Long time pinch hitting extraordinaire Tommy La Stella was traded on Thursday afternoon after four seasons in Chicago and five in the organization.
The front office sent him out to Los Angeles to be a part of the Angels orgainzation. In return, the Cubs will receive that ever-so heralded player to be named later or cash considerations.
During his time with the Cubs, Tommy was able to carve out a very clear-cut role as a pinch hitter. He lead the league with 24 pinch hits in 2018 while only making 22 total starts over the course of the season.
Unfortunately, that “lefty bat off the bench” role was not enough to keep La Stella on the roster, especially with David Bote breathing down his back for more playing time going into 2019. While Tommy has a knack for putting the bat on the ball (12.6% career K-rate), he never showed the ability to take the ball out of the ballpark, with a few exceptions of course and proved to be a below average defender in the infield.
La Stella will now go to the Angels where he will be more likely to carve out a role as a starter in the infield playing next to quite possibly the most talented defender in the history of Major League Baseball, Andrelton Simmons. At the very least, Tommy will be a tremendous presence in the Halos dugout much like he was during his time in Chicago.
Good luck, Tommy. You (and your antics) will be missed in Chicago.
Out of the Vines 