Wild Things trade record-setting Cunningham
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Wild Things pitcher Chase Cunningham was 7-6 last season and set Washington’s career record for innings pitched.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Pitcher Chase Cunningham had a 10-3 record in 2017 for the Wild Things.
Chase Cunningham has been near the top of the Wild Things’ pitching rotation since joining the Frontier League team in 2016.
The righthander from Tennessee has been given the baseball to start playoff games, a season opener and has logged more innings on the mound than pitcher in the history of the Wild Things franchise.
Cunningham won 24 games over those three seasons, plus a playoff game last year at Evansville.
When the 2019 season begins, Cunningham will again be pitching in the Frontier League, but not for the Wild Things.
Washington traded Cunningham to the Southern Illinois Miners on Thursday in exchange for lefty pitcher Nick Durazo and future considerations.
The Wild Things said the trade was because Cunningham needed to be closer to home because of family situation.
“Chase needed this opportunity to play closer to home so he could satisfy the family duties before him. Coming back was his plan, but it was not in the cards,” Wild Things assistant general manager Tony Buccilli explained.
In three seasons with Washington, Cunningham made 59 appearances – all starts – and had a 24-19 record with two complete games. He struck out 183 in 346 2/3 innings, the latter number a franchise record, as if his 59 starts.
After winning 10 games and making the all-star game in 2017, Cunningham was 7-6 with a 4.45 ERA last season and was the winning pitcher in Game 2 of the Wild Things’ playoff sweep of Evansville. He made one start in the league championship series against Joliet, a 3-1 loss in Game 2, Cunningham gave up one earned run and four hits over six innings.
“Chase was a big part of the culture shift we created here,” Buccilli said. “He brought a great sense of humor to the ballpark daily but he competed tooth and nail when the ball was in his hand. We applaud Chase for everything he did as a Wild Thing.”
In Durazo, the Wild Things are getting a second-year professional who had a solid rookie season as a reliever for the Miners. Durazo had a 2-1 record and 2.01 ERA in 23 outings. He allowed only eight hits in 22 1/3 innings.
“Nick showed great promise as a rookie,” Buccilli said. “You can never have too many late-innings options when looking to secure a win. Adding dynamic arms was a focus of ours this offseason.”
Durazo played college baseball at East Carolina, pitching in 61 games for the Pirates.