Chicago Cubs: the land of misfit toys
By Bill Felber
The loss of Castellanos crystallizes the 2020 Chicago Cubs dependence on under-performers
The effective loss of Nick Castellanos, who signed Monday with the Cincinnati Reds, hardly came as a surprise to fans of the Chicago Cubs. But it did drive home the point that the team’s 2020 hopes will be pinned on a coterie of heretofore under-performers.
Castellanos batted .321 in 51 games after being acquired in a deadline deal with Detroit. But the Cubs, who have found themselves right up against the luxury tax threshold all off-season, never engaged in a serious pursuit to re-sign the right fielder.
Beyond that, the team has made no off-season additions likely to shake up the regular order.
In fact, the 2020 starting lineup projects to be the same as the one that went 84-78 and for the first time since 2014 failed to reach post-season play save for the losses of Castellanos and infielder Addison Russell. Russell was released after a disappointing 2019 that came on the heels of his domestic abuse suspension to start the season.
The Cubs also lost utility stalwart Ben Zobrist and rotation starter Cole Hamels.
The only additions of any consequence have occurred at the margins. The Cubs purchased pitcher Jharel Cotton from the Oakland Athletics, and are reported to have agreed to terms with outfielder Steven Souza, formerly of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Neither of those moves is seen as re-shaping the team. Cotton spent all of 2019 in the A’s minor league system, being used mostly in relief. Over parts of two big-league seasons he has a career 11-10 record with a 4.95 ERA.
A five-year veteran, Souza played in just 72 games last season or Arizona, hitting .220. He is a career .233 batter.
This all means that for the Chicago Cubs to contend in 2020, they must rely on a group of players already on the major league roster, largely but not wholly home-grown. Collectively that group begins to resemble the land of misfit toys, acquisitions that have never seemed to live up to the potential envisioned for each and all of them.
And it has to be more than one or two of those guys coming through. For better or for worse, the Cubs’ short-term fortunes appear to be married to something approaching a six-way developmental parley.