Major League Baseball

Nats acquire Hairston from Cubs for minor leaguer

Published Jul. 9, 2013 12:23 a.m. ET

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The Washington Nationals acquired outfielder Scott Hairston on Monday from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for minor league pitcher Ivan Pineyro.

Chicago general manager Jed Hoyer said on a conference call there are ''players to be named (later) on either side,'' but they ''will not affect the balance of the deal.''

The Cubs signed Hairston to a two-year deal in the offseason to platoon in right field, but he struggled with a .172 batting average, eight home runs and 19 RBIs. One of those homers came during Sunday's 4-3, 11-inning win over Pittsburgh. He had 20 last season with the New York Mets.

Now, he's headed to Washington, the latest move in a busy stretch for Chicago.

The Cubs have also traded pitchers Scott Feldman and Carlos Marmol, along with catcher Steve Clevenger in the past week, and starter Matt Garza could be on the way out.

''Needless to say, he's been a popular name and a guy we've gotten a lot of phone calls on,'' Hoyer said. ''I think he's opened a lot of eyes the way he's thrown the last four, five times out.''

The Cubs are also still waiting on third baseman Kris Bryant, the No. 2 pick in the draft, to sign. Hoyer remains confident they'll reach an agreement before the July 12 deadline.

''We're going to make him an exceptionally fair offer,'' Hoyer said. ''If Kris wants to be a Cub and be a professional baseball player, I'm confident that we'll get a deal done. Sometimes, it takes a deadline to make a deal. We have a deadline coming up shortly. In a lot of ways, I think that's a plus at this point.''

As for Pineyro, the 21-year-old right-hander has combined to go 6-3 with a 3.24 ERA in 15 starts between Class-A Hagerstown and Potomac.

''I think this is a good opportunity for Scott and the Nationals to get more playing time, and I think it was a good opportunity for us to acquire a young pitcher that we liked,'' Hoyer said.

The Cubs also recalled pitcher Brooks Raley from Triple-A Iowa on Monday. This will be the second stint with the major league-club this season for the left-hander, who was with the team June 12-13 but did not appear in a game.

He is 6-6 with a 4.91 ERA in 17 appearances - 16 starts - with Iowa.

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