DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers traded outfielder Cameron Maybin to the Chicago Cubs for infield prospect Zack Short just minutes before Monday’s MLB trade deadline.
We have acquired INF Zack Short from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for OF Cameron Maybin.
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 31, 2020
Short, the Cubs No. 21 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has been assigned to the #Tigers alternate training site in Toledo. pic.twitter.com/DYMt9j57eb
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After winning five games in a row against the Chicago Cubs and Minnesota Twins to get back to .500 last week, the Tigers weren’t obvious buyers or sellers at the deadline.
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The 4 p.m. deadline passed before reports emerged that the Tigers had made a trade.
Maybin was on his third stint with the Tigers after they drafted him in 2005, traded for him in 2015 and signed him as a free agent this offseason. This is the third time they’ve traded him, once for Miguel Cabrera back in 2007 and again to the Angels in November 2016.
He slashed .244/.311/.415 in 14 games with the Tigers this season, hitting one home run and four doubles while drawing four walks and striking out 13 times.
Short is a middle infielder with a career .241/.377/.405 slash line in 371 career minor-league games. The 25-year-old is a 45-grade overall prospect with above-average fielding, running and arm strength grades.
He isn’t considered a great contact or power hitter, but his 261 walks in 371 career games suggests he’s got promising plate discipline.
Short finished the 2019 season with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, so he’s just one step away from the MLB level. Overall, it seems like a solid return for the Tigers, considering Maybin will be a free agent in a month.