Cubs Acquire Michael Busch, Yency Almonte From Dodgers In Prospect-Laden Trade

Image credit: Michael Busch (Photo by Eddie Kelly)

One day after agreeing to their first free agent signing of the offseason, the Cubs made their first major trade of the offseason.

The Cubs acquired reliever Yency Almonte and top prospect infielder Michael Busch from the Dodgers in exchange for lefthanded pitching prospect Jackson Ferris and outfield prospect Zyhir Hope on Thursday, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan and MLB.com’s Juan Toribio.

Busch is the Dodgers’ No. 1 prospect and gives the Cubs a long-term option at first base. Almonte, meanwhile, gives the Cubs an established arm in a largely young and unproven bullpen.

CUBS ACQUIRE

Michael Busch, 3B/1B
Age: 26

Busch ranked as the Dodgers No. 1 prospect and won MVP of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League last year after batting .323/.431/.618 with 27 home runs and 90 RBIs for Triple-A Oklahoma City. He is a potent offensive threat with elite strike-zone discipline, a controlled approach and a balanced, powerful lefthanded swing. Busch drives balls hard in the air from gap-to-gap, handles both premium velocity and quality breaking stuff and mashes both lefties and righties. He projects to be an above-average hitter who can anchor the middle of a lineup. A first baseman in college, Busch has played both second and third base in the minors but is below-average at both. His best position is first, where he was blocked by Freddie Freeman with the Dodgers but now has a wide-open path with the Cubs. He projects to be the Cubs’ Opening Day first baseman in 2024 and their long-term answer at the position.

Yency Almonte, RHP
Age: 29

A hard-throwing, 6-foot-5 righthander, Almonte has alternated great years and bad years throughout his career and is due for a good season in 2024. He posted a miniscule 1.02 ERA in 2022 but ballooned to a 5.06 ERA in 2023. Almonte’s inconsistency is a result of his control. His fastball sits 95-96 mph and his sweepy 83-84 mph slider is a dominant swing-and-miss pitch when he’s in the strike zone, but he’s prone to losing his control and walking too many batters. He has a chance to be a setup man for the Cubs if he can rein in his control. He will be a free agent after the 2025 season.

DODGERS ACQUIRE

Jackson Ferris, LHP
Age: 19

A second-round pick in 2022, Ferris ranked as the Cubs’ No. 10 prospect in the upcoming BA Prospect Handbook. He has a projectable 6-foot-4, 195-pound frame and some of the best pure stuff of any lefthanded pitching prospect in the minors, but he is still learning to harness it. He went 2-3, 3.38 with 77 strikeouts and 33 walks in 56 innings at Low-A Myrtle Beach last year in his pro debut while averaging just over three innings per start. Ferris’ fastball sits 93-95 with explosive late life and overwhelms hitters in the strike zone. His 74-77 mph curveball is a hammer he has great touch and feel for, and he added a sweepy, 79-81 mph slider to his arsenal last year that flashes above-average potential. He also has a mid-80s changeup that shows average potential. Ferris has plenty of stuff, but his complicated, contorted delivery results in below-average control. His arm action yields concern about future injuries and he lacks command. The Dodgers have had success helping hard-throwing but wild pitchers dial in their control, most notably Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot and Emmet Sheehan, and will try to do the same with Ferris.

Zyhir Hope, OF
Age: 18

The Cubs drafted Hope in the 11th round out of Colonial Forge (Stafford, Va.) High last year but gave him a $400,000 signing bonus, equivalent to fifth-round money. He ranked as the No. 276 prospect in the 2023 draft class. Hope is an 80-grade runner who projects to stay in center field and looked better than expected offensively in instructional league, where he showed power to all fields with a sound lefthanded swing. Hope has a history of expanding the strike zone, particularly against secondary pitches, and will need time to refine his pitch selection, but his athleticism, youth and lefthanded power make for a promising foundation.