The Cubs have made their second trade for a left-handed reliever, acquiring Josh Osich from the Red Sox minutes before the deadline Monday afternoon.
The Cubs also traded for left-hander Andrew Chafin from the Diamondbacks earlier on Monday.
Osich, 31, hasn’t been all that dominant against left-handed hitters in 2020, allowing a .747 OPS against them, but he does have nine strikeouts in 26 plate appearances so far in 2020 vs. lefties.
For his career, Osich has been good vs. LHH.
However, you definitely never want to see Osich in a game facing righties because he gets crushed, allowing a career slash line of .292/.367/.525, vs RHH. This becomes a bigger issue in 2020, as the three batter minimum rule is in play, so David Ross is going to have to be extremely careful when he puts Osich in.
This specific move seems more like a depth option for the Cubs, as Kyle Ryan was the only lefty in the bullpen before the trades. Yet, it seems like the Cubs are probably hoping Chafin is the guy who ends up being their left-handed pitcher for high leverage situations out of the bullpen against LHH.
