Introducing New Cubs Tommy Hunter And Dan Haren

The Cubs have two new pitchers, both acquired by trade before Friday's deadline.

Mark Brown of SB Nation's Orioles site Camden Chat was kind enough to send me a few words about Tommy Hunter:

Hunter started his Orioles career after being traded here for Koji Uehara in 2011. He struck out as a starter, but by last year he was a key part of the Orioles bullpen, starting out as the closer before being bounced to the eighth inning, where he thrived. In relief he could just air the ball out for an inning and do well. That success did not carry over to 2015, however, and he was shuffled out of the back end of the bullpen after too many bad outings. He's a real clubhouse character and seems like a nice guy.

I'll miss his antics if not his pitching right now.

And, Scott Gelman of the SB Nation Marlins site sent me his thoughts on Dan Haren:

Dan Haren is in 2015 exactly what he has been throughout the course of his career -- a solid middle-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. Even though the Marlins had a notable amount of young starting pitching depth heading into the season, they opted to add Haren, which in my opinion speaks volumes about his character in the clubhouse and ability to have success on the mound. At 34, he has already made 21 starts, posting a 3.42 ERA over 129 innings. He will be a durable option for the Cubs and will likely prove to be an upgrade throughout August and September.

The Marlins were likely pleased by what the Cubs offered because he was pitching well and as a result, the club was not in a hurry to move him. His salary was thought to potentially make a trade challenging but the Cubs got it done. Haren is a veteran and solid starter who will not blow hitters away with a fastball and as a result relies on command. In my eyes, Haren will help the Cubs tremendously for the remainder of the season.

These additions weren't the "sexy" ones that many Cubs fans might have wanted, but I agree with both of these analyses. You'll note that both of these writers praised the clubhouse abilities of these pitchers as well as what they can do on the field. Having a solid veteran presence is important in the still quite-young Cubs clubhouse. Current Cubs players are also quite familiar with both of these men. Miguel Montero, who will hopefully be returning soon from a thumb injury, played with Haren from 2008-10 in Arizona and praised him (video at this link). Jake Arrieta and Tommy Hunter were Baltimore teammates from 2011-13 and here's video from Arrieta on Hunter.

Hunter should be available Saturday night in the Cubs' bullpen and Haren is expected to start one of the games against the Pirates in Pittsburgh next week.