Cubs acquire RHP Wade Davis from the Royals for OF Jorge Soler
The Cubs made it official and announced Wednesday the team acquired RHP Wade Davis from the Royals for OF Jorge Soler.
The Cubs 40-man roster officially stands at 35 players.
Wade Davis is a two-time All-Star (2015 and 2016) who has gone 55-37 with 47 saves, a 3.53 ERA (305 earned runs in 776.2 innings), 1.27 WHIP and 3.69 FIP in 334 Major League appearances (246 relief outings, 88 starts) covering eight seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays (2009-12) and Kansas City (2013-16). Since moving exclusively to a relief role in 2014, Davis has gone 19-4 with 47 saves and a 1.18 ERA (24 earned runs in 182.2 innings) in 185 appearances, limiting opponents to a .163 batting average and allowing only three home runs in 182.2 innings. Davis has held opponents to a .216 slugging percentage and .239 on-base percentage in that span, good for a .456 OPS.
Davis turned 31 last Sept. 7. Davis appeared in 45 games due to two stints on the DL with a right flexor strain. Davis was 2-1 with 27 saves, a 1.87 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 2.29 FIP. Davis allowed nine runs on 33 hits with 16 walks and 47 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings. After Davis returned from his second trip to the DL on Sept. 2, he was 1-1 in 10 games with six saves, a 2.79 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. Davis allowed three runs on 11 hits with a walk and 15 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings.
Over the past three seasons, Davis went 9-2 with three saves and a 1.00 ERA in 2014 (71 outings), 8-1 with 17 saves and a 0.94 ERA in 2015 (69 outings) and 2-1 with 27 saves and a 1.87 ERA in 2016 (45 outings), becoming the first pitcher in Major League history to post back-to-back seasons with a 1.00 ERA or lower in major league history (minimum 50 innings), garnering Cy Young consideration in 2014 (eighth) and 2015 (sixth). Davis is 4-0 with four saves and a 0.84 ERA (3 ER/32.1 IP) in 23 career post-season outings.
Including the postseason, Davis has a 1.08 ERA, 0.87 WHIP the last three seasons (2014-16). In 207 2/3 innings, he has allowed 118 hits, 64 walks and three home runs while striking out 272 batters. In 185 regular season games over the past three seasons, Davis was 19-4 with 47 saves, a 1.18 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 1.86 FIP. Davis leads all Major League relievers with a 1.18 ERA, an average of 0.15 home runs per nine innings, and a .456 opponent OPS, and is third with a 0.89 WHIP (behind only Andrew Miller and Kenley Jansen).
Davis is under contract for one more season (2017) and is due $10 million on the final year of the extension he signed with the Rays in March 2011. Davis inked a four-year, $12.6 million extension that included three club option years. Davis made $1 million (2011), $1.5 million (2012), $2.8 million (2013) and $4.8 million (2014). Davis’ first option in 2015 was for $7 million and the second last season was for $8 million. Davis’ contract calls for $10 million in 2017.
Wade Davis becomes a free agent after the 2017 season.
Davis broke in with the Rays in 2009 and pitched for Joe Maddon through the 2012 season. In four years with the Rays, Davis was 28-22 in 118 games, 64 starts, with no saves, a 3.94 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 4.28 FIP. Over four seasons with the Royals, Davis was 27-15 in 216 games, 24 starts, with 47 saves, a 2.94 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 2.84 FIP.
Davis pitched exclusively as a starter for his first three seasons. He moved to a relief role in 2012, going 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA (19 earned runs in 70.1 innings) in 54 appearances before being traded to Kansas City as part of a seven-player deal on Dec. 9, 2012. Davis briefly returned to a starter role in 2013 (24 starts, seven in relief) but has been in the bullpen since the start of the 2014 campaign.
Jorge Soler turns 25 on Feb. 25. Soler played in 86 games this past season and hit .238/.333/.436 with nine doubles and 12 home runs for a .769 OPS. Soler has dealt with a host of injuries throughout his career. In 211 big league games, Soler has hit .258/.328/.434 with 35 doubles, two triples and 27 home runs for a .762 OPS.
Soler is under club control through the 2020 season. Soler is scheduled to make $3 million in 2017 and $4 million in each season from 2018 through 2020. Once he is arbitration eligible, Soler can opt-out of the remaining years of his contract and elect salary arbitration. Soler has 2.033 years of Major League Service Time and one minor league option left.