Cubs acquire Heilman from M's

Cubs acquire Heilman from M's

The Chicago Cubs have acquired pitcher Aaron Heilman from the Seattle Mariners for infielder Ronny Cedeno and pitcher Garrett Olson.

Heilman and Olson have already been involved in trades this offseason. The Mariners acquired Heilman as part of a three-team, 12-player trade that sent closer J.J. Putz to the Mets in December.

The Cubs picked up Olson in a deal from the Orioles for outfield prospect Felix Pie on Jan. 18.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, who was returning from a trip to Italy on Wednesday, couldn't be reached for comment. But one baseball person said Hendry has been an admirer of Heilman's "since he pitched at Notre Dame.''

Olson had been mentioned as a potential trade chip if the Cubs decided to make another run at San Diego's Jake Peavy. The Cubs' deal with Seattle could put an end to speculation about the team trying to acquire Peavy.

Heilman, 30, has a 22-33 record with a 4.24 ERA in six major league seasons. He's made 305 career appearances -- 280 in relief -- but has expressed an interest in moving into a starting role.

Heilman is expected to compete with Sean Marshall for the No. 5 starting spot in the Chicago rotation behind Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Rich Harden and Ted Lilly. Chad Gaudin and Jeff Samardzija are other possible candidates to start for manager Lou Piniella.

Olson, 25, was selected by Baltimore as the 48th overall pick in the 2005 draft.

While Seattle already has six potential starters in Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard, Brandon Morrow, Jarrod Washburn, Carlos Silva and Ryan Rowland-Smith, Olson is likely to get an opportunity to compete for a spot in the Mariners' rotation this spring.

"This year with a new staff there's going to be fresh eyes looking at all these guys," Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "I do hope we are creating the environment where people realize they have to come in ready to compete for positions.

"Our No. 1 goal is to continue to accumulate talent in our organization while doing everything we can to compete in 2009," he said in a statement released by the Mariners. "Today's trade allows us to acquire a young, left-handed starting pitcher with major league experience that we will still control for five seasons. At the same time, by adding Cedeno we have a player who is very versatile and gives us protection and depth, and can compete for a job at second base and shortstop immediately."