Life’s a beach: Cubs send Carl Edwards Jr. to Padres in ‘change of scenery’ trade at deadline

ST. LOUIS – The last of three trades the Cubs made Wednesday didn’t add a player to the big-league roster, but it included the most symbolic, if not significant, loss from the organization in setup man Carl Edwards Jr.

The trade of Edwards to the Padres for left-hander Brad Wieck meant that in the past two weeks the Cubs traded the two pitchers who combined to pitch the final inning of Game 7 of the long elusive, holy-grail World Series championship of 2016.

The deal, which also involves international bonus pool money heading to San Diego, ends a tumultuous period for the former set-up man that included stints on the injured list and in the minor leagues prior to his departure.

Edwards got the first two outs of that 10^th inning with Mike Montgomery – traded to Kansas City two weeks ago – getting the final out.

Edwards, who was dominant for much of 2016-18, struggled at the end of last season and with mechanics into this season. He also dealt with an upper back injury this year and was viciously targeted with racist social media posts when he struggled early this season (his family also enduring racist taunts yelled at him in their vicinity at the Atlanta ballpark).

“We’ll never forget his contributions,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said. “This was a situation that there’s on other way to say it but that we felt that it was time for a change of scenery.

“That happens in sports. I think you get to a place with a certain organization or a certain – whatever it is about that setting. Maybe you lose some of your confidence. You lose some of your mojo. You start questioning yourself when you didn’t question yourself before. And we felt we were at that point.”

Hoyer said he couldn’t be sure how much the racist fan behavior might have contributed the loss of “mojo” this year.

“Some of that off-field stuff certainly can’t make you more comfortable in a place,” Hoyer said. “I’m sure it has its negative repercussions. But I can’t pinpoint it.”

Edwards, who turns 28 in early August, had emerged as one of the Cubs’ top relievers before his struggles this season. He recorded a 2.98 ERA in 73 appearances with the club in 2017, then followed it up a year ago by posting a 2.60 ERA in 58 appearances. Entering 2019, there was some hope that he could take on an even bigger role in the bullpen.

Instead, Edwards spent the offseason tweaking his delivery, only for umpires to deem it illegal early in the season. That set forward a series of developments that included multiple trips to Class AAA Iowa, including his most recent one after a demotion on July 22. In the spring, MLB started an investigation for the racist messages sent to the pitcher on social media.

In 20 appearances with the Cubs this season, Edwards recorded a 5.87 ERA with nine walks in 15.1 innings. He’s been better at Class AAA, where he’s allowed a 3.07 ERA in 14.2 innings with Iowa.

Wieck expected to help this year

Wieck, a left-hander the Cubs tried to acquire over the winter, had a 6.57 ERA for the Padres this year, but he also had 31 strikeouts to nine walks in 24 2/3 innings and showed promise in a brief big-league debut last year.

“We were looking to get an optionable lefty,” Hoyer said. “He’s a guy we have really high hopes for. I think he’s going to be a big contributor for us over the next few years, and I think Carl is going to be a big contributor for the Padres.”

Wieck is expected to start at Class AAA Iowa and likely will join the club when rosters expand in September.

Big turnover

By game time Thursday, the Cubs expect to have all their new big-leaguers on the roster – marking a 20-percent roster turnover in a matter of weeks, including the addition of closer Craig Kimbrel.

“It’s a lot of change, a lot of really solid change,” manager Joe Maddon said. “These guys have all been around a bit; they all have really good track records. It’s exciting.”

Three, including Kimbrel, right-hadner David Phelps and left-hander Derek Holland, already were on the roster by Wednesday night.

Outfielder Nick Castellanos (from Detroit for two minor-league pitchers) was expected Thursday, and infielder Tony Kemp (from the Astros for Martin Maldonado) arrived in time to be available during Wednesday’s game.