Rockies Trade Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers to Cubs for Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu

The Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs were able to squeeze one last deal in before the end of the 2011 Winter Meetings.  The Rockies sent third baseman Ian Stewart and right-hander Casey Weathers to the Cubs for outfielder Tyler Colvin and infielder DJ LeMahieu.

Ian Stewart’s name had been on the market all offseason, and earlier this week it was reported that Colorado was expected to trade the 26-year-old.

Stewart had shown flashes throughout his career with the Rockies, but his inconsistencies had grown on the club.  Colorado also has several prospective third basemen waiting in the wings.

Last season for the Rockies, Stewart only managed a .464 OPS over his 48 games played.  The former first round pick does have a career OPS of .751 and hit 25 and 18 home runs in 2009-10.

Colvin, another former first round pick, has traveled a similar course to that of Stewart.  In 2010 the 26-year-old hit at a clip of .254/.316/.500 with 20 home runs over his 135 games.  However, Colvin was only able to muster an OPS of .509 last season.

Along with Colvin, the Rockies are also getting young infielder D.J. LeMahieu.  The 23-year-old made his major league debut this season, but spent most of the year with the Cubs Double and Triple-A affiliates.  During his time in the minors LeMahieu has maintained a career OPS of .753 while playing mostly second and third base.  In 2011 LeMahieu hit at a clip of .319/.354/.423 with 30 extra base hits and 50 RBI’s over his 108 games played.

The final piece of the trade was minor league reliever Casey Weathers.  In 2011 Weathers pitched for the Rockies Double-A squad, logging an ERA of 5.32 over his 45 2/3 innings pitched.  The right-hander has a career ERA and WHIP of 4.20 and 1.474.  Weathers has posted an impressive 11.3 SO/9 rate over his career, but he’s also walked more than seven batters per nine innings.

For more on the Cubs and Rockies, be sure to check out Cubbies Crib and Rox Pile.