Cubs acquire Stewart, Weathers from Rockies

The Chicago Cubs tonight acquired infielder Ian Stewart and right-handed pitcher Casey Weathers from the Colorado Rockies for outfielder Tyler Colvin and infielder DJ LeMahieu.

Stewart, 26, is a career .236 hitter (293-for-1,242) with 61 doubles, 54 home runs and 187 RBI in 432 major league games with the Rockies covering all or part of the last five seasons (2007-2011).  The left-handed batter and right-handed thrower has played 354 of his big league games at third base and also has experience at second base (33 games) and the outfield (six games in left field, three games in right field).  He has averaged 23 doubles, 20 home runs and 70 RBI per 162 games in his major league career.

Originally selected by Colorado in the first round (10th overall) of the 2003 Draft out of high school, Stewart reached the big leagues at the age of 22 in 2007 and completed his first full season in the big leagues by 2009, when he hit 25 home runs and recorded 70 RBI in 147 games for Colorado and helped the club to the postseason.  He batted .256 with 18 home runs and 61 RBI in 122 games in 2010.  

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Stewart split the 2011 campaign between the Rockies and Triple-A Colorado Springs, totaling two stints in each spot.  He batted .156 with six doubles in 48 games with Colorado and hit .275 with 14 home runs and 42 RBI in 45 games at Colorado Springs.

Stewart is a native of Long Beach, CA and a graduate of La Quinta High School in Westminster.

Weathers, 26, was selected by the Rockies in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2007 Draft out of Vanderbilt University, where he was a 2007 First-Team All American.  By 2008, Weathers had advanced to Double-A Tulsa and earned a spot on Team USA at the Beijing Olympics before being sidelined by Tommy John Surgery in October, 2008, forcing him to miss the 2009 campaign.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Weathers returned to the mound in 2010 and pitched at Double-A Tulsa last season, going 2-2 with a 5.32 ERA (27 ER/45.2 IP) in 44 relief appearances.  He struck out 48 in 45.2 innings, but also issued 48 walks.  Weathers was added to Colorado’s 40-man roster following the 2010 campaign.

Weathers is a native of Elk Grove, CA and a graduate of Laguna Creek High School.

Colvin, 26, batted .215 (125-for-581) with 26 home runs and 78 RBI in 221 games with the Cubs covering all or part of the last three seasons.  After a 2010 rookie campaign that featured a .254 batting average, 20 home runs and 56 RBI in 135 contests, Colvin split last year between Chicago and Triple-A Iowa, batting .150 with six home runs and 20 RBI in 80 big league games.  He was originally selected by Chicago in the first round (13th overall) of the 2006 Draft.

LeMahieu, 23, made his major league debut with the Cubs last year and batted .250 (15-for-60) with zero home runs and four RBI in 37 games.  LeMahieu was originally selected by the Cubs in the second round of the 2009 Draft.