Cubs send Feldman, Clevenger to O’s
Jun 20, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher
Scott Feldman(46) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
It has begun.
Chicago Cubs brass capitalized on Scott Feldman’s strong first half Tuesday, sending the right-hander to the Baltimore Orioles along with Steve Clevenger in exchange for a pair of players and international pool money, according to ESPN’s Keith Law.
Feldman, 30, has been one of the most consistent starters for the Cubs this year, despite managing just a 7-6 record. He has posted a 3.46 earned run this year, over a run below his career average of 4.66.
The right-hander won 17 games as a member of the Texas Rangers in 2009, but has never regained that form since.
With the emergence of Welington Castillo behind the dish for the Cubs, Clevenger became much more expendable, giving Baltimore another option behind the struggling Matt Wieters, who has performed poorly throughout much of the season’s first half.
Clevenger is hitting just .125 in eight at-bats with the Cubs this year, and is currently on the 60-day disabled list.
In return the Cubs added relief pitcher Pedro Strop and once-highly touted prospect Jake Arrieta from Baltimore.
Strop is expected to join the major league team later this week, and Cubs management hopes he might help provide some stability to a Cubs pen that has been sporadic throughout the season.
The 28-year old has not been the same pitcher he was as recently as last year, going 0-3 with a 7.25 ERA over the course of 29 appearances. Last year, he posted an earned run average of 2.44 as the primary eighth inning man for the O’s, on their historic run into the postseason.
Arrieta, who was once ranked as the 67th-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America, is 1-2 with a 7.23 ERA in five starts in 2013. Over four seasons at the major league level with Baltimore, the 27-year old has a 5.46 ERA over 69 games.
Arrieta is expected to join Triple-A Iowa in the next 48 hours.