemed expendable due to the plethora of outfielders on the Cubs' big-league roster. He's owed $3 million in 2017, then $4 million each year from 2018-20, but can opt into the arbitration process when eligible.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were also in on Davis, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman.