Chicago Cubs acquire Joe Smith from Los Angeles Angels
By Kit Anderson
The Chicago Cubs have made another push toward the postseason, acquiring reliever Joe Smith from the Angels.
The Chicago Cubs came into this season as postseason favorites and for most of this year have looked the part. The few holes that needed to be addressed before today’s trade deadline have been taken care of and they are now ready to make a run into the playoffs. The latest addition the Cubs have made is a trade for Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Joe Smith.
Smith will head to the Windy City in exchange for Class-A pitcher Jesus Castillo.
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The Cubs hope that Smith can put together better numbers than he has been so far this season for the Angels. He has worked 37.2 innings giving up 16 earned runs. While that is not horrific, it is not the kind of numbers you want from a shutdown relief pitcher either.
Smith’s best season came in his first year with the Angels in 2014 when he worked 74.2 innings with an 1.81 ERA. That is solid for any relief pitcher and that is who the Cubs are hopeful they are receiving in the deal.
If Smith can re-find that form it would give the Cubs one of the deepest bullpens in the league. They already have acquired closer Aroldis Chapman, moving Hector Rondon to the setup position. This move ensures depth for their bullpen as well as giving them yet another match up option in the late innings.
For the Angels, this deal made sense in that Smith had done little to impress the front office this season as the fourth place Angels began to look toward next season.
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While this trade is far from groundbreaking, it should further cement the Cubs as favorites in the National League going into the 2016 postseason. The Cubs currently hold a 7.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals entering the month of August. While that is far from insurmountable unless the injury bug strikes, it should be easy enough to maintain as they look toward winning their division.