Cubs Trade Miles Mastrobuoni to Mariners for Moolah

Following his designation for assignment last week, the Cubs have traded Miles Mastrobuoni to the Mariners for cash considerations. So much for the idea of flipping Nico Hoerner to Seattle for one of their young, cost-controlled starters. Not that such a deal would have worked, though it’s still not inconceivable that the Cubs could move Hoerner even though doing so would defang their defense and lower the roster’s floor.

Mastrobuoni is a versatile defensive player who hit very well in the minors but was never able to put it together over what amounted to about half a season of plate appearances over parts of three years. Now he gets another shot with a new team as the Cubs continue to clear out their depth at third base. As noted in the piece about his DFA, Mastrobuoni was one of five Cubs to post a negative WAR over 90 or more PAs last season. As long as they get replacement-level production from that bench spot, they’ll be in a better place.

The biggest loss here comes for fans who liked to refer to Mastrobuoni as Master Boner, Macaroni, or just some unintentional misspelling of his name.