Arizona Diamondbacks trade Miguel Montero to Chicago Cubs
Dec 9, 2014, 8:20 PM | Updated: 10:07 pm
The Arizona Diamondbacks traded catcher and two-time All-Star Miguel Montero to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday.
In return, the Diamondbacks will get two players at the Single-A level, according to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro.
One of the pitchers the Dbacks are getting from Chicago is Jefferson Mejia 6-7 righty who is 19 years old.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) December 9, 2014
The other is Zach Godley, also a right-handed pitcher.
The Cubs have agreed to take on all of the $40 million still owed to Montero over the three years that are still left on his contract.
Montero signed a five-year deal with the Diamondbacks in May of 2012 for $60 million that runs through 2017. The catcher is set to make $12 million in 2015 and $14 million in 2016 and 2017.
Montero played the first nine seasons of his major league career with the Diamondbacks, hitting 97 home runs and 448 RBI with a .264 batting average. Chosen as an All-Star in 2011 and 2014, the catcher earned recognition as a defensive force behind the plate, throwing out 35 percent of attempted stolen base runners since 2010 with a .991 fielding percentage over that time.
Montero joined the organization in 2001, after signing as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela.
The catcher had his best statistical season in 2011, hitting 18 home runs and 86 RBI while leading the league by throwing out 40 percent of base stealers. Montero also had a career high Wins Above Replacement in 2011, with a 4.1 WAR that was good for fourth among catchers in the majors.
This move leaves the Diamondbacks with only one catcher on their 40-man roster, 30-year-old Tuffy Gosewisch. Gosewisch batted .225 with one home run and seven RBI in 41 games last season, his second in the majors.
Mejia, hails from the Dominican Republic and pitched in the Rookie League for the last two years. MLB.com listed him as the Cubs’ 17th-best prospect prior to the 2014 season.
Godley, 24, was a 10th round pick of the Cubs back in 2013 out of the University of Tennessee. In two seasons in the minors, he has compiled a 6-3 record with a 2.74 ERA in 54 relief appearances. Godley has struck out 105 batters in 82 innings and registered 15 saves.
In four years of college ball (three at Tennessee, one at Spartanburg Methodist College), Godley went 16-11 with a 3.67 ERA in 67 games (25 starts). He struck out 215 and walked 81 in 251 innings.
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