Chicago Cubs: Four outfield candidates to replace Kyle Schwarber

Chicago Cubs: Tons of upside with former Colorado Rockies outfielder

The Colorado Rockies were another club to make a surprising non-tender when they severed ties with 26-year-old David Dahl.

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Dahl had a poor 2020, slashing just .183/.222/.247 in just under 100 plate appearances. He has also had a hard time staying healthy.

Dahl missed the entirety of 2017 due to injury, and he has yet to play more than 100 games in a single season. Yet, there is reason to believe the Cubs should take a flier on the former first-round pick.

For starters, Dahl is obviously still young. In fact, he’s a full year younger than Schwarber. Moreover, he can hit. Dahl hit .315 with an 859 OPS in 63 games during his rookie season. After missing all of 2017, he posted an .859 OPS again in 2018 and followed by clubbing 15 homers and hitting .300 en route to an All-Star nod in 2019.

Like Rosario, Dahl is a contact-heavy guy who drives fastballs out of the yard. It is worth noting he only has a .722 OPS away from Coors Field, but also had above a 110 OPS+ between 2016 and 2019.

Teams will likely be scared of Dahl because of the injury and the Coors factor. But that could make him a bargain pickup for the Cubs, especially given his age.