The Cubs made their first move ahead of Monday’s trade deadline by acquiring designated hitter and first baseman José Martínez from the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later and cash considerations.
Martínez is hitting .239 with two home runs, 10 RBIs, .717 OPS and a 99 OPS+ in 24 games this season. The longtime St. Louis Cardinal should be a boost to the Cubs bench and against left-handed pitching.
While he hasn’t shown his prowess against lefties this season, he has a career .319/.392/.554 slash line and 130 OPS+ against southpaws.
Martínez will likely get a lot of looks as the Cubs’ DH. The Cubs haven’t had much production in that spot this season.
Backup catcher Victor Caratini has had the most at-bats (31) as the team’s DH. The Cubs have a .159/.280/.271 slash line with two home runs from DHs through Sunday.
The trade underscores the importance of both short- and long-term value in a unique 2020 season. Martínez fills holes for the Cubs in the interim, but also provides some stability beyond 2020 as he isn’t eligible for free agency until 2023.
“I think you know, it’s hard to say until KB and Souz get back. I think that’s the question mark. Finding that right hand at-bat that may be missing a little bit that pushes everybody down,” manager David Ross said before Sunday’s game on what team could use ahead of Monday’s trade deadline. “I still think our best is yet to come offensively, for sure.
“Jed and Theo do a good job of finding out where our holes are and so they’re working hard to try to plug plugs in some spaces.”
Catcher Josh Phegley was designated for assignment to make room for Martínez on the 40-man roster.
