Jake Bauers' Brewers heroics against Dodgers give Cubs an intriguing offseason target

The Milwaukee Brewers, to the chagrin of the Chicago Cubs, are on the verge of a advancing to the World Series, and could complete a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night. The Dodgers nearly won on Wednesday night but that was before Jake Bauers had the at-bat seen around the world.

Bauers worked an 11-pitch at-bat against Blake Snell in the seventh inning of Game 3, and on the final pitched, promptly delivered the ball to the right field stands, giving the Brewers a 3-2 lead and they never looked back.

For all the talk about the Brewers not having slug, and needing to play small ball to win games, it ignores the reality that while their lineup includes an emerging superstar in Jackson Chourio, they also had one of this season's best power hitters in Jake Bauers.

Cubs could find a sneaky offensive upgrade in Brewers' latest postseason hero Jake Bauers

Playing the matchups throughout the season, Bauers has mostly been used against right-handed pitching and he's made the most of his opportunity. The 31-year-old slashed .266/.389/.484 through 578 plate appearances, adding 26 home runs with a wRC+ of 143. In terms of the exact splits, Bauers had 418 plate appearances against right-handed pitchers, and 160 against lefties.

Faced with the potential of losing Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ this offseason, and the reality that neither Matt Shaw or Pedro Ramirez should be handed full-time roles in the outfield, it's possible the Cubs see Bauers as a potential fit this offseason. While he hasn't had the career track record that Suzuki or Happ have had, his success with the Brewers and recency bias of his playoff production is likely going to up his price tag.

For that reason, it's possible the Cubs simply aren't involved in the bidding. But, if there's an exception to be made, and it't not going to the top of the market for Suzuki's return, perhaps the Cubs see if there's common ground to be had with Bauers. He would be an ideal platoon option for either Shaw or Ramirez in the outfield, and would give the Cubs some cover at first base when Michael Busch needs a day off.

If not Bauers specifically, then the Cubs need to find their version of what the Brewers did. They took a flier on Bauers in a buy-low trade with the New York Yankees, and found a way to unlock his power. With an offseason focus on pitching, that level of creativity is what the Cubs will need to improve their offense.

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