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| Sports ExtraFriday, August 31, 2007 7:36 PM CDT |
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Trachsel returns to the Cubs from Orioles
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs turned to their past to bolster their current push for the playoffs, acquiring right-hander Steve Trachsel from the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. The 36-year-old Trachsel, who was drafted by the Cubs in 1991 and pitched for them from 1993-99, will give the NL Central leaders another veteran starter. The deal was made by Cubs general manager Jim Hendry and his former boss, Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, who resigned as Chicago’s CEO after the final game last season. Hendry said he envisioned Trachsel being a starter in the final month --he’s made only one relief appearance in 406 major league games --but would let manager Lou Piniella and pitching coach Larry Rothschild make the final decision on how to use him. The Cubs already have a five-man rotation of Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis, Rich Hill and Sean Marshall. But they will need another starter at least once with a doubleheader in St. Louis on Sept. 15. Piniella said after Friday’s 6-1 loss to the Astros that Trachsel will pitch in a modified six-man rotation and probably get his first start against the Dodgers next week at Wrigley Field. “We’ll pitch him against a few teams. ... It gives us a lot of protection just in case something goes wrong here, there’s an injury,” Piniella said. “Plus, he’s been pitching very well.” Hendry said he was trying to be prepared for any situation down the stretch. “We wanted to try and augment the pitching. We have extra games coming and we’re at the time of year where you don’t want to be caught short,” Hendry said. “All the guys are throwing well. It was not made in any way to replace somebody in the rotation. But you’re one hamstring away from having a need for two starters. ... I didn’t want to get in a spot where you’re in the thick of it on the 20-something of September and you have to start a young man who doesn’t have the experience.” Trachsel has plenty of experience and a long history with the Cubs. He pitched 6 1-3 innings of no-hit ball in a one-game playoff for the NL wild card in 1998 when the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants to make the postseason. Earlier that season he gave up Mark McGwire’s historic 62nd homer in St. Louis. During the 1990s, Trachsel led the Cubs in wins, starts, innings pitched and strikeouts. He pitched a one-hitter against the Reds in 1996. During his first stint with Chicago, he went 60-69 with a 4.35 ERA and was up-and-down each season. He broke in during the 1993 season when he went 0-2. He was 9-7 in 1994, 7-13 in 1995, 13-9 in 1996, 8-12 in 1997, 15-8 in 1998 and 8-18 in 1999. The Cubs sent pitcher Rocky Cherry and infielder Scott Moore to Baltimore for Trachsel. “He seemed real happy about getting in the race,” Hendry said of Trachsel. “And obviously everyone who’s played here before really welcomes a chance to come back here, especially when they’re in it.” Players must be with a team by Friday to be eligible for the postseason. The Aug. 31 deadline often produces a late flurry of deals. “I’ve been talking to Andy for seven to 10 days about it,” Hendry said. “He had a lot of action on him. He was one of the real significant guys that cleared waivers. He was a hot ticket the last few days. We’re lucky to get him.” Hendry said he and MacPhail have a great relationship. “I respected the way he handled the whole process. He other contending clubs involved and I thought it was a fair deal. I really did,” he said. Trachsel was 6-8 with a 4.48 ERA in 25 starts for the floundering Orioles this season. He pitched well this month, going 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA in six starts. Trachsel has also pitched for Tampa Bay, Toronto, the New York Mets and Baltimore. He is 140-151 with a 4.29 ERA lifetime and was an All-Star in 1996 with the Cubs. The Cubs, whose lead before playing Houston on Friday was 2½ games, made their second deal of the month. Earlier, they got outfielder Craig Monroe from Detroit. Cherry, 28, made his major league debut with the Cubs this season and was 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 12 relief appearances. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Iowa. Moore, 23, appeared in 18 games with the Cubs over the past two seasons and was hitless in five at-bats in two games this year. He had 19 homers and 69 RBIs in 103 games with Iowa. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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No kidding wrote on Sep 1, 2007 11:57 AM:
Not a crack addict... wrote on Aug 31, 2007 10:25 PM:
Cubs fan wrote on Aug 31, 2007 3:36 PM:
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