Five moves the Chicago Cubs must make to have a chance

Chicago Cubs: Quit doing nothing with Descalso and his roster spot

At this point, I don’t care what you do with Daniel Descalso. I totally understand and appreciate that he’s a strong clubhouse presence and brings a veteran aspect to this team. But you’re burning a roster spot – plain and simple.

"“I don’t think people understand, but you can try to explain it,” Almora told The Athletic (sub required). “He’s a guy that when he’s in here, it’s a completely different clubhouse. It’s one of those things that people don’t know because they’re not a part of this. Baseball aside, he’s a leader on this team. He’s someone that I lean on, that I talk to a lot about baseball, about life, about being a professional. That can go a long way.”"

Is leadership an important quality? Sure. You know what else is? The ability to hit a baseball.

Descalso has mustered a completely underwhelming .182/.280/.264 line to this point. Since he came back from his early-season injury, he’s been pretty much unusable to Joe Maddon. I mean, I can only imagine if Maddon trotted out Descalso with such bravado as he has Almora, Cubs Twitter might actually implode.

But how poorly Descalso is playing isn’t what bothers me most. It’s the fact that he’s not playing at all – crippling the team’s depth in the process. Since July 1, the veteran has five at-bats to his credit. He has a single and two strikeouts during that stretch.

He’s a leader, he’s a veteran and he’s everything the Cubs thought they needed. But either kick him to the IL or designate him for assignment. Letting his contract situation keep him on the roster when the team desperately needs more depth, especially at second base, is inexcusable.