Former Cub’ Aramis Ramirez heading back to Pittsburgh in deal with Brewers

With the Major League Baseball trade deadline set at the end of the month, there are a couple of teams who have made some blockbuster trades in order to help their clubs reach the next level.

The Houston Astros traded for southpaw Scott Kazmir from the Oakland Athletics, now former Chicago Cubs’ third baseman Aramis Ramirez will head back to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers according to Marty Gitlin of CBS Sports.

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Before landing with the Brew Crew, Ramirez became one of the most beloved Cubs in franchise history. The veteran corner man moved from the Pirates to the North Side of Chicago along with outfielder Kenny Lofton 12-years ago yesterday.

After clubbing 13 home runs and 39 RBI, Ramirez finished the 2003 campaign with 27 big flies, 106 RBI, 32 doubles, two triples, and 165 hits while slashing .272/.324/.465 between the two clubs.

His average took a bit of a hit once landing with the Cubs, but he did, however, hit 15 more homers up until the end of the regular season.

Ramirez was signed by the Pirates back in 1994 as an amateur free agent and finally broke into the big leagues just four years later. His power was later put on display in 2001 when he launched an early career high 34 bombs while recording 112 RBI on a team that finished dead last in the N.L. Central with a 61-100 record behind the Cincinnati Reds.

As time went on, Aramis eventually became more and more consistent in the batter’s box, evolving into a powerhouse along with fellow slugger, Derrek Lee – who also ended his career with the Pirates back in 2011.

On October 30, 2011, Ramirez opted to decline his $16 million option with the Cubs, thus making him a free agent. To our surprise, he ended up signing a three-year, $36 million with the Brewers to stay within the division that he’s been a part of his entire playing career.

He wrapped up his Cubs tenure with 208 homers with 806 runs knocked in.

The former Silver Slugger, three-time All-Star, and N.L. Hank Aaron award winner continued to make noise in the batter’s box shortly after parting ways with the Cubbies. In his first year with the Brewers, the 37-year-old went deep 27 times and reached over 100 RBI for the first time in over four years.

He’ll return home with 11 home runs, 42 RBI, 18 doubles, 69 hits, .247/.295/.430 line and .970 fielding percentage.

Bringing him back for what could be his final year in the big leagues makes a ton of sense for this club who is in contention in both the divisional and Wild Card race along with the Cubs. The fact that they lose both Josh Harrison to a thumb injury and Jordy Mercer to a knee injury which will keep them both out for at least another month – they needed another experienced and heavy-duty bat to keep them afloat.

The Brewers are currently 18.5 games out of first place and sit at the bottom of the division, so getting what they could out of Ramirez is a win-win for them as well.

Now it’s time for Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer to make a splash.