LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Cubs and Marlins swapped outfielders on Thursday with Brian Bogusevic going to Miami and Justin Ruggiano heading to Chicago.
Ruggiano, 31, hit a career-high 18 home runs with 50 RBIs last season with the Marlins. A right-handed hitter, Ruggiano can play all three outfield positions.
Bogusevic, a left-handed hitter who will be 30 in February, signed a minor league contract with the Cubs before the 2013 season. He played in 47 games with the Cubs last season, batting .273 with six home runs and 16 RBIs.
The Cubs lost Triple-A Iowa pitcher Marcos Mateo to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft on Thursday. The right-handed Mateo, 29, pitched for the Cubs in 2010 and 2011 before being sidelined with an elbow injury.
Mateo is throwing well in the Dominican Republic this winter but wasn't on the Cubs' 40-man roster. He can be returned to the team if he doesn't make the Diamondbacks' 25-man roster this spring.
The Cubs also lost Double-A first baseman Justin Bour to Miami, pitcher A.J. Morris to Pittsburgh and outfielder Julio Borbon to Baltimore in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. The Cubs took catcher Charles Cutler from the Pirates organization as their lone pick in the Rule 5 draft.
