Jesse Chavez to the Cubs for Tyler Thomas

The Texas Rangers have traded relief pitcher Jesse Chavez to the Chicago Cubs for a minor leaguer.

Chavez, 34, was signed to a one year deal by the Rangers this offseason, and has been a nice surprise, putting up a 3.51 ERA in 56 innings of work over 30 relief outings. As a veteran on a cheap deal who can go multiple innings, Chavez has been named in the last couple of weeks as a potential trade target for playoff contenders. He’s also seen as a solid clubhouse guy, and has been credited with helping lead the Rangers relief corps this season.

The Rangers will likely be looking to move fellow relievers Jake Diekman, who, like Chavez, is a free agent after this season, as well as Keone Kela, under team control through 2020, before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

We will update this when more info becomes available.

UPDATE — The Rangers have announced Chavez has been traded for minor league left handed pitcher Tyler Thomas.

Thomas, 22, was a 7th round pick of the Cubs out of Fresno State in 2017 — taken five picks after Zach Pop, who was traded by the Dodgers yesterday. Thomas has 75 innings over 15 games in the Midwest League this year, with 81 Ks against 14 walks. John Blake says he will be joining the Hickory Crawdads.