Chicago Cubs fans are not taking the news of a looming Andrew Chafin trade well on Twitter on Monday night.
The Chicago Cubs are expected to be one of the biggest sellers at the MLB trade deadline. A promising start was curtailed by an 11-game losing streak, which forced the Cubs into abandoning making one last run with their core and opting to trade prominent players for a return. The Cubs have already traded outfielder Joc Pederson, and a member of their bullpen is now on the move.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Cubs are on the verge of trading left-handed relief pitcher Andrew Chafin to the Oakland Athletics. The move is pending medical reviews, but the Cubs will be receiving two players in return, including outfielder Greg Deichmann. MLB Network insider Mark Feinsand first reported that the Cubs were close to trading Chafin on Monday night.
After this news was reported, Cubs fans mourned the trade of Chafin, but decided to take to Twitter to “salute the stache” and pay respects to the “failed starter.”
Cubs fans react to Chicago trading Andrew Chafin to the Athletics
https://twitter.com/fieldstoday/status/1419836562985013249?s=20
Chafin started off his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, dating back to 2014. However, the Cubs decided to acquire him at the 2020 MLB trade deadline to help them make their push to the postseason. Through four games with the Cubs that year, Chafin recorded a 3.00 ERA, a 1.000 WHIP, three strikeouts and one walk in three innings of work.
After the season ended, the Cubs signed the reliever to a one-year, $2.75 million, which included a mutual option worth $5.25 million for the 2022 season. Chafin appeared in 43 games in 2021, where he posted a 2.06 ERA, a 0.839 WHIP, 37 strikeouts and 12 walks over 39.1 innings of work.
The Athletics, as of Monday night, have a 1.5 game lead over their rivals, the Seattle Mariners, for the second Wild Card spot in the American League. Not to mention that the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians are all within five games behind the Athletics.
Cubs fans know that a fire sale is coming, but it still does not take away the pain of seeing a fan favorite like Chafin being traded out of the Windy City. Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.