The Cubs started seven different players at second base in 2019 with generally uninspiring results. Addison Russell, Ben Zobrist and Tony Kemp are now gone. Let’s take a look at the options who remain to fill that spot on the north side in 2020.
- Jason Kipnis: Chicago signed Kipnis to a minor-league deal after Cleveland cut bait last offseason. The former star has slumped to a .236/.305/.403 (85 wRC+) mark over the past three seasons, especially struggling against left-handed pitching. His defensive metrics are mixed, with UZR more bullish than DRS or Statcast. At 32 (33 in April), the Illinois native probably won’t be returning to his 2015-16 heights, but there’s hope he can offer reasonable production on both sides of the ball. With that in mind, Kipnis looks to be a good bet to make the Opening Day roster, Patrick Mooney of the Athletic reported today.
- David Bote: Bote got the lion’s share of playing time at second last season, although he’s capable of bouncing around the infield. The 26-year-old has put up league average numbers over his first 566 plate appearances (.257/.362/.422). There’s a lot of swing-and-miss to his game, though, and his career 11.1% walk rate seems a bit inflated by some opportunities hitting in front of the pitcher. The organization clearly believes in him, having extended him through 2024 (with a pair of club options) last spring.
- Nico Hoerner: The Cubs’ top prospect, Hoerner made it up for a September cameo. A polished hitter coming out of Stanford, he always profiled as a fast riser, but the club may prefer to slow things down a bit. Mediocre results over his first 82 MLB plate appearances certainly won’t sour the organization on him, but Hoerner only logged 294 plate appearances in the high minors, all in Double-A. There’s a case to be made for giving him some seasoning at Triple-A.
- Daniel Descalso: A late-career swing change seemingly reinvigorated Descalso’s career in Arizona in 2018. The Cubs bought in, signing him to a two-year deal last offseason. Unfortunately, he fell completely flat, hitting just .173/.271/.250 (42 wRC+) in 194 plate appearances. 2018 now looks like an outlier rather than a breakout, as Descalso’s been at least ten percentage points below average at the plate in every other season of his career.
- Robel García: García, 26, is a phenomenal story, having parlayed a stint in Italy to a return to affiliated ball (and eventually his MLB debut) in 2019. He obliterated the minors to the tune of a .284/.369/.586 line in 388 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. That came with a 30.9% strikeout rate, though, and the whiffs became an even bigger issue in his MLB audition. García struck out in 35 of his 80 MLB plate appearances with an unpalatable 20.9% swinging strike rate. That he’s even in consideration for the job is remarkable considering where he was a year ago; he’ll have to alleviate the swing-and-miss to be a viable everyday option, though.
Also in camp as non-roster invitees are Corban Joseph, Carlos Asuaje and Hernán Pérez. Joseph has intrigued teams recently with quality minor-league numbers, but he’s a 31-year-old with 94 MLB plate appearances to his name. Asuaje, meanwhile, is coming off a disappointing tenure in the KBO, while Pérez has hovered around replacement-level over parts of eight seasons as a utility option. Each would seem to need an eye-opening spring to earn the job. Ditto prospect Trent Giambrone, who is also in camp but was left unprotected for (and went undrafted in) the Rule V draft.
Ian Happ could have added another name to the mix. However, the coaching staff considers Happ more of an option in center field, Mooney reports. Thus, it seems likeliest one of the names above picks up the slack at the keystone in 2020.
The job belongs to Bote until Hoerner is recalled in May/June. Kipnis and Descalso will battle for the backup spot with the winner likely being a release candidate once Hoerner is recalled.
I think so too
Against righ-handed pitchers the job will go to Kipnis. Theo believes Cubs need that veteran presence. Unless he struggles badly out of the gate, he’s the guy.
Completely agree. He is there as the lackey, Ross vet presence. Production at the plate will be a plus.
I think it’ll be a Kipnis/Bote platoon… Bench will include Descalso, Caratini, Souza and Almora… Then there’s the 26th roster spot, it seems like Ross is leaning towards getting a 3rd catcher.
Most teams appear to be leaning toward a 3rd catcher, especially ones that have a solid offensive catcher like the Cubs do because it will lessen the potential issue of using that catcher as a PH on his rest day. As for 2B, Bote is the starter. It gets interesting, though, if Almora and Happ continue to struggle against LHP – or if Schwarber regresses vs LHP – because then KB likely shifts to the OF vs LHP and Bote moves to 3B and opens ABs for someone like Kipnis or Descalso.
I agree Capi
If bote is the starter the cubs are in trouble.
Everything I read and hear about the Cubs indicates they are in trouble or at least headed in that direction. It wasn’t too long ago that they were talked about as a potential dynasty, but lately it just sounds like everything is a bit of a clusterf*ck.
Poor leadership in owners box leads to instability in the club. Ricketts care more about spending money in politics than winning baseball.
Who is this Camp Battles guy who writes these articles.
I’m pretty sure he is a secret agent and part-time journalist is just his cover.
Shawn Camp?
Rick Camp
Zobrist will get the job
Just as long as Addison Russell doesn’t have a job it’s all good.
Dee Gordon might be a good pickup as a stopgap. Could do something simple like a Tyler Chatwood for Gordon swap.
OR you could get interesting and add in Kyle Seager (and a couple of prospects) and Kris Bryant. Cubs wouldn’t save any money in 2020, but Seager’s salary declines in 2021, while Bryant’s will likely go up quite a bit in arb in 2021. They could save money in the long run and stay relatively competitive this season. Plus, they seem to collect guys named Kyle so it would fit.
Bryant would immediately become the face of the Mariners, which is something they desperately need right now. The prospects probably wouldn’t need to be TOP prospects, but a couple in the 8-20 or so range of Seattle’s top 30 could work well. It would be a calculated gamble for them, but if it didn’t work out they could always trade him in the off season or next year’s deadline. They have to do something, because Seattle is quite possibly the most irrelevant franchise in all of MLB.
I’m sure the Cubs could also take one or two more crappy Mariners players if they are going to trade Bryant. Like Vogelbach to have a matching set of book ends with Schwarber
Vogel Bach was a Cub. They saw his future and that’s why he’s in the AL
The Cubs aren’t trading Bryant for an old 3B and the Mariners bad prospects lol
The Cubs aren’t trading Bryant for anything less than a steal. Fixed it for you.
A couple 8-20 prospects for Bryant? Don’t you think there would be multiple teams who would have already traded for him then? Dee Gordon and Kyle Seager have negative trade value and Chatwood is on the last year of his contract and Seagers option becomes a player option if he’s traded not too mention that the Cubs didn’t sign a single player this offseason to a contract over a million dollars, this is a ludicrous proposal
So Gordon has negative trade value, but Chatwood is on the last year of his contract? They are BOTH on the last year of their contracts. It’s obvious you are biased because you took the exact same situation and made it positive for one and negative for the other.
If you don’t like my idea, fine. I don’t have any power to execute it anyway. I’m just goofing off fr a few minutes at work. No need to insult me.
How hiflew were you when you came up with this?
Dee Gordon is horrible.
And has steroid suspension. Mets would be only team silly enough to make those types of trades. Or Jeter if it makes his investors money.
And has steroid suspension. Mets would be only team silly enough to make those types of trades. Or Jeter if it makes his investors money.
Not hi enough to think you are clever.
How about Bryant for Kellinic!!
Your proposal is delirious. I wouldn’t trade Chatwood for your entire package much less include Bryant.
I expect Chatwood to emerge as 4 in the rotation this year, allowing the Cubs to flip Quintana IF Mills and/or Alzolay or Miller show they are capable of holding down the 5th spot. Chatwood has a quality arm.
“Flipping” Quintana without adding a lefty would leave the rotation too right handed. Doubt they would consider that move. Also think management likes the value they perceive in Q’s contract.
I’d like to see Mills as the 5th starter. He pitched well with the ML club and in AAA last season. He looks ready. Chatwood is better in long relief and the bullpen can use his experience with the number of young arms that will be in the pen this year.
Lol
The problem isn’t that the guy thinks Chatwood will emerge as the #4 guy. The problem is that the Cubs SP is so mediocre after Hendricks/Darvish, that even a below-average performance from Chatwood could be good enough to make him the 4th best pitcher on the staff. And fwiw, that the Cubs are so mediocre in the rotation and are basically trying to find lightning in a bottle with depth guys to fill into the back end of the rotation should be reason enough that they aren’t trading one of those options until or unless another guy emerges.
There is no realistic scenario where the Cubs trade Bryant and finish this season over .500. Crazy ideas like getting Arenado for him would do it. Same with getting a bunch of MLB ready prospects. But those arent happening. And as bad as Chatwood was in 2018 as a starter, they don’t have a lot of SP depth. Trading from the little depth they have to acquire a Gordon would be terrible. It’s debatable that Gordon isn’t even as good right now as Bote. And even if Gordon found his pre-Seattle form, hed do nothing but block Hoerner when he’s ready in mid May.
For this trade to work you would need the same conditions I had as a kid and was able to successfully swap a Freddy Patak card for a Hank Aaron and Johnny Bench.
My trading partner was named Vin and was fresh off the boat from Viet Nam.
I am not proud of myself there.
Theo isn’t trading Chatwood for Gordon lol. Chatwood has a role on the Cubs.
2B is the least of the Cubs problems heading into 2020. The rotation is getting long in the tooth and the bullpen could be an issue if Kimbrel isn’t the Kimbrel of old. If I’m Theo, I shop Contreras. VC is more than adequate at C.
Cubs should have signed Cesar Hernandez to play 2B. But the Indians have him and the Cubs have the guy the Indians no longer wanted.
Theo is losing a bit of his magic. Then again, maybe he never had any magic to begin with? With the talent he had in Boston, I could have been the GM and won.
The guy has put together Championship teams in multiple organizations. It’s a foolish take to think he has “no talent” at what he does.
The cubs did win 12-2 last night
Your point?
ChiSoxFan-I’m really starting to think you’re really a Cubs fan…hmmm
Hey, it’s the Cubs crazy ex girlfriend ChiSox. ur a crazy stocker.
Ur an idiot, stay with Sux posts
And Soler hit another homerun. How’s Davis doing for you now?
Yeah, I guess the Cubs could use a DH. .
They already have one playing LF along with two AA hitters in CF and RF.
Cardinals fan or Whitesox fan? Schwarber may explode this year and the rest of the division will be paying for it. And he’s not a real liability in LF if you happen to watch any of their games or are you just parroting something you’ve overheard?
Seen him make routine outs into triples. Considering he’s the only OFer in their organization that can actually hit a baseball explains why he is there. Shame they traded better OFers to suck in the playoffs. He’s a minus fielder. He needs to hit .300’with an oba at .400 with 40 hrs and 100+ rbis to make sense. That’s what he was supposed to do from day 1 alas that’s never happened.
Traded better outfielders like who? Soler is a DH. Jimenez has barely started his career and has been injury prone. And most people with a brain consider Barry Bonds as having been a really good LF. Well his ratio of assists to errors as a LF was 1.78. Schwarber’s is a 2. And oh yeah, Schwarber doesn’t have the range of many LF’s but he’s got a great arm and is accurate with it. I believe the shredder from MLB has Schwarber in its top 10. Works for me.
Soler? Is that slug who stood in box during game 3 of the World Series in 1-0 game ? Could have had inside park home run? Good riddance of that lazy tree stump
Yeah, the guy that led the AL in home runs last year… that guy.
And Cubs fans will see exactly why the Tribe bought out Kipnis and sent him packing. CLE had actually been looking for a taker since 2017. In a nutshell he was never worth the $15M/year salary. Hopefully for the Cubs Kip shows a greater willingness to adjust than he did for the Tribe.
Theo is losing a bit of his magic. Then again, maybe he never had any magic to begin with? With the talent he had in Boston, I could have been the GM and won.
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This might be the worst thought out criticism I ever heard. What you’re saying is that Theo acquired so much talent in Boston, that even you could’ve won with them.
And that proves he is a bad GM?
My thoughts exactly.
I do agree about Cesar Hernandez. That’s about it tho
It’ll be Bote vs lefties and Kipnis vs righties, and once Hoerner is recalled, someone other than Kipnis will go (unless Kipnis has simply turned into Descalso 2.0, but I highly doubt that’ll be the case). Kipnis will be on the team all season long.
You gotta figure Descalso has one foot out the door after his lack of performance last year. What about Bryant in RF, Hoerner at 3B and a platoon at 2nd? Hoerner is a line drive hitting machine and management won’t be able to keep him down at AAA for long, if at all.
what on Earth did Descalso do to earn that contract anyway
Had a career season the year before in Arizona.
They’ll open the season with Garcia or Bote and bring up Hoerner once they’re sure the Super Two cutoff has passed.
Battle? It’s more like homeless people fighting over a McDonald’s hamburger from the trash.
I imagine that’d be quite the battle…
Should be talking to the Angels about Rengifo, he’s basically the odd many out and was almost traded to the Dodgers already. Just need to find a decent SP to send back as the basis of a deal. I’m not that familiar with the Cubs pitching depth…
Cubs have 2 pitchers with prayers that the next 3 days are rainouts
Ok Stevie, you can go play with your toys now. Don’t forget to say your prayers for a Chisox .500 season.
Kipnis and Bote platoon. I like Perez’ versatility for the bench.
Nothing better then a line up with 12-16 easy outs a game.
I dunno, attempted insults with poor grammar are pretty good.
Kipnis coming home to play at the friendly confines may just be the career rejuvenation he needs.
Perez has the ability to play all over the Infield and the OF corners which could have him possibly edge out Descalso if the Cubs could find a taker through trade or just decide to eat his contract if he has a bad spring
Kipnis is going to start against right handers unless he falls apart or get injures.
I am not sure if Bote is suited for second base or moved to third base and pushing Bryant in Left Field while shopping Schwarber for Pen help…
Cubs should stick with Bote and Kipnis at 2nd. Keep Nico in the minors until mid season so he gets steady playing time and more seasoning. If all’s good with Nico by mid season then start him and keep him at 2nd. None of this really matters this season when it comes to win/loose. No matter who’s at 2nd it’s a 3rd or 4th place finish for the Cubs.
You know who won’t be battling for 2nd base for the cvbs this spring? Gleyber Torres. Good thing you have Aroldis Chapman holding down the closer role. Oh, wait…
That comment is dumb founded. They wouldn’t have won the 2016 World Series without making that move.
That’s debatable. I hated that trade then, I still do now. But it’s still not as bad as the James Shields trade.
No debate . Any true cub fan knows hector Rondon went down with injury and without Chapman cubs never sniff World Series . Shut door down in Frisco to win nlds . Want strop there instead ? Maybe Clayton Richards ?
Its not debateable at all
Any true cvbs fan would know Hector Rondon was an awful closer that year.
But ChiSoxCity in reality you hate that Cubs trade since it won them the world series!
Nearly wearing out Chapman’s arm won you the World Series that year. So by not offering him money to stay, the cvbs basically agreed no repeat appearance in the WS. Dumb decision after dumb decision like that undermined the team since ‘16.
how could they have afforded him? paying 20 million to a closer is stupid. How is that WS ring looking since he signed with the Yanks?!?!?
Their 2nd base battle has more of a look fit for a rebuilding team or non contender than a contender. But I doubt this is the worst of their problems.
This should be Bote all the way. Has so much more upside at this point than Kipnis. Although it’ll be Kip backing him up most likely.
Robel is the wild card. If he can cut down on K’s he may be a big boost to this year’s team. Watch out for the bullpen to be good.
I think Happ will see some time at 2nd. I also think Robel will do well there. He is taking pitches and walking more so far this spring. All be it a small sample size.