Cubs acquire reliever Hunter from Orioles for Lake

In exchange for Hunter, the Cubs will send Triple A outfielder Junior Lake to the Baltimore organization.

Hunter emerged as a key piece for Buck Showalter’s bullpen in Baltimore, putting up a 2.97 ERA in 60 appearances for the American League East champions last season. There will be nights where he gets dinged up a bit, but for the most part he is a very solid and consistent relief pitcher.

The Cubs have a 54-47 record and are 10.5 games behind the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central standings.

Chicago has given Lake multiple chances to make the Major League roster, but he simply hasn’t been able to stick.

Hunter was a freshman All-American for Alabama’s SEC championship team in 2006. He was initially drafted by the Texas Rangers with the No. 54 pick in 2007 out of the University of Alabama – and later packaged with slugger Chris Davis in the Koji Uehara trade. In 661 innings, he has struck out 408 and walked 148.

Lake batted. 315 with seven home runs and 31 RBI in 58 games with Triple-A Iowa this season. Rafael Soriano has struggled since joining the Cubs via free agency, and Jason Motte has hit a bit of a rough patch after a good start to the season for Chicago. When pitching in relief, Hunter’s career ERA is 3.11.