Though not quite the scale of the Wade Davis-for-Jorge Soler deal, the Kansas City Royals swapped a pitcher for a Cubs outfielder for a second time this offseason.
The team announced Wednesday that it has traded right-hander Alec Mills to Chicago for minor league outfielder Donnie Dewees. Mills had been designated for assignment earlier Wednesday to make room on the 40-man roster for free-agent pitcher Jason Hammel.
Dewees, 23, split the 2016 season between Myrtle Beach (A-Advanced) and South Bend (A), hitting .284 (146-for-514) with 25 doubles, 14 triples, five homers, 73 RBI and 31 stolen bases between the two stops. He played 94 of his 129 games at South Bend, where he led the Midwest League in triples (12) and tied for 17th in runs scored (65). The left-handed hitter was a Midwest League All-Star in 2016, going 2-for-4 with three runs scored in the contest on June 21 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Dewees was a second-round selection by the Cubs in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of North Florida.
Mills, 25, made his Major League debut with the Royals in 2016, also spending time at Omaha (AAA) and Northwest Arkansas (AA) last season.
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