WGN-TV and the Chicago Cubs are pleased to announce former Houston Astros broadcaster Jim Deshaies has agreed to a four-year agreement to join Len Kasper in the booth as the television analyst for Chicago Cubs game broadcasts on WGN-TV, Comcast SportsNet and WCIU-TV.

Deshaies, a former pitcher who spent most of his career with the Astros, joins the Cubs broadcast team after serving as an analyst for Houston since 1997.

“After spending the last 16 seasons with the Houston Astros, it will be a very tough organization and fan base to leave. However, I can’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather move than with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field,” said Deshaies. “My family and I look forward to meeting the great, passionate fans of the Cubs and we’re excited at what lies ahead in Chicago.”

“We’re very fortunate, along with our fan base, to welcome Jim as the next television analyst of the Chicago Cubs,” said Crane Kenney, president of business operations, Chicago Cubs. “Jim expressed an incredible appreciation for Cubs baseball, the history of Wrigley Field, the strength of our fan base, his predecessors in the broadcast booth and opportunity to carry the tradition forward. He is a student of the game who incorporates his firsthand knowledge, stories and humor into the broadcast, and we’re excited to see him in the booth with Len.”

“We look forward to sharing Jim’s knowledge and experience with Cubs fans across the country on WGN and in Chicago on Comcast. We know Len and Jim will have a great partnership in the broadcast booth,” said Steve Farber, acting general manager, WGN-TV.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Jim to our Cubs telecast team beginning in 2013,” said James J. Corno, president of Comcast SportsNet Chicago.  “He and Len will make a terrific on-air duo Cubs fans will embrace for years to come.”