Cubs, Cardinals swap minor-leaguers in Rule 5 Draft

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The Cubs and Cardinals swapped minor leaguers as part of the Rule 5 Draft Thursday.

After the big-league portion of the Rule 5 Draft finished, the Cubs then selected outfielder Michael O'Neill from the Cardinals in the minor-league portion of the draft. St. Louis responded by nabbing left-handed pitcher Michael Heesch.

Heesch is a Chicagoland kid (born in Crystal Lake, Ill., and attended Prairie Ridge High School) who played for the Kane County Cougars in 2013-14.

The 25-year-old southpaw was drafted in the eighth round in 2012, but has pitched just one game above A-ball. He spent 2015 with Advanced Class-A Myrtle Beach, going 8-2 with a 2.24 ERA, 1.259 WHIP and three saves in 64.1 innings.

O'Neill is 27 and a former 31st-round pick of the 2010 Draft. He doesn't provide much power (four homers in 549 minor-league games), but has a knack for getting on base with a career .311 average and .412 on-base percentage in six minor-league seasons.

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O'Neill split time between Double-A and Triple-A in the Cardinals system in 2015, hitting .289 with a .400 OBP and .719 OPS.

The Cubs also selected catcher David Freitas from the Baltimore Orioles in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 Draft.

Freitas, 26, provides some much-needed catching depth at the upper levels of the Cubs' system. He spent most of 2014-15 in Double-A with the Orioles, but has 41 games of experience at Triple-A.

Freitas is a career .269 hitter with a .781 OPS in six minor-league seasons.

Among the rest of the moves, the Cubs added outfielder Jesus Loya (Red Sox) and lost left-handed pitcher Ariel Ovando (Angels), right-handed pitcher Julian Aybar (Yankees) and outfielder/second baseman Pin-Chieh Chen (Reds).

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