When the Cubs acquired Kyle Hendricks in 2012, he didn’t fit Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer’s preferred model for power pitching. More typical was trading Scott Feldman for hard throwers Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop. And Paul Maholm for hurlers Jaye Chapman and surgically recovering Arodys Vizcaino. And Matt Garza for Neil Ramirez and Carl Edwards Jr.
So when trying to move Ryan Dempster in his final contract year, the Cubs first targeted Atlanta’s hard-throwing 22-year-old Randall Delgado. After Dempster nixed that deal, the Cubs failed to get a package from Los Angeles that included high-K Double-A starter Allen Webster.