Cubs acquire Travis Lakins from Red Sox for PTBNL

The Cubs have made another deal for a relief pitcher Monday, per a press release from the team.

They’ve acquired righthander Travis Lakins from the Red Sox in exchange for a player to be named later.

Lakins was the Red Sox’ sixth-round pick in 2015 from Ohio State. The Ohio native made his MLB debut for the Red Sox last summer and appeared in 16 games (three starts) with a 3.86 ERA and 1.414 WHIP. With Triple-A Pawtucket in 2019 he posted a 4.60 ERA and 1.533 WHIP in 40 appearances (one start).

Last March, Matt Collins of our SB Nation Red Sox site Over The Monster profiled Lakins and wrote:

Instead of pairing a huge fastball and a devastating breaking ball, Lakins boasts four pitches that could be average or better. One of those is a big fastball that can get up to the upper-90s in shorter stints. Beyond that he throws both a cutter and a slider, which share similar movement but come in at different speeds, as well as a curveball and a changeup that may be scrapped. The repertoire was never the issue for starting, and it carries over to his relief profile. However, the arsenal is not a finished product, as he needs to work on commanding all of his pitches in any situation.

The command issue seems correct — Lakins had a high walk rate in both Triple-A and with the Red Sox in 2019, so he seems like another good candidate for the Cubs’ Pitch Lab.

Lakins heads to the 40-man roster, which is now full. He’s got two option years remaining, so he’s likely going to be an Iowa Shuttle guy. He turns 26 in June, so this seems to be a good depth bullpen addition.