Chicago Cubs: With Addison Russell’s return, club has options moving forward

As the calendar flips to September, the Chicago Cubs are starting to get healthy. With the addition of Daniel Murphy, where does Addison Russell fit in now?

Unfortunately for Addison Russell, the 2018 season has failed to live up to expectations. Since his pseudo-breakout campaign in 2016, in which he hit a career-high 21 home runs and drove in 95 runs, he has failed to reach that level of production over the past couple of seasons.

A positive note for Russell in 2018 is that he has already appeared in more games than he did all of last season. Although his average is at a career-high .258 currently, however, many other aspects of his game have not been there, causing the Cubs to make a move they did when they acquired Daniel Murphy a few weeks ago.

Still, for the Cubs and Russell, the prospective position the team finds itself in is still very much advantageous. It is clear that Murphy is the locked-in second baseman moving forward, with Javier Baez firmly entrenched in at shortstop. That being said, a healthy Russell gives manager Joe Maddon the ability to mix and match lineups and positioning, which will benefit the team.

Chicago Cubs: Defense, defense, and more defense

The advantage Addison Russell holds over Daniel Murphy is defense. Russell has a phenomenal glove and has posted a career 58 Defensive Runs Saved over the course of his career. While a majority of that time has been spent at shortstop, Russell still has a career 9 DRS over the span of 746 innings while at second base.

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Regarding his UZR/150, which is the best metric that exists to measure defensive efficiency, Russell has a career 7.5. His UZR/150 is much lower this season. However, he is still in the positives, giving his otherwise unproductive season, a silver lining.

On the complete opposite side, exists Daniel Murphy’s glove, or lack thereof. While Murphy has a bat superior to Russell, his glove is far from reliable, and it has displayed throughout his career. Second base has been the staple position for Murphy, as he has registered over six-thousand innings at the position. In that span, however, Murphy has a career -76 DRS and a -5.8 UZR/150, including a -18.9 rating in just this year alone.

While it is true that offense is a critical component of a championship winning franchise, it should be noted that the Chicago Cubs finished first overall in defense in 2016, their World Championship winning season, which helps Maddon find an ability to pivot to Russell at points to fulfill the defensive needs of the club.

Chicago Cubs: Final expectations

The fact seemingly remains that for the remainder of the regular season, Addison Russell will stay a platoon player for Maddon and the team. It is not a wrong decision at all, and Russell represents one of the more intriguing bench options by far, relative to any other club in the race toward the postseason.

Keeping Russell in that role can solidify the playing time, of course, for Daniel Murphy and Javier Bàez while all the while providing the club with a game-changing bench bat in a late-inning role. Time will tell what fans will see from Addison Russell over the final month of the season.