The Chicago Cubs couldn't sit around any longer, watching many of the starting pitchers scooped up off the trade market. Chicago was in major need of a starter and now they've struck a deal with the Miami Marlins, acquiring 34-year-old right-handed Dan Haren. Chicago Sun-Times' Cubs' reporter Gordon Wittenmyer was first to report the deal.
Chicago had understandably grown tired of throwing out guys like Dallas Beeler, Travis Wood and Clayton Richard as their fifth starter. With the improvements made by Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta continuing to dominate, the Cubs can now round out their entire rotation.
Haren has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season in terms of WHIP, his 1.09 mark is 15th amongst all starters. In 21 starts this season, Haren has a 3.42 ERA with an 88/25 K/BB ratio in 129 innings. Of course, Haren has been prone to the home run ball, having allowed 21 long balls this year with 14 of them coming on the road. The move to Wrigley Field is not good news for Haren's home run totals, but he is still a strong addition for Chicago.
Haren is a two-month rental, with his contract set to expire after this season. There was talk during the offseason about his desire to play on the West Coast, but he relented and pitched in Miami this season. Chicago has some up-and-coming prospects in the minors who could step into the rotation next season, allowing Chicago to let Haren walk.
Miami sends off another pitcher, as their focus seems to shift back to helping the farm system. Soto is a 25-year-old shortstop at Double-A Tennessee. A 15th round draft pick in 2010, his climb up the minors has been a slow one, with a career .252/.328/.304 slash line. He has a .275 batting average with a .388 on-base percentage in 306 at bats this season, but is largely respected more for his defense than his bat.
Pineyro is a 23-year-old right-hander who has made 19 starts in Double-A this season. In his first four starts, he held opponent's to a 4.35 ERA with a .211 opposing batting average. In his next six starts, the opponent's batting average jumped to .250 but his ERA dropped to 2.78. This month, opponents are hitting .271 off of him and he has allowed 16 runs in 30 innings. Overall, he has a 3.69 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 92/30 K/BB ratio in 107 1/3 innings. It doesn't appear Miami got anything notable in return for Haren, making this an odd trade for the team.
Fantasy Spin:
I believe this will have a noticeable hit on Haren's fantasy value. It was mentioned earlier about Haren's problems with the home run ball and now he goes from a pitcher-friendly park to a neutral park that can become hitter-friendly with strong winds. Marlins Park has allowed .693 home runs per game this season versus Wrigley Field's .992 home runs per game. Haren should remain a quality fantasy starter but his ERA will rise more and using him in home starts will be more difficult.