CUBS LAND LEFTY WILSON, CATCHER AVILA
The Chicago Cubs acquired pitcher Justin Wilson and catcher Alex Avila from the Detroit Tigers for infielders Jeimer Candelario and Isaac Paredes, and cash.
What does it give the Chicago Cubs
The Cubs have been on fire since the All-Star break and now lead the National League Central division--and they intend to stay there. By adding Wilson, Chicago lands a quality late-inning left-hander who could set up closer Wade Davis or be used in tandem down the stretch. With Davis slated to become a free agent this off-season, Wilson might become an even more important piece to the Cubs' puzzle in 2018. As for Avila, he is a quality left-handed bat from the catching position and will effectively replace the recently-traded Miguel Montero as the backup to Willson Contreras. This trade just might be what Chicago needs to repeat as champions.
What does it give the Detroit Tigers
Tigers GM Al Avila dealt away his son Alex in this deal, which can never be an easy decision for any sports executive. That said, this was a necessary move for a Tigers squad that is quickly headed towards a full rebuild. In exchange for one of their platoon catchers and a lefty reliever who was serving as Detroit's closer, the Bengals landed a solid prospect for the hot corner in Candelario (who already has a little bit of MLB experience) and a potential home-run prospect in 18-year-old shortstop Paredes. While Candelario might challenge Nicholas Castellanos for the starting 3B gig in 2018, Paredes is several years away but might be the key to this deal.
Fantasy impact
Wilson will lose save opportunities to Wade Davis in Chicago, so his overall fantasy value will take a short-term hit (but might get spiked back up in 2018 if Davis leaves the Cubs as a free agent this winter). Avila loses some fantasy value, as well, since he will be mostly used as a backup to Contreras in Chicago. Candelario's fantasy stock is on the rise, since it should be a lot easier to move ahead of Castellanos in Detroit than to budge Kris Bryant off the hot corner in the Windy City. As for Paredes, he should definitely be on the keeper radar but is several years away from fantasy relevance. Is he Detroit's shortstop of the future? Also, James McCann's stock down the stretch gets a boost, since he no longer has to share catching duties with Avila in Detroit. There will also be a new closer in Detroit for the rest of 2017: Tyler Wilson? Shane Greene? Bruce Rondon? Stay tuned.
