Wade Davis: Wade Davis to Cubs 'far from a certain thing'

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported Monday afternoon that the Cubs are one of the most serious pursuers of Kansas City Royals closer Wade Davis. The Royals also feel they have an in-house replacement in setup man Kelvin Herrera.

Thanks for everything, Wader.

As the Cubs look to defend their first World Series title in more than a century, Davis would help shore up the bullpen and given his past experience, would figure to be able to pitch more than just the ninth inning come playoff time (if healthy). Davis posted a 2-1 mark with 27 saves and a 1.87 ERA in 45 appearances last season despite missing most of August with an arm injury. Even with the concerns around his treks to the disabled list with forearm strains, Davis should fetch quite the hefty return. He got the last out for the Royals when they won the 2015 World Series over the New York Mets and converted a combined 44 of 48 save opportunities in 2015 and 2016. Since 2014, he has logged 182.2 innings with a 1.18 ERA. Soler, still only 24-years old, made his stateside debut in 2012 and started his career just fine, hitting five homers and batting.299 over two levels (Rookie League and Arizona Fall League) that season. He missed nearly two months because of a strained left hamstring. Once it became clear that Davis wasn't coming to Boston, Dombrowski moved on by flipping Shaw, along with minor league prospects Mauricio Dubon and Josh Pennington, to the Milwaukee Brewers for Thornburg.

If a deal between the Royals and Cubs were to happen, it would reunite Davis with ex-Tampa Bay Rays skipper Joe Maddon.

Hector Rondon, who cashed 77 of 90 save chances over the last three seasons with the Cubs, will combine with Pedro Strop and Carl Edwards Jr.to handle set-up duties. Working to shave salary, the Royals reportedly will receive slugger Jorge Soler and the four seasons of team control that comes with him.

Davis gives the Cubs exactly what they need for 2017, and the front office wasn't forced to overspend on a free-agent closer. "If you end up going into spring with that group in the middle, I've always said those are some pretty good players to mix and match".

"The free agent market and the trade markets have both been a little slow", Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said earlier in the day.

Asked about Davis vs. the Cubs' closer last October, "I can't tell you he's better". The 31-year old owns an obscene 1.18 ERA and 11.5 K/9 over the past three seasons since transitioning into a full-time reliever. He struck out 30% of the time, but when he did make contact he did flash power at times.