FS Faux Winter Meetings: Cubs acquire Tim Collins from Royals

In the FanSided Faux Winter Meetings, in a low-profile move, the Chicago Cubs added left-handed reliever Tim Collins from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for minor league outfielder Bijan Rademacher.

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Collins, 25, made 22 appearances for the American League pennant-winning Royals in 2014, allowing nine runs in 21 innings of work – his lowest such total in his big league career. However, in four seasons with Kansas City, the southpaw has averaged a 3.54 ERA and 68 appearances per season, serving as a dependable innings-eater for Ned Yost‘s ballclub.

The Royals front office over at Kings of Kaufmann offered their own explanation for swapping the southpaw in a recent post recapping their moves thus far in the Faux Winter Meetings.

"I imagine the reaction to this move is something akin to “Why?” Well, there are a couple of reasons as to why I decided to move Tim Collins. First, he did not exactly inspire confidence with his performance last season, and given that he would likely be receiving an increase in pay in arbitration, it seemed best to see if I could get anything for him"

That being said, for us here at Cubbies Crib, the move was a no-brainer. Looking to add depth to the team’s bullpen, especially after the trade of James Russell to the Braves this summer, we saw Collins as a dependable option for first-year manager Joe Maddon next season. In addition, the lefty won’t hit free agency until after the 2017 season – giving Chicago three years of team control moving forward.

Rademacher, a corner outfielder, spent last season with Advanced-A Daytona, batting .281/.363/.448 with 10 home runs and 22 two-baggers. With the likes of Albert Almora, Jorge Soler, Arismendy Alcantara, Justin Ruggiano and Chris Coghlan under team control, a log jam already exists in the Cubs’ outfield, making pieces like Rademacher expendable.

In four seasons with Kansas City, Collins is 12-17 with a 3.86 ERA, 3.89 FIP and 1.398 WHIP across 211 innings of work.