The Cubs have acquired lefty Clayton Richard from the Pirates in exchange for cash considerations, Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald reports on Twitter. Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes on Twitter that Richard appeared to be headed to a big league roster after clearing his locker out at Triple-A Indianapolis.
The impetus for the move was an “upward mobility” clause in Richard’s contract, which created a three-day period within which the Pirates had to offer him to other clubs willing to put him on a big league roster or instead add him to their own roster. Had no team been so willing, then Richard would have remained in Triple-A.
Chicago, obviously, was prepared to give Richard an active roster spot while Pittsburgh was not. Miles adds that Richard will make a start this Saturday for the Cubs.
Richard, 31, was a productive starter for the Padres before shoulder issues derailed his career. In both 2010 and 2012, he put up 200+ innings with a sub-4.00 ERA. He last appeared in the big leagues in 2013, struggling badly before ultimately going under the knife.
Richard appeared briefly in Triple-A last year for the Diamondbacks, but has returned to form at Indianapolis this season. In ten total minor league starts, he’s racked up 62 innings of 1.89 ERA pitching, striking out 4.4 and walking 2.0 batters per nine innings.
Good move by the Cubs and if Richard has redeemed himself or returned to form, it solidifies the Cubs rotation behind Lester, Hammels, Arrieta, and Hendricks. Richard would take over the number five slot where there is no pressure and it makes Travis Wood the sixth starter. Edwin Jackson is then expendable and not needed, since Wood takes over as the long man out of the pen, providing insurance for spot starts.
I am entirely okay with this. Richard doesn’t even need to be good to make this worthwhile, just less bad than Donn Roach. He’ll likely be off the roster fast enough if/when they swing a deal for a starter close to the deadline anyway.
Always loved Clayton when he was with the Padres. Always worked fast and made the game more interesting that way. Wished the front office would have taken a chance on him instead of Johnson.