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So, remember all that talk about the Cubs needing to be more accountable and having a bigger sense of urgency after missing the playoffs in 2019? A 60-game season has probably escalated some decisions, as there’s little time to screw around to figure things out, but it’s good to see that David Ross is seeing what everyone else is.
Albert Almora Jr. has been one of the worst hitters in baseball since the second half of the 2018 season. We’ve heard about the adjustments, tweaks to his batting stance, a different swing and so on, but nothing’s changed. He still hits way too many ground balls to the left side of the infield and overall just doesn’t make enough hard contact. Almora doesn’t have great speed on the bases, so he’s not a threat to steal and it’s not like he can turn some of those slow rollers into infield hits either. He doesn’t walk and doesn’t hit for power.
For the first couple of years in the league Almora at least killed left-handed pitching, posting an .862 OPS against lefties during 2016-17.
But even those numbers began to dip and they were ugly in 2019, when Almora had a putrid .532 OPS against LHP. What was even more concerning last year was that Almora’s previous rock-solid defense in center also declined.
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But hey, new year, new adjustments? Sadly, we’re seeing the same results from Almora at the plate. It’s a small sample size and Almora has only started two games in 2020, but it definitely looks like he’s no longer in Ross’ plans to start in center field.
Doesn’t even matter if it’s against a left-handed pitcher.
For Wednesday night’s lineup against the Royals, Cubs rookie Nico Hoerner will take the field in center against lefty Kyle Bubic.
So yeah, Almora’s role continues to diminish and for the time being that’s as a late-inning, defensive replacement.
