As expected, the Cubs have traded Jason Marquis and cash to the Rockies for reliever Luis Vizcaino. 

Marquis' strikeout rates won't impress anyone, but he's reasonably effective when he can keep the ball in the yard. His strikeout and walk rates have remained relatively constant the last three years; the main difference between his disastrous 2006 season with St. Louis and his solid 2008 with Chicago was that he allowed 20 fewer homers in 2008. Still, there isn't much upside there--at best, he's a league average pitcher, and as he enters his 30s he may have trouble even with that.

Of course, Vizcaino isn't any prize either, and it's no accident that he's played for five teams the past five years. He does strike batters out, but he has problems with walks and gopheritis, and moving from one homer-happy park to another shouldn't help him much.

The Cubs save some money and will probably use their rotation spot on a better pitcher in Sean Marshall.