Chicago Cubs: Joe Maddon has plenty of options Wednesday

Sep 4, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (44) hits a grand slam scoring Addison Russell, Austin Jackson and Chris Coghlan in the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

A seasoned veteran, likely destined for the bench

Chris Coghlan

Last week Coghlan lashed out, albeit relatively reserved in nature, regarding his reduced playing time. A guy that had spent much of the season hitting out of the three-hole in the batting order had become a platoon player at best, never playing versus lefties and now being sat more often against righties.

He blamed his dip in production directly on his lack of playing time stating he deserved to be in the lineup Wednesday and it’s hard to argue against him. While his batting average is just .245 this season, his line-drive rate was nearly identical to Anthony Rizzo’s (28 vs 29 percent).

This, combined with his notable plate discipline, gave him a respectable .359 OBP. In addition to a solid season at the plate, Coghlan stood out defensively with a 4.8 defensive WAR in left and an offensive WAR of 10.8. Those season long numbers shouldn’t be ignored.

The biggest issue may be his numbers against Cole, going 0-for-8 this season and just 2-for-13 in his career against him. Even with that in mind, Coghlan looks in theory to be the best option for Wednesday.