Chicago Cubs Ship Carlos Marmol to Los Angeles Dodgers

Carlos Marmol’s time in Chicago has come to an end today, much to the delight of many Cubs fans. (Image Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports)

Carlos Marmol’s time with the Chicago Cubs has come to an end, much to the delight of the lion’s share of the team’s fanbase. Marmol had been designated for assignment by the team within the last week and it appeared inevitable that he’d part ways with the organization. Chicago shipped Marmol to the Los Angeles Dodgers this afternoon and will receive Matt Guerrier in return. Los Angeles also received a portion of Chicago’s international signing bonus cap in return, valued at $209,700.

Marmol’s path to this point has been well documented: middle reliever who assumed the team’s closer role, a strong season that resulted in a lucrative three year extension, before a sudden collapse of epic proportions. It took just three poor outings at the start of the season for Marmol to lose the closer’s role and his fate has appeared certain ever since. Once the Cubs DFA’d him last week it merely put a time table on the inevitable. He’d appear in 31 games for the Cubs before the team made a move, posting a 5.86 ERA and 1.699 WHIP in 27.2 IP.

The Dodgers have dealt with one of baseball’s worst bullpens on the year – just one factor in why their season has been such a disappointment to date – but Marmol isn’t viewed as an immediate upgrade. The team will reportedly have him appear in a few games in the minor leagues before adding him to their bullpen. Even then there are no guarantees as to how the team will use him, though don’t expect him to see much action during the late innings initially. They’ll also only be on the hook for a portion of the roughly $4.8 Million remaining on his salary this season, as the Cubs will cover about $2 Million. To further add to the specifics of the deal, ESPN’s Jayson Stark shares that the two sides worked out additional language in the deal that would send even more dollars LA’s way should the team end up releasing Marmol, provided he signs elsewhere.

Like Marmol, Guerrier is in the final year of a three year contract and will reach free agency this coming winter. Like Marmol, he’d struggled out of the bullpen this year – posting a 4.80 ERA and 1.467 WHIP in 30.0 IP – and wound up being DFA’d by the Dodgers last week. He’d fallen out of favor among most Dodgers fans and there are few sad to see him go. Guerrier is due roughly $2.3 Million over the remainder of the season, a figure that the Cubs will reportedly pickup. In effect, between covering Guerrier’s remaining salary and paying part of Marmol’s the team is saving just about $500,000.