The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Thursday the acquisitions of lefty minor league pitcher Jackson Ferris and 18-year-old minor league outfielder Zyhir Hope from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for right-handed pitcher Yency Almonte and infielder Michael Busch.
Ferris, 19, made 18 appearances for Single-A Myrtle Beach last season, posting a 2-3 record with a 3.38 ERA. He struck out 77 batters in 56.0 innings while allowing 35 hits. During his junior year at IMG Academy (FL), he went a perfect 8-0 with a 0.55 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 50.2 innings. The left-hander pitched for Team USA in the summer of 2021 before being drafted by the Cubs in the second round (47th overall) out of IMG Academy.
The left-handed hitting and lefty throwing Hope appeared in 11 games for the AZL Cubs last season. He slashed .286/.419/.543 with three homers and nine RBI in those contests. He was drafted in the 11th round of the 2023 First Year Player Draft out of Colonial Forge High School (VA). In his final high school season, he hit .538 with nine homers and 38 RBI while stealing 29 bases.
Almonte, 29, made 49 appearances for the Dodgers last season, tossing 48.0 innings and allowing 27 earned runs. He struck out 49 batters while posting a 5.09 ERA before landing on the injured list with a right knee in August.
In 2022, Almonte posted a 1.02 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 35.1 innings in his first season with the Dodgers. He has pitched parts of six seasons with Colorado (2018-2021) and Los Angeles (2022-2023) with a 7-6 combined record and a 4.51 ERA in 196 games. He was originally signed as a minor league free agent by the Dodgers in March of 2022.
Busch, 26, played in 27 games for the Dodgers last season, hitting two homers and driving in seven runs. He was named Triple-A Player of the Year after finishing the campaign with a .323 batting average, 27 homers and 90 RBI for the Oklahoma City Dodgers.
In four minor league seasons, the left-handed hitting Busch slashed .283/.390/.529 with 79 homers and 267 RBI. He was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the first round (31st overall) of the 2019 First Year Player Draft out of the University of North Carolina.
(Juan Dorado furnished the information provided in this report)