The Cubs traded for infielder Ronald Torreyes Wednesday afternoon, sending a player to be named later or cash considerations back to the New York Yankees in return.
The Cubs are very familiar with Torreyes after acquiring him along with pitcher Travis Wood and outfielder Dave Sappelt in exchange for Sean Marshall on Dec. 23, 2011 — one of the first trades made by the Theo Epstein administration in Chicago.
Torreyes only spent a little over a year in the Cubs system, playing for Class-A Daytona in 2012 and Double-A Tennessee for the first part of 2013 before he was purchased by the Houston Astros. He later bounced from the Blue Jays to the Dodgers before settling on a home in New York for the last three seasons.
The 26-year-old was a valuable utility infielder for the Yankees, racking up 1.5 WAR while appearing in 221 games over the last three seasons, hitting .281/.310/.375 (.685 OPS) in 615 plate appearances. He doesn't have much power and doesn't walk much, but he also rarely strikes out and can play second base, third base and shortstop.
So what does this mean for the Cubs?
At the very least, Torreyes represents infield insurance, which was an underrated need for the Cubs this winter.
Then there's the Addison Russell situation. The Cubs can choose to part ways with Russell before Friday's nontender deadline and if so, Torreyes is insurance as another guy besides Javy Baez who can play shortstop. If the Cubs keep Russell, they'll still need middle infield depth for the first month of the season in which Russell is suspended.
Torreyes was known as a very popular player with the Yankees, both by players and fans:
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