Tony Campana will take his speed to the desert after being traded from Chicago to Arizona Monday. (Image Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports)
Outfielder Tony Campana was traded early Monday afternoon to the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to a release by the Chicago Cubs. Chicago will receive a pair of minor league right-handers in the deal in Erick Leal and Jesus Castillo. Chicago had designated Campana for assignment last week after finalizing their deal with Scott Hairston.
Campana batted .264/.308/.299 in 192 PA this past season with the Cubs, seeing time across all three outfield positions. His 30 stolen bases in 89 games were good enough for 9th in the National League. At 26, Campana has yet to develop into much of an offensive threat beyond what he can do on the basepaths. He’s a career .301/.356/.350 hitter in the minor leagues, but has just one home run under his belt. In 349 games he has stolen 162 bases, roughly 1 in ever 2 games. Given the makeup of Arizona’s outfield and his limited skill set, it’s unclear what role the D’backs may be considering using Campana in.
Heading to Chicago in the deal are a pair of arms with upside, suggesting that the Cubs may have gotten the better end of things. Both Leal and Castillo are 17 and spent the 2012 season with Arizona’s affiliate in the Dominican Summer League. Leal threw 70.0 innings, making 14 appearances including 12 starts. He went 6-2 with a 2.44 ERA, 0.986 WHIP, and 9.0 K/9. Castillo pitched 46.2 innings, making 8 starts among his 14 appearances. He was 2-4 with a 5.40 ERA, 1.586 WHIP, and 7.9 K/9.
Neither Leal or Castillo is anywhere close to being MLB-ready and it’s not even sure if the pair will pitch stateside this coming season, so it may be a long time before we know exactly what the Cubs received in this deal. It became clear with the team’s moves this winter that Campana no longer figured into the organization’s plans moving forward so whatever the pair of pitchers ends up offering may be enough for the team to be content with how the deal works out.