The Cubs have acquired Jose Martinez from the Rays

When Jose Martinez was a member of the Cardinals, he used to absolutely destroy Cubs pitching.

Now, he’ll get a chance to do that FOR the Cubs:

As Jordan Bastian notes, Martinez absolutely crushes lefthanded pitching.

This is a deal the Cubs likely wouldn’t have made before this year. But now with the designated hitter in the National League, Martinez is a good fit. He can also play first base if Anthony Rizzo needs a day off, and he’s played outfield before, but I certainly wouldn’t put him there.

Martinez will almost certainly become the Cubs’ DH against LHP, and since Cubs DHs this year have hit poorly — .159/.280/.271 (17-for-107) with 46 strikeouts — it probably wouldn’t hurt to put him there full-time.

There’s no word on a 28-man roster move nor a 40-man roster move yet to make room for Martinez, and as the Rays are scheduled to play in Miami this afternoon, it’s likely Martinez will meet the team in Pittsburgh for Tuesday’s game. That will give time for the Cubs to make those move, and also perhaps make more deals before Monday’s deadline.

As always, we await developments.

UPDATE: The Cubs announced Josh Phegley has been designated for assignment to make room for Martinez on the 40-man roster. That should also be the 28-man move once Martinez reports.

The 60-man Player Pool roster stands at 57 players, with 27 active players on the major league roster (plus two 10-day injured list players) in Chicago and 27 players in South Bend. It will be at 58 once Martinez reports.