Chicago Cubs: Five designated hitter candidates team could pursue

If there is a designated hitter next year, the Cubs should target these free agents.

Will there or won’t there be a designated hitter in the National League in 2021? There have been conflicting reports about this, though Buster Olney recently reported that there will indeed be a DH in the Senior Circuit next year. If that’s the case, the Chicago Cubs had better make it a priority to upgrade the position, in some way, this offseason.

The Cubs struggled offensively at a lot of positions in 2020, but the DH spot was especially troublesome. Cubs DHs batted a pathetic .192 with a .630 OPS, their worst position for both marks. David Ross tried a lot of different players at the position, with catchers Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini both getting a lot of time there, but it seemed like whoever he batted in that spot simply didn’t produce.

When looking at candidates to DH in 2021, there aren’t a lot of great internal options. They could go with the Contreras/Caratini “platoon” again, but even if those to players hit better than they did in 2020, that would weaken the catcher position. As far as other positions on the diamond, there just isn’t much depth to draw from.

If the Cubs are serious about upgrading their lineup at the DH position, they’ll have to go outside the organization. Here, we look at five potential free agent targets. I have no idea how interested the Cubs are in any of them, but they could all potentially be a fit while working within what figures to be a small Cubs free agent budget.

Chicago Cubs: Nelson Cruz

Among free agents that MLB.com considers to be designated hitters, Marcell Ozuna figures to be the big prize this offseason. However, he’s not going to be within the Cubs’ budget, so if the team is looking for a prototypical DH type, there are several other players to consider. Over the past decade or so, Nelson Cruz and Edwin Encarnacion have been the two big-name sluggers at the position, and both are free agents this offseason.

In fact, if we look at what both players did during the 2010s, it actually compares favorably with what David Ortiz, the standard for designated hitters, did during the 2000s. Neither will likely make the Hall of Fame, but both have had tremendous careers.

Encarnacion is a little younger at 38, but he’s coming off a massively disappointing season with the Chicago White Sox in which he batted just .157. He has a great track record, and because of his down season in 2020, he likely will come cheaper than Cruz would.

Then again, Cruz will be 40 next year, so he’ll probably be signing a short-term deal. And if he hits anywhere near like he did in 2020, he would help the Cubs’ offense tremendously. In just 53 games, Cruz mashed 16 home runs for the Minnesota Twins while posting a .992 OPS, the third-highest mark of his lengthy career. That was good for sixth in American League MVP voting, tying the highest mark he’s ever reached.

Assuming the DH rule is in place in the NL for 2021, that would drive up the price for Cruz’s services as 30 teams would have a use for him rather than just 15. However, the Cubs will need help at the position, and Cruz would certainly provide it.

Chicago Cubs: James McCann

Assuming no trades take place, the Cubs are already set at the catcher position with Willson Contreras as the starter and Victor Caratini as the backup for 2021. However, if the DH is in place next year, what’s another catcher to have that you can also use at DH – while spelling Contreras sometimes as well?

J.T. Realmuto is the big prize this offseason at this position, but again the Cubs won’t be suitors for him. However, a lower-cost alternative could be former White Sox catcher James McCann.

McCann, who will be 31 next year, broke out with the White Sox in 2019 after previously playing in Detroit. That year, he hit 26 doubles and 18 home runs, earning a spot on the AL All-Star team. When the South Siders brought in Yasmani Grandal, a lot of people thought McCann would be expendable.

Instead, they held onto him, and he had another good year in which he posted an .896 OPS in 31 games. He was batting .333 at late as September 9, though he tailed off a little bit at the end of the season.

In addition, McCann is a decent catcher, posting a positive defensive WAR every year since 2015. So again, he would be a nice player to mix and match with Contreras between the catcher and DH positions in 2021. If the Cubs are looking to add depth at the catcher position while adding a solid bat to their lineup, perhaps they should take a look at McCann.

Chicago Cubs: C.J. Cron

As we know, the Cubs are set at first base for 2021 with Anthony Rizzo. However, it would be nice to have a solid backup as well as a guy that could give Rizzo a break from the field from time to time while providing a solid DH option. If that’s what the Cubs are looking for, C.J. Cron might be a nice fit.

Cron, who will be 31 next year, rather quietly hit 52 doubles and 55 home runs between 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays and 2019 with the Minnesota Twins. Prior to 2020, he signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Tigers, a move the Tigers made to try to field a more competitive team over 2019. Cron looked like he was going to have a big year before suffering a season-ending injury early on.

Cron would add a legitimate home run threat to the Cubs’ lineup, though one knock on him is that he doesn’t take a lot of walks. Still, he boasts a career .464 slugging percentage and an OPS+ of 111. He’s also not known for his defense, so with the Cubs he’d likely get most of his at-bats at DH – it wouldn’t be as much of a “platoon” situation as would Contreras and McCann.

There’s a good chance that Cron would again take a one-year deal to resolidify his value after an injury-shortened 2020 season. Again, he’s a guy the Cubs would have no interest in if there were no DH in the NL, but if there is, his bat could be a useful one at Wrigley Field.

Other potential first basemen who are free agents include Carlos Santana, Mitch Moreland, and Eric Thames.

Chicago Cubs: Jonathan Schoop

Are the Cubs in the market for a second baseman this offseason? Is Nico Hoerner, who is coming off a rough 2020 season, going to be the answer in 2021? Or will the team be looking outside the organization to upgrade the position? Even if the Cubs think Hoerner is the answer to start 2021, Jonathan Schoop could be a backup plan for the position as well as a candidate to DH for the team.

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Schoop, who will be 29 next year, is one of the game’s more underrated second basemen. He was an All-Star in 2017, but he’s been an offensive threat for some time, hitting at least 20 home runs each year between 2016 and 2019. Last year, he signed a one-year deal with the Tigers just like Schoop did, and he had a nice campaign, hitting eight home runs and posting a solid .799 OPS. Schoop also has a 7.2 career defensive WAR.

As well as Schoop played last year, there’s a good chance that a lot of teams are going to be interested. After signing the one-year deal last year, given that he hasn’t reached 30 yet, he’s likely to get a multi-year deal. That might turn the Cubs away.

Yet if they are serious about upgrading second base while having another option at DH, Schoop is someone they should take a look at. The position has a lot of solid free agent targets, including D.J. LeMahieu, Kolten Wong, Jonathan Villar, Cesar Hernandez, Tommy La Stella and former Cub Jason Kipnis. Schoop might still be an afterthought to some teams and could come cheaper than some of the names listed above.