Chicago Cubs should have Marcus Semien on their shopping list

The Chicago Cubs should have a long shopping list during the upcoming offseason. With a stacked free agent class, they have a real opportunity to get back up to speed and compete in the NL Central within the next couple years. While the pitching staff certainly needs a definitive ace, the pieces are there to make a big splash on offense and Marcus Semien needs to be near the top of their list.

We’ve already covered Carlos Correa as an option, but there will no doubt be serious competition for the Astros superstar whom MLB Trade Rumors ranked the best free agent of this offseason. Semien represents a really solid alternative that has bounced back to MVP-caliber with Toronto after a rough 2020.

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He leads all of baseball in plate appearances with 547 and has an OPS+ of 132 in that span. Moreover, he’s tied for second in WAR across all players with 5.8, only losing out to the two-way juggernaut himself, Shohei Ohtani.

It’s essentially a carbon copy of Semien’s 2019 season in Oakland. Back then, he also paced all of baseball in plate appearances while posting a 140 OPS+, good for a third-place MVP finish. On the defensive side, Semien turned it around in Oakland and has posted a positive UZR every year through 2018. He even has some extra defensive versatility, posting a 5.7 UZR at second base this year.

Chicago Cubs need Marcus Semien

Semien could very easily take over shortstop, moving Nico Hoerner to center field, but he also has big league experience managing the hot corner with the White Sox. He has the bat to justify a move over to a corner spot, leaving Hoerner and Madrigal to cover the middle. Moreover, it may make sense to slide him over given his age. The one downfall Semien has over the other big-name shortstops is that he’ll be 31 next year, but having that option to move to third can counteract that in the field.

When looking for a deal with Semien, it’s probably not going to be in the long-term range of Seager or Correa, but a four or five-year deal would make a lot of sense and potentially make him a nice bridge to prospects like Cristian Hernandez or Ed Howard. He won’t come cheap, but given the age and track record, he’s also not going to rake in the money of arguably any of the other shortstops, leaving more financial flexibility for the Cubs going forward.

Semien offers the Cubs a lot of flexibility that other free agents might not. Obviously, the team is likely to wait for the CBA to see if the universal DH could be in play, but he’s a guy to definitely keep an eye on given how well he can fit into their long-term plans.