The Chicago Cubs have quite the conundrum at second base

Chicago Cubs: The offseason signing of Daniel Descalso hasn’t worked out

When the Chicago Cubs first signed Daniel Descalso, the biggest complaint is why they didn’t keep Tommy La Stella. He was coming up on his second arbitration year, and the team felt he might be too much for just a ‘bench’ player. And when Descalso came out hot? La Stella wasn’t forgotten, but the team felt they had a good signing in Descalso. Fast-forward to June 25, and this isn’t going to be pretty, Cubs’ fans.

La Stella is an everyday player for the Los Angeles Angels, with a slash of .297/.350/.498 and an OPS of .840. He’s hit 15 home runs, driven in 43 and has an OPS+ of 124. He may have to ditch the ‘3 am’ nickname for something for an everyday player. Descalso? Ugh, here we go.

A hot-start through the first 19 games had Descalso at a slash of .310/.394/.448 with an OPS of .842. Since April 5, Descalso has managed to scrape together just NINE hits. This puts him at a .185 average with 15 RBI and only two home runs and six extra-base hits. La Stella has played in more games that Descalso, 72 to just 64.

In June, he’s only had three starts and only finished the game in two of those. Maddon has used him for pinch-hitting duties, and let me tell you; these haven’t been La Stella like numbers. On the season Descalso has just one hit in 24 plate appearances. One. Hindsight is always 20/20. The Cubs front office has made some great moves, and they had a few faux pas. This falls under the latter at this point.

Chicago Cubs: David Bote a good fit, but Maddon likes to move him around

Last year, David Bote became the sweetheart of Cubs’ fans. He gained the reputation as being ‘clutch,’ topping it off with the Ultimate’ grand slam against the Washington Nationals. Last season, he had been shuttled back and forth from Iowa five times. With his heroics, he ended up staying in Chicago the rest of the season.

Bote is a solid second baseman with a UZR/150 of 3.6 at second base. While he often fills in for Kris Bryant at third when he needs a day off or is playing in the outfield, he surprisingly isn’t as strong there. His UZR/150 is -7.5, which is below average to awful (Fangraphs words, not mine.)

By far his bat is the most dangerous of the group. After hitting six home runs and tallying 33 RBI last season in 74 games, he’s hit nine home runs and knocked in 35 in 69 games. He’s also batting 24 points higher than he did last year, which many expect he can do even better.

Maddon seems to be splitting time for him at third and second, and if he needs another right-handed bat, Bote plays third while Bryant shifts to the outfield. The Cubs don’t have a Zobrist currently, but Bote and Bryant can combine to cover all the spots Zo did.

Chicago Cubs: They’ve stuck with Addison Russell, but with no return

When the Cubs’ Addison Russell came back from his suspension, many were unsure of where he would fit in. The loss of Zobrist made it ‘easier,’ only in the sense that a roster spot was opened up from his departure. Russell hasn’t captured the magic of 2016 when he hit 21 home runs and had 95 RBI. He only batted .238 that season, so it seems like he’s not going to be much better than a .250 hitter. But Russell has one thing going for him that the other two do not. He’s the only natural shortstop on the team aside from Javier Baez.

Up until the end of last season and the beginning of this year, Baez was the second baseman because Russell was the ‘established’ shortstop. Although you could make a case that Baez was the better fit at short because of his arm strength, that’s neither here nor there. Baez is the Cubs shortstop now and moving forward. But when Baez needs a rest, Russell is the only one they have to back him up.

While Baez has risen to superstar status, Russell is just trying to find his place. And in June, whatever his position has been, it’s not been a fun one. Russell is hitting just .167 during the month with one home run and six RBI. While the Cubs need to have Baez in the lineup as much as possible, we don’t want to see Maddon wear him down too soon. Baez plays the game the same way if the Cubs are up 10 or down 10. So just being able to shut it down every few days can’t hurt.

The Cubs extended him a deal this offseason, and questions were surrounding it. The Cubs want to be part of the solution to his off the field issues and will stick with him until he doesn’t follow the protocol given to him by the organization. This could be another faux pas by Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer.

Chicago Cubs: Two potential fits, but one unlikely

So where does that leave us? One player I would have loved to see in this conversation is Nico Hoerner. After an impressive 2018 season, Hoerner didn’t let up at Double-A Tennessee. He had a slash of .300/.391/.500 and an OPS of .891 in 18 games. But a wrist fracture has kept him out, but he seems to be nearing a return sometime soon. Even returning soon, a promotion is unlikely with how much time he’s missed. But he’s a player that should be on everyone’s radar when Spring Training rolls around.

Another possibility is Robel Garcia, who’s been crushing the ball at every level. Injuries at Triple-A Iowa necessitated his call-up, and he hasn’t slowed once he got there. Garcia is a 26-year old that had played previously in the Cleveland Indians organization in 2010. He’s been playing overseas since, and it was chance that the Cubs even noticed him (The Athletic, Subscription Required.) 

He’s got 19 home runs across Double-A and Triple-A, leading the organization in that category. But he also strikes out a bunch. His K-rate is at 34.9 percent, but seeing how that’s become the ‘norm’ in baseball, his power may overshadow the strikeouts. The Cubs would have to clear a spot on the 40-man, same as they would for Hoerner.

Chicago Cubs: Ian Happ revamping swing to cut back strikeouts

The last name and face is a familiar one and seems odd with his being part of this conversation. Ian Happ was a member of the Chicago Cubs for almost two seasons and seemed a shoo-in to make this year’s team. But a bombshell was dropped on Happ and Cubs’ fans alike, as he was sent to Triple-A Iowa to start the season. The reasoning? The Cubs wanted him to cut down on the K-rate and retool his swing. The Cubs had asked a lot of him headed into Spring Training, which is why he was angry that he didn’t make the team.

Since his demotion, Happ hasn’t seen much time at second base. Heck, he hasn’t seen much time on the infield. While he is capable of playing it, you’d really like a guy to have his bearings about him when he steps back onto Wrigley Field. But Happ hasn’t had it all click yet, so the Cubs would like to keep him down until he does, which his manager at Iowa, Marty Pevey, believes will happen.

“He’s 24 years old,” Pevey said. “He would almost be the youngest guy on the big-league team still. … He’s got so much talent. When the light comes back on for him and stays on, he’s gonna be able to help the big club for a long, long time.” h/t Tony Andracki, NBC Sports Chicago Next: Decisions loom for the Cubs front office

Chicago Cubs: You only get one shot this year at the deadline

The Cubs will need to make some hard decisions in the coming days, especially with a ‘hard’ deadline of July 31. The waiver deadline is dead and gone, so there are no ‘second chances’ for acquiring help for a pennant run.

We’ve covered some of the in-house solutions in this piece, but I recommend clicking the link near the end of the article, ‘Five trade targets for the Cubs.’ This piece by contributor Alex Patt doesn’t address this topic alone, but another spot of bother–at least for some fans–the leadoff spot.

It’ll be an intriguing July as the deadline approaches if the Cubs are still struggling to get production out of the second base position. Will the Cubs trade from the MLB roster and not just send prospects away?

Epstein had done it before, back in Boston when he sent, to the Cubs, no less, Nomar Garciaparra. It worked out for the Red Sox as they went on to win the World Series. For the Cubs, it did not as they missed out on the Wild Card.