Chicago Cubs: The Carlos Gonzalez experiment is hardly a failure

To this point, it’s fair to say Carlos Gonzalez has not performed the way many Chicago Cubs fans hoped he would. Despite his uninspiring play, I don’t think it’s fair to call the signing a complete failure.

I give the Chicago Cubs credit. With Ben Zobrist away and potentially having played his last game for the team, the Cubs had a hole in their outfield depth. Aside from the three starters, Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora and Jason Heyward, they didn’t have anyone else on the big league roster to play the outfield on a daily basis.

Yes, I know Kris Bryant is capable of playing in the outfield and moves around the field a lot but in my opinion, the lineup looks best when he is at third base.

So instead of waiting before it became a glaring hole for the team, Chicago was proactive in trying to add outfield depth. They went out quickly and signed veteran Carlos Gonzalez to a minor league deal. It was a low-risk, high-reward move made by the front office that gave the Cubs a reliable fourth outfielder.