3 players the Chicago Cubs should move on from to save their season

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With the Chicago Cubs season on the brink of heading for turmoil, It's time to look at players who are not producing on this roster and have managed to hold the team back. There is no one in particular scapegoat; there have been negative contributions team-wide. However, some, more than others, have been especially underwhelming this season. Let's look at three players the Cubs need to cut ties with if they wish to save their 2023 season.

3 players the Cubs should move on from - Michael Fulmer

We've already touched on how much of a disaster this signing has been so far. Personally, I was never a huge fan of this signing when it took place. With Andrew Chafin available, and the Cubs' need (and still a glaring need) for a lefty, It didn't make much sense to me why the Cubs opted to pay Fulmer when they still had the funds to pay Chafin. Once I took a look at Fulmer's stats away from Detroit after the trade deadline and noticed his ERA ballooned from a 2.38 ERA to 4.55, I failed to see the excitement.

It became a salary crunch after the Cubs landed Trey Mancini and began worrying about having enough payroll to take on a contract at the deadline. Unfortunately, the salary relief has become just as insignificant as Fulmer's relief appearances themselves. He lost his role as a backend reliever, sports a dreadful 5.93 ERA, and makes you hold your breath every time he takes the mound. The Cubs are better off cutting their losses here. Unfortunately, they can't get back the four losses he's responsible for in the bullpen.

3 players the Cubs should move on from - Edwin Rios

It's hard to remember when a player has taken up a roster spot for no reason as much as Edwin Rios with the Chicago Cubs this season. Rios has only managed to see big-league action in just 18 games. In that time, he recorded only 28 at-bats and slashed .071/.235/.214. Elsewhere, in Triple-A, he has slashed a still rather unimpressive .191/.393/.429. The on-base percentage is much more encouraging, but given that this has been a sample size of seven games with the I-Cubs, there's little stock to put into anything.

Currently on the 10-Day IL, the Cubs have little need to reinstate him to the big-league roster if he is just going to take up someone else's bench spot. Going into the season, the thought was that Rios could have been a nice grab for the Cubs, who needed lefty power and, with any fair chance to make something of himself, could have found something in him. That logic has been shrouded by giving him no real playing time, causing an inability to get him into a rhythm, and creating a gaping hole on the Cubs bench that someone else could utilize so the front office can see what they have to work with. The Rios experiment looks to be all but done.

3 players the Cubs should move on from - Patrick Wisdom

Patrick Wisdom started his career by surpassing the Cubs rookie home run record set by Kris Bryant just six years before. An impressive feat, Wisdom has become chicken or feathers for the Cubs since then. Yes, he can smack 25-30 homers in any given season. As much as I like Wisdom, the person, the ballplayer, is still not helping the Cubs win baseball games. A quick dip into his Fangraphs reveals a slash of .198/.288/.473 with a strikeout rate north of 38%. His 14 home runs, 10 of which came before May 1st, have him clinging to a 0.5 WAR and 4% better than the league average wRC+ of 104. For June, Wisdom has a strikeout rate of 53%, a .091 batting average, and a wRC+ of -10.

This is one of those times where as much as you want to like a guy personally, you have to remember baseball is a business, and Jed Hoyer has to do what's best for the team. With the Cubs scuffling, I won't place my bets on a Wisdom DFA, but a demotion back to Iowa seems inevitable, given that he still has three minor-league options remaining. Making matters worse, with a strong emphasis on defense that the Cubs have set forth, Wisdom's below-league-average .947 FPCT at third base leaves, even more to be desired.

Though he has made some fine plays this season, he sits with an overall -2 Runs Prevented and -3 Outs Above Average, which coincides with the -9 RP and -11 OOA from last season at third base. A chance to redeem himself in Iowa is necessary. Let him try to fix whatever's broken in his swing and make better contact. For now, it's gas on an open flame to keep him on the Cubs roster.

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