Chicago Cubs sign Munenori Kawasaki to a minor league deal

The Chicago Cubs continue to add roster depth by signing Munenori Kawasaki to a minor league contract. Kawasaki will get an invite to spring training as well according to the Chicago-Tribune who not only reported the signing but included two of his best interviews as a Blue Jay.

At 34-years-old, Kawasaki has spent his entire four-year career in the American League, with the Mariners and Blue Jays. His career slash line is .234/.314/.284 so he isn’t going to do much with his bat.

He has only hit one home run in his entire career. He does draw some walks, while not striking out much and has a bit of speed as well which could come in handy.

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Kawasaki was a fan favorite of fans and teammates with the Blue Jays because of his exuberance during interviews and his somewhat over-the-top sense of humor that he brings.

Kawasaki is an infielder who has played second base, third base, and shortstop but I wouldn’t expect much out of him. He is a fallback option in case the Cubs have some injuries, but even then, he likely is still behind Javier Baez, Tommy LaStella and Arismendy Alcantara on the infield depth chart.

Either way, it still adds a player to the mix for the Cubs, and you never know when guys could have breakout years as well. Nonetheless, his chances of making the team out of spring are pretty slim and it wouldn’t surprise me if he doesn’t even crack the big league team at all in 2016.

The Cubs continue to add guys to the roster and might not be done yet. As I mentioned in a previous article, there aren’t many openings on the 25-man roster for the Cubs, so all these moves are depth options in case of injuries or poor performance.

Cubbies Crib editor, David Miniel, is going to have an article on the Cubs possibility retaining Austin Jackson as well, so the Cubs are adding as much depth as they possibly can.