Levine: Cubs Trade Bonifacio, Russell To Braves
By Bruce Levine-
(CBS) The Cubs traded utilityman Emilio Bonifacio and lefty reliever James Russell to the Braves just prior to Thursday's 3 p.m. trade deadline, sources said.
In return, Chicago received 20-year-old catching prospect Victor Caratini, who was in Class A in the Atlanta organization. Caratini was a second-round pick of the Braves in the 2013 amateur draft, and the Cubs have long been on the search of more catchers for a farm system that is otherwise loaded with elite position players.
Caratini was hitting .279 with five homers, 42 RBIs and a .757 OPS in 87 games at Class A Rome in the South Atlantic League this season. A product of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, Caratini was rated as Atlanta's seventh-best prospect, per MLB.com. He's projected to be three years away from being major league-ready.
Atlanta also received cash considerations in the deal.
Bonifacio, 29, is hitting .279 with two homers, 18 RBIs and a .318 on-base percentage this season. Russell, 28, has a 3.51 ERA in 33 1/3 innings.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.