Red Sox Send Pillar To Rockies, Osich To Cubs At Deadline

Rockies acquire outfielder Kevin Pillar from Red Sox
By PAT GRAHAM - Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies added outfield depth by acquiring Kevin Pillar and $50,000 from Boston in a trade-deadline deal Monday.

In exchange, the Red Sox will received a player to be named or $100,000 along with $161,200 in international amateur signing bonus pool allotment.

Pillar is joining his fourth team since being traded on April 2, 2019, from the Toronto Blue Jays to the San Francisco Giants. He signed a deal with Boston in February.

The 31-year-old Pillar batted .274 with four homers and 13 RBIs in 30 games for the Red Sox. He played a bulk of this season in right field, a spot occupied in Colorado by Charlie Blackmon.

Pillar figures to spend time in center, with David Dahl currently on the injured list. In 12 career games at Coors Field, Pillar has a .326 batting average with one homer and seven RBIs.

“We’re hoping that Kevin can come in and provide a spark to our offense and play an above-average center field in a park that demands it,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He’s an aggressive, hard-nosed player. He’s a leader. I know it’s used a lot, but he’s a gamer.”

Black sees Pillar hitting all over the batting order — from leadoff to the No. 8 spot — just as he did in Boston. More than anything, Black appreciates Pillar’s grit.

“It’s more about the player and the winning type of game he brings every day,” Black said. “He plays hard. He’ll dive. He’ll crash into walls. He’ll try to steal a base. He’ll break up two. His style is his style. For me, from the other side watching him over the years, it’s a winning type of player.”

Pillar was originally selected by Toronto in the 32nd round of the 2011 draft. He’s a career .261 hitter and has five seasons with double-digit steals, including 25 in 2015.

“We made a point to try to take bases. It’s just another way to put pressure on your opponents,” general manager Jeff Bridich said. “Mr. Pillar can fit right into that.

“I’ve thought of him as a gamer, a grinder, an energetic type of a guy that is going to find a way to do something really positive and will his way to help a team win.”

Boston’s payment to Colorado is due Sept. 15. The decision on a player to be named or $100,000 must be made by Feb. 28.

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Chicago Cubs get OF Maybin, 2 lefty relievers in 3 trades
by JAY COHEN - Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs acquired veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin and two left-handed relievers in three trades on Monday, adding some help for the pursuit of their first division title since 2017.

The NL Central leaders sent minor league infielder Zack Short to Detroit for Maybin, who is batting .244 with a homer and two RBIs in 14 games this year. The Cubs got Andrew Chafin and from Arizona for a player to be named or cash, and will get $370,373 from the Diamondbacks on Oct. 16 to offset part of Chafin’s salary. Josh Osich was acquired in a deal with Boston for a player to be named or cash.

“Left-handed relief and right-handed hitters that can hit left-handed pitching, those were two of the main goals we had for the deadline,” general manager Jed Hoyer said.

The addition of Maybin gives the Cubs a glut of outfielders on the roster. They also acquired infielder/outfielder José Martínez in a trade with Tampa Bay on Sunday, but he likely will get most of his playing time at designated hitter.

Kris Bryant and Steven Souza Jr. also are close to returning from injuries. They took batting practice Monday.

Osich, who turns 32 on Thursday, is 1-1 with a 5.74 ERA in 13 games this season. He played for the crosstown White Sox in 2019, going 4-0 with a 4.66 ERA in 57 appearances.

Chafin and Osich each do well against lefty batters. Chafin has limited lefties to a .230 batting average for his career. Osich’s number is .231.

“We assessed a lot of possibilities with a lot of players,” said Chaim Bloom, the chief baseball officer for Boston. “You see the matches we found.”

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AP Baseball Writer Noah Trister and freelance reporter Ken Powtak contributed to this report.

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