It's official: Cubs trade Craig Kimbrel to rival White Sox |
WASHINGTON D.C. – The Chicago Cubs today acquired infielder Nick Madrigal and right-handed pitcher Codi Heuer from the Chicago White Sox for right-handed pitcher Craig Kimbrel.
Madrigal, 24, is hitting .305 (61-for-200) with 10 doubles, four triples, two home runs, 21 RBI and a .349 on-base percentage in 54 games for the White Sox this season. Since making his major league debut with the White Sox in 2020, the right-handed hitter has batted .317 (96-for-303) with 13 doubles, four triples, two home runs, 32 RBI and a .358 on-base percentage in 83 contests. Madrigal has played 82 games at second base, recording a .970 fielding percentage (9 E/297 TC). Originally selected by the White Sox in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2018 draft, Madrigal in 2019 earned a Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove for second base and hit .311 (147-for-473) with 27 doubles, five triples, four home runs and 55 RBI between Single-A Winston-Salem, Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte. Madrigal that season was a Carolina League mid-season All-Star and played in the 2019 MLB Futures Game. Heuer, 25, in his 2020 major league debut season with the White Sox was 3-0 with a save, six holds and a 1.52 ERA (4 ER/23.2 IP) in 21 relief appearances. He walked nine and struck out 25, good for an average of 9.5 strikeouts per 9.0 innings. His 1.52 ERA ranked sixth among A.L. relievers while his .145 opponent batting average was seventh. Selected by the White Sox in the sixth round of the 2018 draft, Heuer this season is 4-1 with 13 holds and a 5.12 ERA (22 ER/38.2 IP) in 40 relief appearances. He has averaged 9.1 strikeouts per 9.0 innings with 39 strikeouts compared to 10 walks and has stranded 19 of 23 inherited runners. Kimbrel, 33, went 2-3 with 23 saves and a 0.49 ERA (2 ER/36.2 IP) in 39 relief appearances for Chicago this season. Since he joined the organization in June of 2019, Kimbrel was 2-8 with 38 saves and a 3.22 ERA (26 ER/72.2 IP) with 37 walks and 122 strikeouts in 80 relief appearances for the Cubs. His 371 career saves with Atlanta (2010-14), San Diego (2015), Boston (2016-18) and the Cubs rank ninth all-time in major league history.
