Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - The Chicago Cubs have traded pitcher Ted Lilly
and infielder Ryan Theriot to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for
infielder Blake DeWitt and a pair of minor league pitching prospects.
Chicago also sent cash considerations to the Dodgers and picked up right-
handers Kyle Smit and Brett Wallach from LA.
Lilly had been rumored to be on the trading block all week leading up to
Saturday's deadline. He is just 3-8 with a 3.69 earned run average in 18
starts this season, but has been a double-digit winner in each of the last
seven years.
The 34-year-old lefty was 47-34 with a 3.70 ERA in four seasons with the Cubs
and has also pitched for Toronto, Oakland, the New York Yankees and Montreal.
He owns a career record of 106-92 with a 4.21 ERA in 298 games, all but 25 of
which have been starts.
"We've been looking to improve our rotation and with Ted, we feel like we've
got a very good group of starting pitchers for the stretch run," said Dodgers
general manager Ned Colletti. "Ryan is versatile and can help us in the middle
of the diamond as a nice complement to our existing infielders."
Theriot had spent his entire six-year career with the Cubs and this year was
batting .284 with one homer and 21 runs batted in through 96 games. The 30-
year-old Louisiana native is a career .287 hitter with 15 homers and 174 RBI
in 609 games.
DeWitt was in his third season with the Dodgers. In 82 games this season, he
was batting .270 with a homer and 30 runs batted in. After hitting .264 in 117
games as a rookie in 2008, he struggled and spent most of 2009 in the minors.
In 31 games with the Dodgers last year, the 24-year-old batted a mere .204.
"Of all the times I've had to tell a player he was traded, this was one of the
toughest telling Blake DeWitt," Colletti added. "His professionalism, his
passion and who he is made doing this one of the toughest moves I've made."
Smit has split this season at Single-A and Double-A. The 22-year-old is 5-3
with six saves and a 2.35 ERA in a combined 37 appearances.
Wallach, the 21-year-old son of former major leaguer Tim Wallach, was 6-0 with
a 3.72 ERA in 17 starts for Single-A Great Lakes this season.
