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Cubs: 3 obvious changes the team has to make to be a contender
Right now, everything’s coming up aces for the Chicago Cubs. The team has scored nearly 10 runs per game over the last week, is very much in the hunt for the NL Central and is seeing key players return to form offensively.
That being said, there are still some things that’ll have to change if this team wants to contend over the course of 162 games. This division looks like it could come right down to the wire yet again in 2021, and every game counts. That means the Cubs have some changes that need to be made – and they need to be made sooner rather than later.
Cubs: Stop wasting a roster spot on Eric Sogard
The first – and most obvious change this team needs to make is burning a spot on the 26-man roster with Eric Sogard. There is absolutely no reason Nico Hoerner shouldn’t be getting those reps that have gone to the longtime veteran early on this year.
David Bote is finally getting rolling offensively and can pair with Hoerner to handle the everyday duties at second base. Given the team’s wildly up-and-down offense, Hoerner can bring some much needed bat-to-ball skills to the mix when he’s in the lineup. Not to mention, when he’s paired up with Javier Baez up the middle, the Cubs have one of the best defensive tandems in all of baseball.
As for Sogard, he’s a soon-to-be 35-year-old who’s in the sunset years of his career. If this organization truly is focused on building the next winner on the North Side, then roll with Bote and Hoerner at second and send Sogard to South Bend. It’s time to stop wasting at-bats.
Cubs need to admit that Joc Pederson is purely a platoon player
Look, I get it. You told Joc Pederson he’d get the chance to hit lefties as much as righties. Well, guess what? It’s not working – and as nice as it would be to be able to let him work through this until June or July, the margin for error for this team is just too small to allow it to happen.
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Chicago placed Pederson on the 10-day IL with a wrist injury Friday, adding Hoerner to the roster to fill his spot. That means we’re going to see a combination of Kris Bryant, Jake Marisnick and Ian Happ in left in the meantime. Let’s hope when Pederson does return, we learn this wrist issue is what’s gotten him off to such a slow start.
Because what he’s done at the dish so far isn’t going to get the job done. Pederson is slashing .137/.262/.235 on the year. Against left-handers, it’s even worse, with the outfielder batting just .077/.143/.077. Yes, it’s a brutally small sample size. But the simple truth is this: the Cubs can field better lineups against southpaws without him.
With Hoerner up (which should remain the case after Pederson returns from the IL), you can roll with Hoerner at second, Bote at third and Bryant in left against lefties. That trio is going to add a ton of offensive value in these matchups – and we’ve seen the last few days what a properly constructed lineup is capable of doing.
We’re not here to appease players. We’re here to win (or at least, we should be). Maybe if Pederson comes back and starts hitting against right-handers, you give him a look against lefties here and there to give him shots. But until he has some momentum behind him, we’re setting the offense up to fail.
Cubs need to let Adbert Alzolay pitch every five days
This starting rotation is pretty not great as it currently stands.
You’re not going to win games for years to come behind guys like Trevor Williams or an ineffective Zach Davies. But you just might with a rotation built around Kyle Hendricks and Adbert Alzolay. And for that reason, we need to see what the latter is capable of over the course of a season.
On Saturday, the team optioned Kyle Ryan back to the alternate site just one day after he made his 2021 debut in order to bring Alzolay back from South Bend to start against the Brewers.
As expected, Adbert Alzolay recalled to start today's game. Lefty Kyle Ryan -- who was called up Friday -- optioned back to the alt site to clear a spot on the MLB roster.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) April 24, 2021
The team is proceeding with caution when it comes to their young right-hander given he’s never thrown more than 120 innings in a single season. They can watch his workload while keeping him in the big league rotation. At some point, you just have to let a guy go out and take the ball every five days to see what you have.
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We’re at that point with Alzolay. With Alec Mills in the bullpen, Chicago can always piggyback him with the right-hander to control his inning count. But you can’t be content having him down at South Bend. We need to know what he’s got to offer long-term. Is is ready to build upon his strong 2020 showing? There’s only one way to find out.