The Cubs and infielder Munenori Kawasaki have agreed to a minor league contract, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Kawasaki, a client of Relativity Sports, will receive an invitation to Major League Spring Training, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
The entirety of the the 34-year-old Kawasaki’s Major League career has come with the Mariners and Blue Jays over the past four seasons, during which time he’s batted a combined .234/.314/.284 while seeing time at second base, third base and shortstop. Kawasaki brings a light bat, to be sure, but his exuberance in interviews and over-the-top sense of humor made him a favorite of both fans and teammates alike over the course of his time with the Blue Jays.
The Cubs, of course, have plenty of talent around the infield, so Kawasaki is simply a depth addition for them. Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Ben Zobrist will man third base, shortstop and second base, respectively, for the Cubs in 2016, and the team also has Javier Baez, Tommy La Stella and Arismendy Alcantara as additional infield options.
I wonder how much he would earn by playing in Japan at his current age.
In response to your anti-censorship tirade or whatever that was (not posting it), the reason this comment was up for moderation to begin with is that the first comment from any account has to be approved in order to prevent spam accounts from posting in the comments section.
The tirade was because you hate the twins.
Kawasaki had a decent year hitting two seasons ago. He was hitting .271 late in the season, when his at-bats went down & he ended up hitting .261. Yes, he isn’t a great hitter, but he has a good eye and is a good depth piece. He’s also a great guy. I’ve met him twice & he is very accommodating to fans. Still, I’m not sure why he signed with the Cubs. There might not be a team deeper in middle-infielders than the Cubs
A Maddon type. If he can coach at all those are great traits
Another unbelievable signing by Epstein. Guy is a baseball genius
Wait, what? It’s unbelievable and genius-like baseball front office behavior to sign a 34 year old minor leaguer? I understand and too observed Theo is one of the best in the league but let’s ease it a bit on this one.
hope that’s not serious…
Proof that sometimes you can extend your baseball career simply by being hilarious!
That kind of implies that he’s useless as a baseball player, which is not the case,. He pulled in 2,2 WAR as a Blue Jay in basically one season’s worth of playing time. He may not hit for much of anything, but he will draw walks and plays good defense.
Enjoyed him the last few years.. He adds great team chemistry, and is always one of the first players to the stadium working on exercises and ground balls every single day.. Hes got a good eye, low strikeout rate and above average defense. (minus his arm)
He’ll rub off on other younger players very positive, good signing by the cubs! We’ll see you in the world series muni.
I can give him directions to the best sushi places in Des Moines if he’d like….
1908
In short, he’s a better mascot than Clark. Plus, he wears pants!
Manny & Munenori take Des Moines = best reality TV show of all time! :)
Not a major move by any means but the cubs continuing to add depth/competition across the middle infield, has me thinking Baez is on the move at some point.
This is in no way competition. It’s just depth. If anyone is on the way out it is Alcantara. A 34 year old infielder will not supplant a 23 year old prospect/young player with major promise/upside. Alcantara on the other hand has had numerous opportunities already and has been less than inspiring in all of them. Like Junior Lake last year I think 2016 will be Alcantara’s last as a Cub. With Baez trying out in the OF too, he becomes that much more valuable. If his much improved performance and discipline at the plate last year at triple A and major leagues is any indication, he could quite possibly become Ben Zobrist 2.0….. a better version with more power and speed. He already can play 3B, SS, and 2B. If he can add the corner OF spots to that resume or even CF…….. he becomes pretty friggin valuable.
I wonder what Alcantara could fetch in a trade. IMO his time has come and gone…. much like Junior Lake’s who they jettisoned last year.
I imagine he would have even less value than Lake. Lake was at least a AAAA player. Given not only how much he struggled in the majors, but how poorly he did in AAA in 2015 and the fact that he is doing even worse in the Dominican winter league this offseason, I see him as a release candidate more than anything. Even if there are teams out there that think they know what to do to get him back to the levels of success he had in the minors previously, they’re not going to pay for that. Short of something remarkable happening in Spring Training or something, a low-minors lottery ticket is about all I would expect, if even that.
A real Cubs deal would be the Cubs get Carlos Gomez and Frances Martes and give up Jorge Soler and Dan Vogelbach. The Braves get Alex Bregman and Jorge Soler and give up Ender Inciarte and Mauricio Cabrera. The Astros get Ender Inciarte, Mauricio Cabrera and Dan Vogelbach and give up Carlos Gomez, Alex Bregman and Frances Martes.
One of the great Blue Jays moments in recent years was Muni’s game-tying 2-run HR (the only one of his major league career) late in a game against Baltimore in 2013 that allowed the Jays to rally and win their 9th straight game. The crowd was chanting his name like he was a rock star the next time he came up, it was an incredible game and atmosphere. An easy guy to root for, was fun watching him.
Brinkley a boring color commentator why don’t they offer this guy the job as argued man make it fun for the fan .With the TV deal looming how could they not won’t him in the booth
Trademeister u nuts. Give Soler up w control for rent a player. Come on ur Cubs fan. Think big.
Here’s how the Cubs could put a nail in the coffin for anyone in MLB. Trade the rocks for cargo or Blackmon. That’s defence n pure power n obp move Heyward to Rf. They need pitching n an IF. We have plenty if both. Then to really piss off people sign Ces give him 110 at 5. Just think Ces/cargo or Blackmon n Heyward in the outfield. That’s best outfield in MLB maybe ever. Lol Swarb np he can DH against AL n Ph plus it gives us dept. soler same thing. We keep both. N if I say if the cubs trade him we can do a big package for a real pitcher not Ross or Clev. To add we can start getting Swarb on catching pt.
imagine facing this line up on opening day against the angels.
Zorb
Bryant
Risso
Cargo/Blackmon
Ces
Heyward
Swarb
Mont
Russle
P Ar
Good luck lol. Dreaming but that be the nail. Come on Tom Rickets. #tomrickets. Spend 110 million. One more time then let Theo do his thing w rox before St L does #theo
Are you high???
Just trying to understand, how you think that ANY of that scenario could actually happen…..