The Chicago Cubs have finally won a World Series championship after 108 years but they have a lot of work to do this offseason. One of their priorities is to find a new closer and they did: Wade Davis of the Kansas City Royals.
Mark Melancon recently signed with the San Francisco Giants while Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen are set to make a ridiculous amount of money. Mike Oz of Yahoo! Sports reported that Chapman is demanding a six-year deal worth around $100 million.
In 28 games with the Cubs, Chapman posted a 1-1 record and a 1.01 ERA. He recorded 46 strikeouts and 16 saves. It should be noted that he blew a three-run lead in Game 7 of the World Series and he prefers returning to the New York Yankees.
Chapman's demand forced the Cubs to look for other options in the trade market. They were linked with Alex Colome of the Tampa Bay Rays and A.J. Ramos of the Miami Marlins but they eventually swung a deal for the Royals' Wade Davis.
According to USA Today Sports, Chicago has agreed to send outfielder Jorge Soler to Kansas City in exchange for Davis. It is expected that the Cubs will make Davis their closer and let Chapman walk away in free agency.
Davis is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2017 MLB season. Despite being a lights out in the ninth inning, Davis has no problem working as a setup man. In 45 games this season, he posted a 1.87 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 27 saves.
On the other hand, the deal made sense for the Royals since they cannot afford to re-sign Wade Davis to a contract extension. They already have a replacement for Davis in Kelvin Herrera. Soler, who is on a team-friendly deal, has the power potential to help the Royals.
However, Soler was limited to just 86 games this season due to the signing of Jason Heyward. In 86 games, the 24-year-old slugger hit .238 with 12 home runs and 31 RBIs. He struck out 66 times while playing subpar defense at right field.
