I think it's a smart deal.
I think it's a win-win for both teams. The Cubs got a lot of pieces for a 3-month rental in Feldman.
I had forgotten about Showalter and Feldman's history, and I don't watch enough O's games to see the lefty/righty thing:
BUSTER OLNEY
By the way: Evaluators liked the Feldman trade for the Orioles too, because rather than wait for some upper-echelon option to emerge, they aggressively worked to make sure they got some help.
Feldman is cheaper than Garza will be, and certainly less than a Lee will cost, but Orioles Manager Buck Showalter knows Feldman, given his Rangers background; he knows that as a ground ball pitcher, Feldman is going to be OK pitching in a bandbox home ballpark; and knows that can pitch out of the bullpen if necessary. And he?s having a good season (3.46 ERA).
Like every other team, the Orioles would love to have five 240-inning starting pitchers. But in lieu of that, Showalter seems comfortable setting up right-hander/left-hander tandems and taking advantage of the increasingly specialized platoons that are being used by a lot of managers. Last weekend, for example, when Joe Girardi started his right-handed lineup against T.J. McFarland, Showalter wound up pulling the lefty after just 2 2/3 innings and installing right-hander Kevin Gausman -- who buzzed through the lineup of right-handed hitters.