The Chicago Cubs have announced that they have traded left-hander Mike Montgomery (who recorded the final out of the 2016 World Series) to the Kansas City Royals for catcher Martin Maldonado.

Maldonado, 32, will fill the void left by Cubs All-Star catcher Wilson Contreras. The Cubs placed Contreras on the Injured List Monday with a strain in the arch of his right foot. While the Cubs do not expect Contreras to miss significant time, Maldonado can help ease the pressure off of Victor Caratani, who is expected to pick up the bulk of the catching work in the coming weeks without Contreras.

“It was something we wanted to quickly finalize once it became clear Willson was going to miss some time,” Cubs president Theo Epstein said after Chicago’s 6-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. “He’s an established catcher in this league who does a lot of great things behind the plate. He can receive. He can throw. He’s handled some of the best pitchers in the game.”

Maldonado is set to hit free agency this winter after signing a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Royals last offseason after the royals placed All-Star catcher Salvador Perez on the season-ending disabled list due to Tommy John surgery.

Montgomery, 30, after previously requesting to be traded from the Cubs earlier this season, according to ESPN, finally gets his wish.

“From a career perspective, looking at how it was taking shape, I thought I was best suited to be a starter,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery made 18 starts for the Cubs during the 2018 season, but with Yu Darvish, Cole Hamels, Kyle Hendricks, Tyler Chatwood, and Jon Lester filling out the Cubs rotation in 2019, there has been seldom opportunity as a starter this season for Montgomery. Now on the Royals, a team who needs just about any help they can get, Montgomery should have plenty of opportunities to prove that he can be a starting pitcher.

The NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs bolstered their bullpen Wednesday by acquiring left-hander Mike Montgomery from the Seattle Mariners for first baseman and designated hitter Dan Vogelbach as part of a four-player deal.

Cubs Acquire LHP Mike Montgomery From Mariners For 1B Dan Vogelbach In 4-Player Deal

The Cubs also obtained right-handed Triple-A prospect Jordan Pries in the deal, while Double-A righty Paul Blackburn also went to Seattle.

Montgomery, 27, has a 234 ERA in two starts and 30 relief appearances with the Mariners this season, and immediately fills a need for Chicago, who have been lacking a lefty reliever.

The former first-round pick of Kansas City was traded to Tampa Bay in the 2012 James Shields deal, when the Cubs’ Joe Maddon was in charge of the Rays.

“I was with him in two spring trainings. I was in Triple-A, but I went to the big league camp. I had conversations with him and he’s great. Everything about him was fun, so I’m looking forward to it,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery said Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto informed him of the trade during Seattle’s 6-5, 11-inning victory over the White Sox.

“I was a little sad at first, understanding that I’m not going to be here with these guys in this city. But at the same time, I’m excited because I’m going to a good team and I’m ready to go contribute any way I can and help them win a World Series,” Montgomery said.

“It kind of hit me by surprise,” he said. “When I heard the news, I wasn’t shocked, but I definitely didn’t see it coming.”

Montgomery added the Cubs told him he would begin in the bullpen.

“Mike had a good deal of value in the market today,” Dipoto said. “I told him he built up so much equity from opening day to today in the industry, that his value I thought was at a high.”

Maddon described Montgomery as a “big left-hander with a very good arm.”

“Montgomery is somebody that has really good stuff and has been performing well this year. We think he’s coming into his own a little bit,” Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said. “He’s someone who can help us this year and long into the future.

“We paid a price to do that. We traded a couple of really good prospects for him.”

Epstein also compared him to Andrew Miller when the now-dominant lefty was just emerging for the Red Sox.

Lefties are hitting .164 off Montgomery in 2016. Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer were looking for a boost in the bullpen with Travis Wood and Clayton Richard the only healthy left-handers. The Cubs will probably seek more reinforcements as they aim for their first World Series title since 1908.

“Every day they come down and talk to me postgame about what their thoughts are,” Maddon said after Wednesday’s 6-2 win over the New York Mets. “They’re obviously very good at piecing everything together. I just give my suggestions when asked. We’re working diligently every day, and Mike Montgomery is a nice fellow.”

Vogelbach, 23, was hitting .318 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs in 89 games for Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs selected him in the second round of the 2011 amateur draft.

Pries, 26, had a 4.93 ERA in Double-A Jackson and Triple-A Tacoma this season. Blackburn, 22, had a 3.17 ERA in 18 starts with Double-A Tennessee.

Dipoto said Blackburn “gives us another piece to build forward with, and we start to build up that next phase of our roster.”

SEATTLE, WA – APRIL 27: Mike Montgomery #37 of the Seattle Mariners delivers a pitch during a game against the Houston Astros at Safeco Field on April 27, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. The Astros won the game 7-4. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)