Have you heard the full story on the Barret Loux and Jacob Brigham swap? Brigham just got reassigned and has an opt-out date, so it's likely he never throws a meaningful pitch for the Rangers. It seems like we let the Cubs take advantage of this deal.
-- Jeff S., Fort Worth, Texas
The Rangers made the deal with the Cubs for catcher Geovany Soto on the night of July 30. The two teams had talked about both Loux and Brigham. The Cubs agreed to the deal for Brigham but still wanted to review his medical records. While they were doing so, news of the trade leaked out from Chicago. At the same time, the Cubs started expressing reluctance to acquire Brigham because they had concerns about his physical conditioning. By then, Yorvit Torrealba had been told what the situation was and Soto was coming to Texas to replace him.
The Rangers, backed into a bad spot, convinced the Cubs to do the deal with the provision that if Brigham wasn't healthy, the Cubs could take Loux instead after the season, plus a player to be named later. That proved to be the case. Brigham came down with an elbow problem, the Cubs asked to redo the deal and the Rangers still owe them one more player.
