NL Central: A midseason 2022 front office assessment
By Bill Felber
Chicago Cubs front office, -0.9
In an effort to accelerate the team’s rebuild, Hoyer and Hawkins have speed-raced through 44 personnel moves since the end of the 2021 season, breaking almost 50-50 on the results. Eighteen of those moves have worked out, 21 have flopped, and five were neutral.
While the front office focus has understandably been on young talent, the most impactful moves have generally involved veterans brought in as filler pieces. In several cases those filler efforts have not yielded results. So while rookies of the stripe of Christopher Morel, P.J. Higgins, Justin Steele, Michael Swarmer and Caleb Kilian have the fan base intrigued, those are not the names that dominate the roster of impact.
Here are the five most impactful moves.
March 19: In part because the Cubs front office was not persuaded that Nico Hoerner could handle the demands of a regular middle infield berth, the Cubs signed free agent Jonathan Villar. The move was a disaster. Before being released, Villar batted .222 with a .591 OPS, but more damning were his eight errors and .938 fielding average. Villar was carrying a -1.3 WAA when he was let go.
March 19: The Norris signing has been dealt with in the section regarding the Brewers, his former team. Suffice to say his -1.1 WAA for Chicago will have to improve quickly when he returns from the injured list or he will not be long for the North Side.
March 16: Re-establishing his worth during a 2021 stint with Tampa Bay, David Robertson became a free agent and was picked up by the Cubs to be their closer. The results haven’t been perfect, but his 11 saves and 1.95 ERA generally make Cubs fans smile. His +1.1 WAA is best on the team thus far.
Feb. 5: One youngster the Cubs gave up on was infielder Sergio Alcantara. Sold to Arizona in March, he was transferred to San Diego in a May waiver deal. But with a sub .200 average and -1.0 WAA in limited duty, the interim returns suggest the Cubs made the right call in dumping him.
April 7: Rookie pitcher Keegan Thompson made the club out of spring training, and although he has fought through some injuries there has been clear success. Ten starts in, he has a 7-3 record – not bad for a team playing .400 ball – and a 3.41 ERA. Thompson carried a +0.9 WAA into the July 4 holiday, trailing only Robertson in value to the staff.