3 guys the Cubs could be using at third base instead of Miles Mastrobuoni

With the injuries to Nick Madrigal and Dansby Swanson and the general lack of offensive production from Patrick Wisdom, the Chicago Cubs have been frustratingly giving starts to Miles Mastrobuoni at third base despite other options. If the team is willing to give those starts away from Wisdom, that would suggest they are looking for offense because he can play the position just fine. That begs the question, why the heck are they looking to Miles Mastrobuoni?

According to Fangraphs, Mastrobuoni has the third-lowest WAR on the team this year at -0.4 as well as a wRC+ of 37. Those are unbelievably bad numbers and yet Mastrobuoni was in David Ross's starting lineup in two of the three games against the Boston Red Sox this past weekend. In circumstances like this with the team hit with injuries, there are other guys to give looks at third base that could give you value, and here are three of them.

1. David Bote

The long-lost utility man for the Chicago Cubs has quietly put together a respectable year in Triple-A with a .263/.365/.457 slash line with 9 home runs and 44 RBIs. For a guy who can play serviceable defense all over the infield and who's already played at the major league level, that is not horrible. What's bizarre is the fact that Bote is under contract and being paid $4 million this year despite sitting in the minor leagues while Miles Mastrobuoni is starting at third base.

According to The Cub Reporter's Arizona Phil, Bote's contract is precisely the reason that he hasn't seen a major league game this year. If Bote reaches five years of service time, which he would get after 89 more days, the Cubs would be unable to outright him off of the 40-man roster like they did last offseason. Now that we are more than halfway into the season, Bote can come up to the big league squad without reaching those 89 days. Although this hypothetical service time manipulation is reprehensible, it explains why we haven't seen Bote yet this year.

Why not give Bote another shot? You're already paying him much more than anybody else in Triple-A and he's a familiar face that provides a bit of thump.

2. Edwin Rios

Although you can point at Rios' numbers this year and say pretty much the same thing about them as Mastrobuoni's, Rios has not been given much of a shot. He's only been given 28 at-bats at the big-league level this year which is not exactly a large sample size. In fact, Rios has never been given much of a chance on a big league squad ever in his career. With the Cubs banged up infield and Rios already on the 40-man roster, I don't know why Mastrobuoni is getting starts while Rios could provide the power that this team needs right now.

Why else would the team even bring Rios over in the offseason if they're never even going to use him? The abundance of trust in Miles Mastrobuoni is getting ridiculous at this point.