The Rays and Cubs have completed their Aug. 30 Jose Martinez trade, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). The Rays acquired cash rather than a player to be named later to round out the deal. The initial trade was announced as Martinez to the Cubs in exchange for minor league infielder Pedro Martinez and a PTBNL or cash.
The trade didn’t pan out as the Cubs had hoped, as Martinez appeared in 10 games for them and went 0-for-21 with a walk. A longtime division rival with the Cardinals, the 32-year-old Martinez struggled immensely in 2020, hitting just .182/.265/.295 in a combined 98 plate appearances between the two teams. The Cubs still control him through 2022 via arbitration, although his 2020 struggles make him a clear non-tender candidate.
As for the Rays, they picked up the younger, 19-year-old Martinez who now ranks as their No. 21 prospect at MLB.com and Baseball America as well as their No. 31 prospect at FanGraphs. The lack of a minor league season makes it impossible to really evaluate the younger Martinez’s 2020 season. That said, he posted a .311/.388/.437 slash through 233 plate appearances back in 2019 and adds some depth to the lower levels of one of MLB’s best farms.