The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded pitcher Clayton Richard to the Chicago Cubs for cash considerations. Richard had an opt out clause in his contract, where the Pirates had to make him available to all 29 other teams. If another team was willing to place him on their 25-man roster, the Pirates either had to work out a trade or add Richard to their own 25-man roster.
Richard was a reclamation project, who had good results with Indianapolis this season. In nine starts, he had a 2.09 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP over 56 innings, though he had just 25 strikeouts. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2013, when he had a 7.01 ERA in 52.2 innings for the San Diego Padres.
