Chicago Cubs: Kyle Schwarber is finally ’embracing the suck’

Down but not out

The team immediately chalked up Schwarber as a loss for 2016, with a 2017 the target for their former first-rounder. There was no chance of him coming back. At least that’s how it looked.

But alas, Schwarber returned, defied odds, and did so against big-league pitching which he had not seen up-close and in person for six months. Rigorous hard work, rehab and dedication made him Theo Epstein’s best-kept secret and Joe Maddon‘s secret weapon.

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Because of how his World Series heroics transpired, Schwarber-Mania became all the rage. Now, as the calendar flips toward June, he’s been reduced to a platoon role.

He’s batting below the Mendoza Line, striking out a ton, and though he’s crushed seven home runs to go with 19 RBI, has not been the effective leadoff man Maddon envisioned.

People with social media hot takes include him in various trade scenarios in which he’d be better suited as an AL DH. He’s not an outfielder. He’s not a leadoff man. That’s the common rhetoric surrounding Schwarber from anyone with a hot take.