Chicago Cubs News: Cubs trade left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin to Athletics

The Cubs have reached an agreement to trade left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin to the Athletics. Mark Feinstein appears to have been first with the news that Chafin was about to be dealt and Ken Rosenthal was first in reporting the deal was to Oakland.

The deal is not yet final as the teams are still examining the medical reports of the players involved.

Chafin was acquired from the Diamondbacks in a deal at the trade deadline last year, even though he was on the injured list at the time. He made four appearances with the Cubs at the end of the season last year before reaching free agency. The Cubs were impressed enough with Chafin in his short stint in 2020 (and vice-versa) that they signed him back to a one-year, $2.25 deal this past off-season. (There’s a mutual option year with a $500k buyout for 2022, so it was really a $2.75 million deal.)

This season, Chafin has been one of the best left-handed set-up men in the majors for the Cubs. He’s pitched in 43 games and has a 2.06 ERA in 39 ¹⁄₃ innings. He also pitched the eighth inning in the Cubs’ June 24 combined no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Chafin has also been a fan favorite on the North Side, both for his excellent pitching and his overall fun-loving demeanor, as demonstrated by the shirt he’s wearing in the picture above.

At this point, we still do not know who the Cubs are getting back in the deal or if the Cubs are eating any of Chafin’s salary. We will update this post when we have further information.

UPDATE:

Update: The Deal is now official.

Now that the trade is complete, we can include a poll.