Follow our new Twitter account for real-time updates and in-depth analysis of all things Chicago Cubs.
…He just happens to be a guy who didn’t play in the majors last season and you probably have never heard his name before.
The Cubs have a bunch of guys who can play second base in 2020 and we still don’t know if the team is ready to hand the every-day starting job to Nico Hoerner. The thing is, all the guys behind him aren’t particularly every-day starters either so the Cubs want to add even more depth.
Unfortunately, because the Cubs aren’t actually spending money to sign good players to upgrade their roster this offseason, they’re only pursuing fringe major leaguers, hoping for some bounce back results from these types of players. The latest free agent target for the Cubs is 28-year-old infielder Carlos Asuaje according to Sahadev Sharma.
Via The Athletic.
Follow our new Twitter account for real-time updates and in-depth analysis of all things Chicago Cubs.
So the Cubs will have to get creative to fill that hole. One option they’re pursuing is infielder Carlos Asuaje. Originally drafted by the post-Epstein Red Sox in 2013, Asuaje was traded to San Diego as part of the deal that sent Craig Kimbrel to Boston.
Asuaje fits the Cubs — he’s a left-handed contact hitter (81.7 percent contact rate for his career) who they can pair with Nico Hoerner at second base. Adding Asuaje would hardly be a panacea to what ails the Cubs, his addition would merely be another buy-low option and a player who would provide quality depth in Triple-A. But that’s where the Cubs are at the moment.
Asuaje has played 175 MLB games all with the Padres. He last played in the majors in 2018, slashing .196/.286/.280, in 189 at-bats. The left-handed hitter was actually decent in 2017, batting .270, with a .334 OBP. But even that only amounted to an 88 wRC+ or 12% worse than league average. Hey, at least there’s some semblance of patience at the plate from Asuaje, who had an 11% walk rate in 2018.
Maybe a change of scenery can help the infielder after struggling in the minors last year.
By the way, here are the other infielders the Cubs currently have on the 40-man roster that could get playing time at second base other than Hoerner.
David Bote
Daniel Descalso
Tony Kemp
Robel Garcia
Ian Happ
Zack Short
Yeah, the Cubs still have Daniel Descalso.
