It took nearly 24 hours to complete, but the deal is now official as the Chicago Cubs have traded Jorge Soler to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for All-Star closer Wade Davis.
Davis, 31, has been dominant for the last three years and is expected to become the Cubs' closer when he arrives in Chicago next season.
The right-hander has especially excelled in postseason play, and helped the Royals win the 2015 crown. In those 27 1/3 innings as a reliever, he has a 0.33 ERA — one earned run in 27 1/3 innings, with 39 strikeouts.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported the teams agreed to the trade late Tuesday:
Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com and Jon Heyman of Today's Knuckleball both reported the deal as officially being done on Wednesday afternoon, marking the end of a bizarre saga that saw the deal seemingly agreed to, put on hold because of unnamed holdups, and then ultimately go through.
The Cubs headed to the MLB winter meetings being held in the nation’s capital this week looking to get back to work to defend the title that the franchise had waited more than a century for.
Chicago Baseball
Soler, 24, is highly regarded for his potential, but his injuries combined with a surplus of outfielders on the Cubs’ roster make him expendable.
The Royals were looking to unload at least one or two high-profile players this offseason.
Davis closed out 27 games for the Royals last season. He spent time on the disabled with a forearm injury last season and was limited to 43 1/3 innings, but returned to pitch in September.
