C Alex Avila also came to the Cubs with RHP Justin Wilson and was officially activated Tuesday. He batted .274 with 11 home runs, 11 doubles and 32 RBIs in 77 games with the Tigers this season. He has posted a .394 on-base percentage and a .475 slugging percentage, good for a .869 OPS, the second highest mark among all major league catchers with at least 70 games played this season, trailing only San Francisco's Buster Posey (.903).

C Alex Avila was acquired by the Chicago Cubs in a trade with the Detroit Tigers. Avila, 30, is batting .274 batting average with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs. He has played all but one of his nine major league seasons in Detroit and is the son of Tigers general manager Al Avila.

The Chicago Cubs acquired Detroit Tigers closer Justin Wilson and catcher Alex Avila in exchange for minor league infielders Jeimer Candelario and Isaac Paredes ahead of Monday's trade deadline.The Cubs also will send Detroit a player to be named later or cash as part of the trade that was finalized Monday morning.The left-handed Wilson, who turns 30 next month, is expected to come into games before Cubs right-handed closer Wade Davis.Wilson is 3-4 and has a 2.68 ERA with 55 strikeouts over 40 1/3 innings in 41 appearances for the Tigers this season. He is 13-for-15 in save opportunities after taking over the closer role from struggling Francisco Rodriguez in May.Wilson is owed $2.7 million for this season and remains under team control through 2018.Avila, 30, is batting .274 batting average with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs. He has played all but one of his nine major league seasons in Detroit and is the son of Tigers general manager Al Avila.Candelario, 23, was pulled from the Triple-A Iowa Cubs' lineup on Sunday night. The switch hitter has played in 11 games for the major league club in 2017, hitting .152 (5-for-33) with one home run and three RBIs. He is batting .266 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs at Triple-A.Paredes is an 18-year-old shortstop and has spent the entire season with Class A South Bend, hitting .264 with seven home runs and 49 RBIs 92 games.

C Alex Avila snapped an 0-for-14 skid with a two-run single in the sixth inning on Monday. Avila got the hit off left-handed reliever Scott Alexander. It was also just his third hit in 16 at-bats against lefties this season. Avila's average has dropped to .280 after being over .300 most of the season.

C Alex Avila had a hit in four at-bats on Saturday and is batting .393 (11-for-28) against the Indians this season. Avila's .304 batting average is the highest among all American League catchers (minimum: 100 at-bats).

DH Alex Avila continues to have a productive season for the Tigers. Avila, used as the designated hitter Sunday to keep his bat in the lineup, had two singles plus a walk for his day's work. He'll probably play nearly every day, except possibly against a tough left-hander, with regular DH Victor Martinez on the disabled list with an irregular heartbeat. Avila will catch most of the time but also could play at first as well as DH.

C Alex Avila produced another solid offensive game -- two singles plus a walk in five plate appearances -- and also turned in another fine defensive play when he helped pick CF Mallex Smith off first in the third inning. Smith wandered too far away from the base and Avila threw behind him. "I checked down to the tight end," Avila said. Smith was tagged out in a rundown by SS Jose Iglesias. Avila also grounded out into a shift to end the game with a runner on third and two out in the ninth. "It was a little in, a little up," Avila said of the 1-2 pitch from RHP Alex Colome. "If it was down a little bit maybe I'd stayed through a little bit better and hit a line drive into the gap there. Still hit it hard, just right at 'em. I would say the guy's been playing there for a hundred years, but he hasn't."

1B Alex Avila replaced DH Miguel Cabrera as the first baseman on Friday night. He'll catch some, play first and be the designated hitter as manager Brad Ausmus rotates players as his designated hitter while DH Victor Martinez is out. "Alex Avila, the way he's swinging the bat, we'd like to keep him in the lineup," Ausmus said. "This is a good way to keep him in the lineup without having him catch all the time." Avila was the swing man on a 1-3-2 double play that thwarted a steal of home attempt by CF Mallex Smith in the fourth inning and also hit a leadoff home run, his 10th, that triggered a four-run fourth.

C Alex Avila has quietly wrested the starting catching job away from C James McCann, which is the reverse of the way it happened two years ago. Avila has played more games (43 to 36, although some have come at first base). Friday night he singled and walked in five trips to the plate. His single preceded 1B Miguel Cabrera's game-winning two-run home run. "Alex has had good at-bats all year," manager Brad Ausmus said. "He's been one of our most consistent hitters. There might have been a little extra incentive because he and (losing RHP Tommy) Hunter were roommates in college. I'm sure Alex's full concentration was there."

C Alex Avila sat in Boston while Detroit was facing three left-handers but is back behind the plate with right-handers pitching to the Tigers. Avila had a single plus a walk in four at-bats Wednesday and came close to a score-tying home run in the eighth. "I thought mine was out and J.D. (Martinez) thought his was out," Avila said. He said he felt the wind was blowing in from center. His single was an RBI liner to left in the third that drove in Detroit's only run.

C Alex Avila hit his seventh home run in the fourth inning in his 99th at-bat. That matches his home run total for last year in 169 at-bats. Five of his home runs have been on the road against AL Central foes. He is hitting .354 within the division.

1B Alex Avila gets squeezed off first base, where he has been filling in the last two games while 1B Miguel Cabrera is the designated hitter, when DH Victor Martinez comes off paternity leave Monday in Houston. Avila has forced his way into the lineup by his hot hitting. He had two walks plus a single Sunday night and is likely to catch the Monday night game in Houston.

C Alex Avila was elevated to the No. 2 spot in the lineup on Saturday. He continued his torrid hitting by reaching base all four times and coming just a triple shy of the cycle. He is batting .382 with five homers and 18 RBIs. Manager Brad Ausmus has removed Nicholas Castellanos from the No. 2 spot for the time being and Avila is a logical candidate to replace him. He is also one of the most patient hitters on the club, having drawn 14 walks in 25 games.

1B Alex Avila, subbing for injured 1B Miguel Cabrera on the field, was inserted into the cleanup spot in the batting order with DH Victor Martinez being away on paternity leave for the weekend. "It was because of how well he's been swinging it nd (it gives us a) left-handed bat behind J.D. (Martinez).," manager Brad Ausmus said, "We split the righties and lefties the first five slots in the lineup." Avila hit long fly ball outs in his first two at-bats Friday night. He walked leading off the eighth but struck out on a 2-2 curve to end the game.

DETROIT -- Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera was a late scratch from Detroit's starting lineup Wednesday night against the Baltimore Orioles because of a sore left side.Cabrera was diagnosed with a Grade 1 oblique strain, and he will miss two to three days."He had a similar injury a few years back where he did feel it stretching and putting his hands over his head or twisting," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "That took five days. He doesn't feel this one on those same movements. So we are optimistic it will be only two or three days."Alex Avila replaced Cabrera at first base and went 1-for-3 in Detroit's 5-4 win.Cabrera is hitting .248 on the season with four home runs and 15 RBIs. He sat out nine games earlier this season with a right groin strain.

C Alex Avila has been a revelation this season in his second stint with the club. Avila, who signed a one-year contract after an injury-plagued season with the White Sox, is hitting .368 with four homers and 14 RBIs. He started at first base on Wednesday when Miguel Cabrera was scratched from the lineup, contributing a double and a walk with a run scored. "There isn't anything particularly different that I'm doing," he said. "I have the same approach, same swing, same everything. The thing that's key has been health."

C/1B Alex Avila has earned more playing time with his hot bat. He had two more hits and an RBI on Tuesday, lifting his season average to .409. Avila entered the season as the backup to James McCann and a fill-in at first. "He's swinging the bat well, so that's why he's in there (Tuesday)," manager Brad Ausmus said. "He may play more for the time being. But I think in the long-term Mac is the guy who's going to play the most."

1B Alex Avila will see his playing time reduced Tuesday when 1B Miguel Cabrera is activated from the disabled list after a 10-day absence to deal with a bad right groin. Avila has been a platoon alternative at first in Cabrera's absence, but he won't be getting that opportunity with the regular playing nearly every game at the position. Avila had a two-run single Monday and ended the game at .400 in 16 games this season.

C Alex Avila had three more hits Sunday and is prompting manager Brad Ausmus to put him in the lineup any time he can. Avila had three singles that lifted his batting average to .405 and his on-base percentage to .511. "Well, he's been swing the bat well since we were in Chicago," Ausmus said. "He hit a double off the left-field wall. He's always been a calming presence behind the plate. He's got experience game-calling, and recognizing situations. But he's been swinging the bat really well." "More than anything," Avila said, "I'm healthy."

C Alex Avila hit a two-run homer for Detroit in Sunday's game. It was his third home run of the season, with each coming in the last seven games. He had been 0-for-7 before the home run. Avila has 10 career homers against Minnesota, the second most against any team trailing the 12 he's hit against Kansas City.