Kansas City Royals

Royals trade P Mills for Cubs minor league outfielder

Published Feb. 8, 2017 9:09 p.m. ET

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, hit .284 with 25 doubles, 14 triples, five homers, 73 RBIs and 31 stolen bases with two Class A clubs. The left-handed hitter was a Midwest League All-Star in 2016, a year after being selected by the Cubs in the second round of the draft.

Mills, 25, made his major league debut with the Royals in 2016, also spending time at Triple-A Omaha and Double-A Northwest Arkansas.