>>Off No Hitter, Arrieta Named Player of the Week
Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, who threw his first career no-hitter on Sunday, has been named National League Player of the Week for August 24th-30th.
Arrieta posted a perfect 2-0 record and led the Majors with 20 strikeouts across his two outings last week.
His 0.00 ERA was tied for lowest among qualifying pitchers and his 15.0 innings were tied for the most among Major League hurlers.
Sunday night, Arrieta held the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers hitless over 9.0 shutout innings en route to a 2-0 win, fanning 12 Dodger batters while issuing just one walk. He tossed 116 pitches (80 strikes) in the performance, in which he earned his 17th victory of the season and sixth in as many starts.
Other noteworthy performances last week included San Francisco's Marlon Byrd (.318, 4 R, 2 HR, 11 RBI, .773 SLG); Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen (.462, 4 R, 12 H, 6 RBI, .533 OBP); Michael Cuddyer (.579, 11 H, 2 HR 7 RBI, 1.053 SLG) of the New York Mets; Washington's Ryan Zimmerman (.261, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .652 SLG); and Lance Lynn (2- 0, 1.38 ERA, 13.0 IP) of the St. Louis Cardinals.
>>Cubs Add OF Austin Jackson
The Cubs are adding outfield depth for the stretch run. The team acquired Austin Jackson and cash from the Mariners for an international free agency bonus slot and either a player to be named later or $1, CBS Sports MLB Insider Jon Heyman has confirmed.
The deadline to acquire a player and have him be eligible for the postseason roster is 11:59 p.m. ET Monday, so it's effectively a second trade deadline. Players who are not in the organization by that time are not eligible for the playoffs, with no exceptions. It's a hard deadline.
Jackson, 28, is hitting .272/.312/.387 (98 OPS+) with eight home runs and 15 stolen bases in 448 plate appearances this season. He's been much better against lefties than righties (114 vs. 86 OPS+) and much better in the second half than the first (111 vs 84 OPS+).
It's unclear how much cash the Mariners are sending to the Cubs in the trade. Jackson is still owed approximately $1.3 million of his $7.7 million salary. He's a pure rental who will be a free agent after the season. The Cubs won't be able to make him a qualifying offer to recoup draft pick compensation this winter since he was traded at midseason.
The Cubs currently have Dexter Fowler in center field but are without Jorge Soler, who is on the DL with an oblique injury. Chris Coghlan, Chris Denorfia, Kyle Schwarber and Matt Szczur have been flanking Fowler in the corner outfield spots of late.
Jackson gives the Cubs some more outfield depth -- and another player who can play center field, which is important -- and another platoon option against lefties. Rosters expand Tuesday, so the Cubs will be able to carry everyone at the same time. There is no roster crunch.
At this time of year, players to named later are usually players on the 40-man roster who have not yet slipped through trade waivers. However, the $1 part of the deal suggests the player to named later is not significant. The key to the trade for the Mariners is the international bonus slot and shedding Jackson's salary. The value of the slot is unknown but they are usually in the low- to mid-six figures.
The Mariners figure to use Ketel Marte and Brad Miller in center field for the remainder of the season. The team recently fired GM Jack Zduriencik and is still looking for his replacement. Monday was their last chance to move Jackson for any sort of return before losing him to free agency.
The Cubs are 74-55 and 9 1/2 games out in the NL Central, though they have a comfortable 5 1/2 game lead for the second wild-card spot. The Mariners, on the other hand, are one of the biggest disappointments in the league. They're 61-70 and well out of the race.
>>Carlos Martinez Scratched From Tuesday Start; Cards Recall Marco Gonzalez
Carlos Martinez was scratched from his scheduled start on Tuesday due to a sore back suffered in his last start Thursday in Arizona.
Left-hander Marco Gonzales will be recalled from Triple-A Memphis to make the start. The Cardinals first-round selection in the 2013 draft, Gonzales is 1-4 with 5.20 ERA in 13 starts in Memphis.
Washington will counter with Joe Ross (5-5, 3.24 ERA) in the second game of the three-game set on Tuesday. Ross is 2-0 in his last two starts with a 0.69 ERA, allowing just one run in 13 innings.
RHP Lance Lynn will make his scheduled start Friday despite rolling his ankle in Saturday's 6-0 win at San Francisco.
>>Blue Jays' Edwin Encarnacion Ends Impressive Week With POTW Award
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending August 30th.
Encarnacion batted .391 (9-for-23) with seven runs scored, two doubles, six home runs and 17 RBI over six games to earn his fifth career weekly honor, last winning with the Blue Jays on May 11, 2014. He also paced the Majors in home runs, RBI, slugging percentage (1.261), extra-base hits (8) and total bases (29).
On Saturday against the Detroit Tigers at the Rogers Centre, the Dominican Republic native went 3-for-5 with four runs scored, three home runs and nine RBI.
Other noteworthy performances last week included Mike Moustakas (.423, 4 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI) of the Kansas City Royals; Didi Gregorius (.455, 10 H, 2 HR, 10 RBI) of the Yankees; Kyle Seager (.300, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 22 TB) of the Seattle Mariners; Derek Holland (1-0, 2.40 ERA, 1 CG, 1 SHO) of the Texas Rangers; Joe Kelly (2-0, 1.84 ERA, 14.2 IP, 6 SO) of the Boston Red Sox; and Detroit's Justin Verlander (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 CG, 1 SHO), who carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning of his August 26th start against the Los Angeles Angels.
