Cubs land lefty Brothers in deal with Rockies
Chicago sends Minor League pitcher Cabrera to Colorado
CHICAGO -- The Cubs continued to stockpile arms, adding lefty Rex Brothers from the Rockies on Wednesday for Minor League left-hander Wander Cabrera. With the addition, the Cubs' 40-man roster now is at 38.
Brothers, who turns 28 on Dec. 18, split the 2015 season between the Rockies and Triple-A Albuquerque, going 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA in 17 big league relief appearances. He held left-handed hitters to a .227 batting average in the Majors.
In 286 Major League relief outings over the past five seasons, Brothers is 16-11 with 61 holds, 20 saves and a 3.42 ERA. He has averaged 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings and held opposing batters to a .243 average. He was the Rockies' closer in 2013, totaling 19 saves and a 1.74 ERA in 72 appearances.
Cabrera, 18, was 4-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 14 appearances (seven starts) in his first professional season with the Cubs' Dominican Summer League team.
Brothers, who is arbitration-eligible, was designated for assignment last week by the Rockies to open a spot on their 40-man roster.
He is the fourth pitcher the Cubs have acquired in the past few weeks. Last Friday, the Cubs acquired pitcher Spencer Patton from the Rangers for 19-year-old Minor League infielder Frandy De La Rosa. Chicago also claimed lefty Jack Leathersich off waivers from the Mets and signed right-handed pitcher Andury Acevedo to a contract. Acevedo, 25, had spent the past four seasons pitching in the Yankees organization.