A’s get reliever Chafin in trade with Cubs

SAN DIEGO — Aiming to upgrade their bullpen before the trade deadline, the A’s acquired lefthanded reliever Andrew Chafin from the Cubs in a deal for two minorleague players.

Chafin, 31, had a 2.06 ERA in 43 appearances for the Cubs this season. The A’s also received cash in the trade and sent TripleA outfielder Greg Deichmann and LowA righthanded pitcher Daniel Palencia to Chicago, they announced Monday night.

A’s general manager David Forst had identified bullpen help as a primary target prior to Friday’s trade deadline. Chafin has held opponents to a .154 average and .461 OPS in 391⁄3 innings. He has been effective against both lefthanded hitters (a .164 average) and righthanded (.147).

Chafin is on a oneyear deal with a $2.25 million base salary and is due about $822,000 the rest of this season, according to Spotrac. He also could earn $125,000 bonuses for reaching totals of 50, 55, 60 and 65 games pitched, per Spotrac. He is seven games shy of the first mark. His deal also includes a mutual option for 2022 worth $5.25 million with a $500,000 buyout.

The A’s have used one primary lefthanded reliever this season: setup man Jake Diekman. The bullpen overall has a 1.64 ERA in its past 18 games and Oakland had the majors’ 10thlowest relief ERA (3.78) entering Monday. The A’s were off Monday after a fourgame series in Seattle in which they lost three onerun games, falling 5½ games behind Houston in the division.

Deichmann, 26, a lefthanded hitter, is batting .300 with an .885 OPS with TripleA Las Vegas. The A’s added Deichmann, a secondround pick in 2017, to their 40man roster last offseason. He was pulled from Las Vegas’ 65 loss at Salt Lake for a defensive replacement in the ninth inning Monday night.

Palencia, 21, was signed by the A’s from Venezuela in 2020. In six starts with LowA Stockton this season, he was 02 with a 6.91 ERA.