The Cubs finally made a trade this afternoon in a swap of hands with the Pirates, shipping two righties to Pittsburgh for two lefties.

The Cubs get their left-handed set-up man in John Grabow in addition to former starter Tom Gorzelanny for today's winning pitcher, Kevin Hart, and often-bused to and from Iowa reliever Jose Ascanio.

The deal is a winner for the Cubs, even though Hart did appear to be getting the job done in Ted Lilly's stead and would likely be more reliable long-term than Gorzelanny. The key is that Grabow gives the Cubs more options late in games instead of trotting out the likes of Aaron Heilman and abusing Carlos Marmol, which fills one of the Cubs' most immediate needs.

True, Grabow has a better average against righties (.234) than lefties (.275), which appears to defeat the purpose of having a left-handed specialist, but he's a better overall pitcher than the Cubs' alternatives. If you've been reading my blog, which I'm sure most of you haven't, you know I'm specifically hinting at Aaron Heilman. 

If the Cubs had Grabow all season, he would rank fourth in bullpen ERA, his 3.45 in 47.1 innings equaling (kind of eerily) that of Kevin Gregg and finishing behind Marmol and Angel Guzman. Clearly the Cubs are better off with him in the mix than without and managers of opposing teams will have a harder time planning pinch hitters and substitutions against the Cubs based on favorable match-ups. 

Gorzelanny is another story. The Cubs love him -- when they face him on the mound. Last season, the Cubs obliterated him more than any other NL team. In 11 innings against the Cubs in 2008, he surrendered 21 runs off 19 hits, a 17.18 ERA. The Cubs must hope they're getting the guy who won 14 games in 2007 with an ERA under 4.00.

Having traded Hart in return, the Cubs clearly intend to use Gorzelanny as the fill-in for Lilly. There's also the possibility of him taking the role of Sean Marshall in the bullpen and Marshall getting the fill-in starts. Then again, the bullpen doesn't need any more inconsistency. Regardless, the Cubs now at least have more lefties in their system.

At the very least, you have to at least like the last name Grabow in this deal. It's a pretty fierce name to call out from the bullpen and the plate appearances should follow. He might not be dominant, but having no losses this season means that he can at least be counted on in close games.