Chicago Cubs Rumors: Discussing the reality of Eric Hosmer

After the Boston Red Sox surprised the MLB world by cutting ties with Eric Hosmer, a man whose contract is being paid by the San Diego Padres, he becomes an intriguing option to discuss for the Chicago Cubs. On top of that, after the Cubs have seemingly missed almost all their targets this winter, the potential for a landing spot is there. Especially after Hosmer has been a rumored target of the Cubs in the past, how much can he bring to a Cubs team with a lefty first baseman waiting in the wings?

For one, Hosmer has had at least decent numbers throughout his career. Over eight years, Hosmer has wRC+s of 124, 102, 135, 95, 92, 128, 103, and 104. Mostly, he’s been, at the very least, a league-average player. For his career, he has a slash of .277/.336/.428 with splits of .287/.353/.457 vs. righties and .255/.300/.369 against southpaws. Overall, you’re looking for a player that offensively has put up respectable enough numbers to be considered a nice piece to have in your lineup.

Defensively, Hosmer has earned four Gold Glove awards. He still puts up solid enough numbers to be considered a decent to solid add by any team in need of a lefty first baseman. That’s where making sense of Hosmer to the Cubs stop abruptly. The emergence of Matt Marvis potentially breaking camp with the Cubs in Spring Training of 2023 will be blocked entirely or at least seriously hinder his development if the Cubs opt for an addition of Eric Hosmer.

The Cubs have already been rumored to be looking to add a right-handed first baseman to platoon with Mervis to help ease him into the swing of things at the highest level of competition that baseball has to offer. Adding Hosmer, another lefty first baseman, to the mix takes away even more much-needed at-bats for Mervis and ultimately doesn’t make sense.

If it weren’t for Mervis, I’d say go for it. The Cubs, however, must find their righty bat to platoon with Mervis. Currently, the bidding war for Dansby Swanson is all the hype at this stage of the free agency. The Cubs cannot afford to miss on him, but if they do, look for the Cubs to swiftly pivot to the next tier of bats available and lock up a couple of them on short deals to better fit their mold of “intelligent spending.” It’s only mid-December, but the Cubs have a couple of huge splashes to make if they wish to have a chance at the playoffs.