Chicago Cubs: More veteran free agent options at second

Cubs could get some nice pop out of Jonathan Schoop

Cubs fans are probably fairly familiar with Jonathan Schoop because of his days as a Milwaukee Brewer down the stretch of 2018. Schoop was an All-Star with the Baltimore Orioles in 2017 and spent last season with the Detroit Tigers, where he hit .278/.324/.475 with eight home runs in 44 games. He missed all of September last year due to a wrist injury.

Why is he a good fit?

Schoop is one of the better power hitting second baseman in baseball. In 846 career games he has hit 141 home runs and sports a career .450 slugging percentage. He has four seasons of 20+ home runs including hitting a career-high 32 in 2017. While he does not possess the walking skills (.297 career OBP) he can still hit for a decent average and be productive with his power. His fielding is pretty decent, nothing overly special, but he gets the job done.

What would he cost? If they can bring him in on a one-year he would probably cost in the ballpark of $5-7 million tops. He signed a $6.1 million deal last year with the Tigers (before being prorated). Biggest question is if he will want to sign a one year deal where he is not necessarily playing every day considering he has been a starter for most of his career. It could depend on the demand for starting second baseman this offseason.