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So, as of now the only move the Cubs have made that matters for the opening day 25-man roster is trading Tommy La Stella to the Angels and Ronald Torreyes taking a spot on the bench. The expectation is for the team to tender Addison Russell, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be with the Cubs next season. No matter what, the front office has to find more infield depth.
*Torreyes was non-tendered Friday night, so the Cubs are definitely going to sign another infielder or two*
The Cubs can always try and trade for an infielder, but the simpler solution is just to go out and sign one in free agency.
Cubs looking to add another infielder with versatility to play multiple spots . Free agent list likely place to find one .
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) November 29, 2018
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Luckily for Theo Epstein, the front office has plenty of options in the free agent market and even if Tom Ricketts is being stupid this offseason by limiting the spending the Cubs can still get someone decent.
Obviously Manny Machado is the top free agent infielder, but again Tom Ricketts apparently doesn’t care about making the Cubs a lot better this offseason. Anyway, here’s a look at some other infielders the Cubs can target in free agency and their projected contracts from a few different sources.
Jed Lowrie projected contract
2 years, $30 million – Kiley McDaniel (Fangraphs)
2 years, $24 million – median crowdsource (Fangraphs)
2 years, $22 million – Jon Heyman
2 years, $15 million – Jon Heyman expert
3 years, $30 million – MLB Trade Rumors
| PA | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | Off | Def | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 630 | 10.5% | 18.7% | .253 | .334 | .405 | .323 | 102 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 2.2 |
Although Jed Lowrie will be 35-years-old in 2019, he brings a solid bat and that versatility the Cubs love. Lowrie has experience playing all four infield positions during his career, making more than 100 starts at second, third and shortstop.
Now, Lowrie is primarily a second baseman and if the Cubs can somehow get him they can once again use Ben Zobrist as a utility player, without having to rely on either switch hitter to be the every-day starting second baseman.
Marwin Gonzalez projected contract
3 years, $39 million – Kiley McDaniel (Fangraphs)
3 years, $30 million – median crowdsource (Fangraphs)
4 years, $52 million – Jon Heyman
4 years, $56 million – Jon Heyman expert
4 years, $36 million – MLB Trade Rumors
| PA | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | Off | Def | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 595 | 8.4% | 21.7% | .259 | .326 | .426 | .324 | 103 | 1.8 | -4.1 | 1.7 |
Marwin Gonzales used to be in the Cubs minor league system before the Red Sox picked him up in the 2011 rule 5 draft and then traded him to the Astros. Gonzalez provides even more versatility than Lowrie, making at least 62 starts at five positions in his career.
Not only can he play all four infield positions, but a team can play him out in left field too. Gonzalez had a monster 2017, with a .907 OPS. He came back to earth in 2018, but if you look at his past five seasons in Houston he’s been really solid, only having one bad year in 2016.
Seems like a perfect fit for the Cubs, but we’ll see what his market is and if Tom Ricketts can spare some change to sign him.
D.J. LeMahieu projected contract
2 years, $22 million – Kiley McDaniel (Fangraphs)
3 years, $36 million – median crowdsource (Fangraphs)
3 years, $39 million – Jon Heyman
4 years, $50 million – Jon Heyman expert
2 years, $18 million – MLB Trade Rumors
| PA | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | Off | Def | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 630 | 8.2% | 14.6% | .272 | .336 | .389 | .317 | 99 | -1.6 | 4.4 | 2.4 |
It seems like Cubs fans either hate D.J. LeMahieu or really like him. I’d say I fall in the middle. I mean, overall he’s been decent from 2015-18, having an amazing 2016 season, when he hit .348 and had a .911 OPS. Besides that he’s about a .750 OPS player. However, the second baseman has greatly benefitted from playing at Coors Field.
I’m sorry, you just can’t ignore the splits when talking about Rockies players.
LeMahieu home – road splits
2015: .321/.379/.417 – .281/.337/.358
2016: .391/.473/.591 – .303/.353/.395
2017: .327/.396/.417 – .294/.352/.401
2018: .317/.360/.433 – .229/.277/.422
He’s 30-years-old, has three gold gloves, a .350 career OBP.
I don’t know. I guess he could fit in and he won’t cost Tom Ricketts as much money.
There are obviously other players who can fill in at times in the infield out there in free agency. Either guys who are older and might only get a one year deal like Brian Dozier, or a glove first guy like Freddy Galvis who will only generate a few million dollars in salary.
That’s where we’re at right now because again Tom Ricketts apparently has a budget this offseason and doesn’t care about helping the Cubs championship window. It’s still early, though, and I guess Theo can pull off some magic as the Winter Meetings are set to begin soon.
Anyway, check out more projected contracts for this year’s free agent class below.
Fangraphs top-50 free agents
Jon Heyman and expert predict contracts for 131 free agents
MLBTR top-50 free agents
