Chicago Cubs: Five noteworthy free agents who remain unsigned

Chicago Cubs: Yasiel Puig

We’ll end with the premier free agent still on the market in Yasiel Puig. I know that the thought of Puig on the Cubs’ roster probably makes a lot of fans cringe. After all, he’s had a lot of off the field problems and plays with, well, let’s say an eccentric personality. Yet given his track record as a hitter, he at least warrants being mentioned.

Though Puig has developed more home run power in recent years – he’s hit over 20 each of the past three seasons – he’s not the all-around hitter he was when he first came onto the scene in 2013 and 2014. Batting average and OBP have both trended downward. Meanwhile, he’s posted a negative defensive WAR each of the last three seasons.

Defensively, Puig might not fit on the Cubs. He’s basically a right fielder at this stage of his career, and that spot is already taken by Jason Heyward, as mentioned earlier. Heyward could move to center field, but we know that’s not his strong suit. And Puig probably wouldn’t want to come to the Cubs for a part-time role; he’s likely going to want to play every day.

Besides all that, we know that Puig is one of the game’s most controversial players. Would the Cubs really want to have to deal with the headaches he might cause? Probably not.

So, it appears that Puig would not be as good of a fit for the Cubs as some of the other players mentioned above could be. But again, given that he’s by far the most prominent name left, he was at least worth addressing.