Cubs, Dodgers Trade for Marmol Finalized

Rumors of a Carlos Marmol trade to the Dodgers popped up just a few days ago and by Tuesday afternoon the deal was made official. There had been some speculation floating around that the return to the Cubs would be Matt Guerrier and he is exactly the player the Cubs have received.

Guerrier himself was designated for assignment by the Dodgers, as Chicago did with Marmol. The deal appears to have just been waiting for the international signing period to start, as it involved the Cubs also throwing in signing bonus slot money worth $209,700. Tom Ricketts also appears to be on the hook for $2 million of the remaining $5 million left on Marmol’s contract for 2013, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo.

Jun 16, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Matt Guerrier (54) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning at PNC Park. The Pittsburgh Pirates won 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Dodgers are not including any salary compensation along with Guerrier, so the Cubs ended up saving just $500,000 in the swap of underachieving relievers (according to the LA Times via MLB Trade Rumors). While that sounds like chump change in an era of multi million dollar salaries, $500,000 saved is still better than the $0 saved had the Cubs just cut Marmol lose after the 10 day DFA period. However, Jayson Stark of ESPN is reporting that if the Dodgers release Marmol later on in the season and the reliever opts to sign with another team, there may be an agreement in place where the Cubs will have to send even more money back LA’s way. So it may remain to be season just how well this deal will go down from a financial standpoint.

Cubbies Crib received a pair of Tweets jesting at the disappointment of a pitcher that the North Siders were receiving in return. Guerrier if four years older than Marmol and had accumulated a 4.80 ERA with the Dodgers in 30 innings of work. The 42.6% groundball rate is certainly cause for concern when the wind is blowing out at Wrigley. If there is any hope that Guerrier will at least be serviceable to eat up innings during the second half of the season in Chicago, it can be found in the fact that his walks per nine innings ratio nearly half that of Marmol’s in 2013 at 3.6. Guerrier also has a homer per nine inning ratio under one while Marmol’s nearly hit 2.0. It remains to be seen whether Guerrier’s numbers will translate from a pitcher’s park that is Dodger Stadium to the Friendly Confines, but this deal is certainly has the makings of a good old fashioned change of scenery trade.

Guerrier will be joining the Cubs bullpen directly, while the Dodgers may try to get Marmol right with a brief stint in Triple A. Regardless of how this deal pans out, Cubs fans will just be glad that the North Side Marmolcoaster is no longer in service.