And Walker goes to the Padres for some unknown.
Damnit. Two of my favorite Cubs gone. Maddux deserved to retire here if he wanted. He may have been losing steam, but who else do we have to replace him? Rusch?
And what did we get in return? A whole lotta nothing.
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs have agreed to deal Greg Maddux to the Los Angeles Dodgers for infielder Cesar Izturis, and have sent infielder Todd Walker to the San Diego Padres for a Minor League pitcher.
Maddux, 40, was pursued by Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, who was a Cubs official during the right-hander's first stint in Chicago. Maddux is 9-11 with a 4.69 ERA this season, and has a career record of 327-200 and a 3.06 ERA.
Someone on the Bleed Cubbie Blue blog put it best- "this is part of Jim Hendry's plan to acquire all the useless middle infielders on earth". To go with Perez and Cedeno, we now have this-
"Philosophically, I'd decided that if it wasn't a great package for us, that we would keep Greg," Hendry said. "To get Izturis, a Gold Glove winner, 26 years old, we have his rights through 2008. He was arguably, before his surgery, the best shortstop in the National League."
Izturis had Tommy John reconstruction surgery on his right elbow last September. This season, he was batting .252, with seven doubles and 12 RBIs in 32 games, and had played primarily at third. Ronny Cedeno is expected to move to second base for the Cubs.
And for Walker, who certainly is a head case, but who is also one of the best hitters out there- some untested rook.
The Cubs also dealt Walker to the San Diego Padres for Minor League pitcher Jose Ceda on Monday. Ceda, 19, was 4-2 with a 1.50 ERA in 13 games for the Padres' Dominican Summer League Team in 2005. He limited opponents to a .174 batting average against, while striking out 83 in 60 innings.
This year, Ceda was playing for the Padres' Arizona League club, and he was 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA (four earned runs in 18 innings) over six games.
Walker, 33, was batting .277 in 94 games with 16 doubles, six homers and 40 RBIs. The left-handed hitting infielder stepped in at first base for injured Derrek Lee for two months, making 35 starts, but has played more games at second (46). Sunday's 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals was his last game for the Cubs.
And BTW- Garciaparra is batting .327 for the Dodgers. They also have Kenny Lofton, batting .291. (former Cubs we let go, for those who don't know)
Great moves there, Hendry. You are absolutely brilliant.