Colorado Rockies trade reliever Rex Brothers to the Chicago Cubs

Jeff Bridich and the Colorado Rockies continue to wheel and deal.

The Rockies announced Wednesday afternoon that the team has traded southpaw reliever Rex Brothers to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for pitching prospect Wander Cabrera.

Brothers, 27, has always been a serviceable option out of the bullpen for Colorado, besides his dreadful 2014 season. Personally, I believe Rex was overused that season (like many other relievers) but his numbers declined quickly. After a 2013 in which Brothers posted a 1.74 ERA in 72 appearances, Brothers quickly fell off the map in 2014.

Brothers collected a record of 4-6 as a reliever in ’14 with walks and command being a detrimental part to his game. The southpaw gave up 35 runs in 56.1 innings pitched, walking 39 while striking out 55. Everyone knows Brothers has the wipeout stuff and the plus fastball, however, commanding it was another thing. Brothers gave up a career-high 10.4 hits per nine while walking 6.2 per nine — not ideal as a reliever or starter for that matter.

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Colorado demoted Brothers to start the 2015 season, letting him make the adjustments and work out the kinks in hopes of executing later on. In all honesty, Brothers looked pretty darn good when he returned to the club, thanks to a new arm-slot.

Brothers made 17 appearances with the Rockies this past season, yielding just two runs on nine hits in 10.1 innings pitched. However, walks were still an issue with Rex, posting a 7.0 walks per nine — eight walks compared to just five strikeouts.

In the deal, Colorado acquired pitching prospect Wander Cabrera from the Cubs. Keep in mind, Cabrera is just 18-years-old. He pitched in the Dominican Summer League this past season for the Cubs, posting a 4-3 record with an ERA of 2.34. The southpaw has the wipeout stuff, posting a 10.0 strikeout per nine ratio, opposed to 4.9 walks walks per nine. Colorado certainly has quite the project on their hands with the young starter and hopefully they can develop him.

Next: Rockies trade Tommy Kahnle to the White Sox

Cabrera logged 42.1 innings in the Summer League, giving up 11 runs on 30 hits, walking 23 and striking out 47.