Clayton Richard traded to Cubs for cash

Clayton Richard traded to Cubs for cash | cubs.com CLOSENow Commenting On:Cubs deal for veteran left-hander RichardPittsburgh receives cash considerations as southpaw gets Saturday start Email PrintRichard's great start 1:276/16/13: Clayton Richard goes eight strong innings, allowing only one earned run on seven hits en route to his second win of 2013 By Carrie Muskat/MLB.com |@CarrieMuskat | +0 COMMENTSCHICAGO -- The Cubs acquired pitcher Clayton Richard from the Pirates for cash considerations on Friday http://www.marlinsfansshop.com/marlins-tom-koehler-jersey, and the left-hander will start on Saturday against the Marlins at Wrigley Field.Richard, 31, was a 2005 White Sox Draft pick, and has pitched in 147 games in the big leagues, making 129 starts. He's pitched for the White Sox and Padres, and this year was 4-2 with a 2.09 ERA in nine starts at Triple-A Indianapolis.He is coming back from July 2013 surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome in his left shoulder http://www.marlinsfansshop.com/marlins-steve-cishek-jersey.Richard had a unique "upward mobility" clause in his contract, which gave other teams the right to express an interest in acquiring him for an immediate spot on their Major League roster. The only way the Pirates could retain Richard was to add him to their own active roster."It was a challenging decision," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said Friday. "We really like Clayton a lot, and we feel he can and will help a Major League team. [When] he exercised the clause, the Cubs called, and we could have called him up, but opted to stay with the club that we have."When asked in late June about Richard, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said the lefty was "making progress.""He needs to pitch," Hurdle said at the time. "He's so far removed [from pitching in the Majors] that he still feels really good about how he's coming along, building up the endurance. He's moving in the right direction."Richard was named Indiana's Mr. Football and Mr. Baseball his senior year at McCutcheon High School, and he accepted a scholarship to play football and baseball at Michigan in 2003. He battled for the starting quarterback spot in '04, but lost to Chad Henne http://www.marlinsfansshop.com/marlins-donovan-solano-jersey.Donn Roach, who was scheduled to start on Saturday, was optioned to Iowa to make room on the 25-man roster.Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. She writes a blog, Muskat Ramblings. You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat and listen to her podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.