Chicago Cubs: One more big trade in the FanSided Mock Winter Meetings

Chicago Cubs: Adding depth back to the system

The two prospects both rank in the Nationals’ organizational Top 25 in left-hander Seth Romero (6) and catching talent Israel Pineda (21). Here’s what MLB.com has to say about these two.

First, for Romero:

"A physically strong left-hander, Romero has feel for locating a fastball that can bump up to 97 mph and consistently sits 92-95. His plus slider in the low 80s is a legitimate swing-and-miss offering that nets him strikeouts on both sides of the plate, while Romero’s changeup, much improved in 2017, has the makings of becoming an above-average third offering. Romero will miss bats with all three pitches when he’s on, all while showing average control and command."

In short, he projects as a guy who could either become a force in the pen or even a potential middle of the rotation presence down the road. With the lack of impact pitching in the Cubs’ farm system (and the team’s lack of recent success developing young arms), we felt this was a huge get for us moving forward.

As for Pineda, we view him as a sort of additional insurance policy (albeit a long-term one at that) on Willson Contreras. In the interim, we inked Jonathan Lucroy to a one-year deal, but Pineda projects as a quality big league backstop down the road. We like the tools he brings to the table – as detailed here:

"Pineda controls the barrel well, using his strong hands and wrists to generate lots of hard contact and drive the ball across the whole field. His advanced feel for hitting at a young age leads scouts to believe that the right-handed hitter will eventually hit for some power to go along with a solid batting average."