ST. LOUIS — On deadline day, closer David Robertson was the first Cub to be traded away. The Cubs sent him to the Phillies for minor league pitcher Ben Brown on Tuesday.
Next to go was veteran reliever Mychal Givens, whom the Cubs traded to the Mets in exchange for right-handed pitcher Saúl González.
Those moves were expected. The most notable development on Tuesday was who the Cubs did not trade: Willson Contreras and Ian Happ. Both were at the center of days of trade rumors.
“That’s sort of how the trade market has gone, it’s gotten later and later and closer to the deadline all the time,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “Last year, we did three deals in the last couple hours before the deadline. And this year, it felt like the deals were trending later as well.”
The four major-league players the Cubs traded away leading up to the deadline were all relievers, with Robertson and Givens joining Chris Martin and Scott Effross. The Cubs also traded minor-league middle infielder Dixon Machado to the Giants for right-handed prospect Raynel Espinal on Sunday.
Robertson, 37, claimed the closer role for the Cubs this year, posting a 2.23 ERA and recording 14 saves. He joined the Cubs this spring on a one-year deal worth $3.5 million plus incentives.
Also this spring, Givens signed a one-year $5 million deal with a mutual option for 2023. He’s been on a dominant streak over the last month and a half and hasn’t given up an earned run since June 16.
“I’m pretty excited,” Givens said. “I get to reunite with [Mets manager] Buck Showalter. He had me as a rookie. Just happy, excited to contend for a playoff push.”
The Cubs’ biggest focus at the deadline was adding power arms. Hoyer said both Wesneski and Brown’s names had come up in previous trade talks.
“Sometimes that familiarity helps to do deals,” Hoyer said. “But I’m looking forward to getting those guys in Cubs uniforms at various levels.”
Baseball America ranked Brown No. 7 among Phillies prospects, while MLB Pipeline put him at No. 26. Brown had posted a 3.08 ERA in High-A this season, with 12.95 strikeouts per nine innings. For his success, the Phillies promoted him to Double-A on Monday.
González posted a 2.81 ERA in 14 games with the Mets’ Single-A affiliate.
“I really feel good about where our system is right now, as a whole,” Hoyer said. “I think we’re really deep. I think we’ve continued to get deeper through a good draft and through the deadline, and, obviously, last year we acquired a ton of prospects. I’m really proud of where we’ve come in one year.”
Roster moves
The Cubs opened a three-game series in St. Louis on Tuesday, and afternoon trades left a couple holes. In addition, the Cubs placed lefty Stephen Brault on the COVID-19 related injured list.
Filling out the active roster, the Cubs reinstated second baseman Nick Madrigal from the 10-day IL and recalled pitchers Michael Rucker and Anderson Espinoza from Triple-A Iowa.
The Cubs also claimed right-hander Kervin Castro off waivers from the Giants and optioned him to Triple-A.
