Former All-Star could provide answer for remaining Cubs' offseason need

It felt like just yesterday when the Cubs faithful were wondering if acquiring Whit Merrifield during his All-Star caliber stretch with the Royals was a possibility. Merrifield, 35, is not the hot name he once was, but he is on the market, and the Cubs are looking for some infield depth and insurance.

Merrifield is a three-time All-Star and career .280/.328/.413 hitter with 218 stolen bases and 94 homers in 1,147 career MLB games. He led MLB in hits in back-to-back seasons (2018-2019) and stolen bases (45) in 2018. His last All-Star appearance was as recent as 2023 when he hit .272/.318/.382 with 26 stolen bases in 145 games with the Blue Jays. Merrifield is a versatile defender who can play pretty much anywhere.

Last season was a bit of a struggle. Between the Phillies and Braves, he hit just .222/.311/.314 with an 80 wRC+ and 17 stolen bases in 95 games. He hit just .199 with a .277 OBP in Philly and was released in July before the Braves signed him. Things went a bit better in Atlanta, hitting .248/.348/.336 in 42 games while dealing with a fractured foot. The average still wasn't much to write home about in Atlanta, for a guy known for hitting for average, but the OBP was pretty solid.

Exploring Whit Merrifield as an infield depth option for the Cubs

Is this worth a look for the Cubs and is he a fit? There are arguments for and against. He is 35 and coming off a rough season. Safe to assume he won't steal 40+ bases like he once did, even if he did play every day. While a good career hitter, he is not a huge OBP guy generally with a career walk rate of 6.5%. Typically, he needs to put the ball in play and find grass to be an effective force. While his strikeout rate is always around just 14-17%, he does not hit the ball particularly hard, and last year, his soft contact rate was a career-high 20.8% along with a career-high 45% groundball rate.

With that said, there are a few interesting things to note. Merrifield's projections, per Steamer, have him hitting .246/.305/.355 with an 87 wRC+ next season. Not mindblowing numbers by any means, but as a possible insurance/bench bat? Not awful. Maybe it factors in his career-worst .257 BABIP last season coming back up a bit? That is, if he can make more of his softer contact at this point in his career; at least he showed he can still disperse the ball to all sides of the field pretty evenly. His sprint speed was also still in the 90th percentile last year per Statcast. One thing that did surprise me in a good way last year was the career-high 10.4% walk rate. It's not crazy high, but higher than normal. For what it's worth, Steamer has his walk rate next year at 7.3%, not as high as last year but a tick higher than his career rate.

There is a lot to digest here. It makes sense not to want to dive into the possibility of a 35-year-old hitter who relies on softer contact and does not walk a ton or hit for much power. He also might find a place where he is more guaranteed to play, but we will see at this point in his career. The Cubs had already acquired utility man Vidal Bruján from the Marlins, though even in the advanced age Merrifield probably feels like a safer bet in terms of who can produce offensively at the MLB level.