Official: Cubs Acquire Brandon Kintzler in Trade from Nationals
As we near the 2018 trade deadline, Theo and company have added another reliever for Joe Maddon to have at his disposal down the stretch. The Cubs have struck a deal with the Washington Nationals to bring righty reliever Brandon Kintzler to Chicago. Kintzler was a target of the Cubs this offseason before he signed with the Nats.
#Cubs have acquired Brandon Kintzler from #Nats, source confirms @Ken_Rosenthal and @sahadevsharma report. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/CarrieMuskat/status/1024374854517182465
The #Cubs today acquired RHP Brandon Kintzler from the Nationals for minor league RHP Jhon Romero.
To make room for Kintzler on the 40-man roster, RHP Justin Hancock has been transferred to the 60-day DL. pic.twitter.com/tb9pB0iO6F
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 31, 2018
Kintzler doesn’t generate a lot of whiffs, but he does generate a high rate of soft contact (25.8% in 2018) and gets a lot of groundballs (48% in 2018). Kintzler also has much better numbers outside of Washington, D.C. this season. His home ERA sits at 5.40 in 20 innings pitched while his road ERA is a sparkling 1.99 in 22 innings pitched. Opponents hit to the tune of a .340 wOBA off Kintzler in Washington, but just a .257 wOBA on the road.
The idea for the Cubs seems pretty clear at this point. They have assembled quite the group of bullpen arms. If the rotation remains inconsistent/injury ridden, they should have plenty of relievers to chose from if they need to piece games together down the stretch and in October.