The Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN. LA sends reliever Matt Guerrier in exchange for Marmol and around $209,000 of internation signing bonus money.
Winners of eight of their last nine, the Dodgers remain in last but are now just 3.5 games behind the first-place Diamondbacks. The NL West is the tightest (read: worst) division in baseball this year and a key deadline acquisition could decide who backs into a playoff spot.
Carlos Marmol is not that acquisition. The Cubs designated him for assignment six days ago after briefly running his season ERA over 6.00. The 30-year-old is on pace to set career highs in BB/9, H/9 and HR/9 and his lowest K/9 total since 2006. Primarily an eighth- and ninth-inning guy in Chicago, Marmol was just two of five in save opportunities before being sent down.
