Cubs Approval Needed To Complete Davis Trade

The Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers appear to be on the verge of completing the heavily mentioned Chris Davis to the Cubs trade, that was first talked about a couple weeks ago. According to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse, the Rangers would send Chris Davis and reliever Darren O’Day to the Cubs for prospects. The Cubs would likely send catching prospect Robinson Chirinos, and pitching prospect Rafael Dolis to the Texas Rangers.

It should be mentioned that prospects that the Cubs would be giving up in this deal are unconfirmed, but, Bruce Levine did mention in his chat today that Robinson Chirinos is in the package, as well as another pitching prospect. Which would be where Rafael Dolis would come in. The trade is reportedly waiting final approval from the Chicago Cubs.

As I’m sure many of you know by now, we have looked into what Chris Davis has done over his first three seasons with the Texas Rangers. In 2008, Davis had a line of .285/.331/.549 with 17 home runs and 55 RBI’s. Davis had another strong power year in 2009, when despite hitting .238/.284/.442 he had 21 home runs and 59 RBI’s. 2010 is when Davis fell completely off the map as he struggled by hitting .192/.279/.292 in 120 at bats with 1 home run. It is interesting that 2010, was the first year that Chris Davis was not working with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, who joined the Cubs after the 2009 season. To be honest, the Cubs have probably talked to Jaramillo about Davis already, and must feel that he can fix whatever is wrong with his swing.

Darren O’day,28, is not to be overlooked in this trade either. In fact, you can argue that he would be a bigger addition to the Cubs than Davis would be. In 2010, O’day had a very good season with the Texas Rangers as in 72 games he had an ERA of 2.03 with a WHIP of 0.89. If the Cubs do acquire O’day, he could very well replace Andrew Cashner in the bullpen. That would then allow the Cubs to move Cashner into the starting rotation.

Robinson Chirinos is appears to be a quality young catcher, but would be blocked on the Cubs considering that Geovany Soto will probably be the Cubs starter for the long term. Chirinos shined this year in double A, as well as triple A. In 77 games with the Tennessee Smokies in double A, Chirinos hit .314/.409/.576 with 15 home runs and 64 RBI’s. In 15 games with the Iowa Cubs in triple A, he hit ..345/.419/.582 with 3 home runs and 10 RBI’s.

Rafael Dolis has been with the Cubs since 2006, and finally made it to double A this past season. With the Smokies, Dolis had a record of 5-4 with an ERA of 4.07 and WHIP of 1.66.

This trade makes a lot of sense for the Chicago Cubs, because they are essentially killing two birds with one stone. As, Chris Davis would provide first base depth for the Chicago Cubs, and O’day would net the Cubs the solid reliever that they have been looking for. The potential acquisition of Chris Davis, does not preclude the Cubs from going after Carlos Pena.