3:54pm: Descalso’s contract comes with a small incentives package as well, Heyman tweets. He’ll earn $50K for reaching each of 425, 450 and 475 plate appearances in a given season, plus another $100K upon reaching 500 PAs.
2:02pm: The signing has now been announced. Descalso will earn salaries of $1.5MM and $2.5MM, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (via Twitter).
10:42am: The Cubs have agreed to terms with veteran utilityman Daniel Descalso, according to reports from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link) and Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). Descalso, a client of Pro Edge Sports, will be promised $5MM over two seasons, per Rosenthal (Twitter links). There’s a club option as well for the 2021 season, with a $3.5MM price tag and $1MM buyout.
This move, if completed, promises to deliver the Cubbies some of the veteran grit they felt they were missing in a 2018 season in which they came up a bit short of their own lofty expectations. It would also bring Descalso back to the NL Central division after a four-year foray into the NL West.
Descalso will help the Cubs cover for the absence of Addison Russell over the first month or so of the season, likely seeing quite a bit of action at second while Javy Baez plays short. Once Russell returns to the club from his domestic abuse suspension, as now seems to be the plan, Descalso will in all likelihood step back into the utility role to which he’s best suited.
If that’s all that takes place, the Cubs would feature a variety of versatile position players to work with. Russell and especially Baez would occupy a fair bit of the middle-infield action, with Descalso filling in there and at third base. Presumably, Ben Zobrist and Ian Happ will spend the majority of their time in the outfield, though both have ample experience on the dirt as well. Just where David Bote will fit in all of this isn’t clear, but the Cubs certainly won’t mind having the depth and he’s optionable as well.
Of course, there could yet be further roster tweaks still to come. The Cubs have engaged the market in a surprisingly spartan manner thus far, with the club sending signal after signal that it’s not going to add much payroll. But there could still be trade possibilities to work through and it’s still reasonable to wonder whether the Chicago organization has a big strike still in it if the right opportunity arises.
Descalso, of course, spent the early portion of his career with the bitter-rival Cardinals. He earned his playing time as a gritty, pesky, versatile player who did enough in the field and on the bases to overlook his generally subpar bat.
In recent years, though, the 32-year-old Descalso has opened up some new aspects to his game. Beyond getting acquainted in the corner outfield, he has become an increasingly aggressive flyball hitter. The initial returns have been impressive, as Descalso has turned into a lite version of a three-true-outcomes hitter.
Last year, in 423 trips to the plate, Descalso popped 13 long balls. He struck out and walked at career-high rates, 26.0% and 15.1% respectively, while turning in a productive overall .238/.353/.436 slash. That was good for a 111 wRC+, a nice number for a player who had never before topped 90 in a given season. With quality baserunning added in, Descalso clocked in at 1.6 fWAR — easily a career-high.
Descalso hasn’t played much shortstop in recent seasons, though that is in part no doubt a reflection of the needs of his former teams. It’s also not a primary concern for the Cubs, who can utilize Baez and Russell at the position.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yippee
depth
Quality option to use on the mound in blowouts
Your account name has to be a troll on MYR
Well he is an apparent fan of each of the biggest low life franchises in each sport so….
Reported
…or at the very least a front runner.
Well… okay then. Hope this is the precursor to more Cubs moves this week. Don’t really know much about the guy.
Have you watched Cubs baseball more than a couple years? Could’ve sworn they play the Cardinals every now and then.
That is funny . He killed us too
Glad all you Cards have nice things to say that’s what I was looking for. I looked it up he’s a career .209 hitter against the Cubs so nothing really memorable occurred facing him. Sounds like a good signing though.
How many game winning rbi did he have ? Seems like he batted .600 with runners in scoring position
Here’s all you need to know: When the Cards were down by 2 in the bottom of the 10th, 2011 Game 6, he led off the inning with a single, starting out our second rally.
So he’s pretty useless outside of one specific scenario?
Well of course not, but I’m just pointing out that he has had an incredibly clutch moment in an historical game. On top of that, he’s versatile all around the diamond and according to multiple writers, he’s a great guy and teammate. I know as a Cards fan I wish they’d have brought him back. It’ll be hard seeing him in a Cubs uniform.
Always liked him in the Cardinals uniform too. That was a great game.
He goes with the high stockings a lot and the horizontal striped socks the cardinals use are great. But this will be just as tough as seeing Jon Jay end up on the Cubs. Loved having both of those guys as part of the Cardinals team.
Cubs put up with Willie Jay for a year already. They saw enough of the rag arm, no power and no speed to last them 10 years. He was kicked to the curb.
Jay was clutch for the Cubs. Did you watch him at all? Hit almost .300 too. Must have been excited that be out of stl
Uh, Jay was a good player for the Cubs. What did you watch, like four games or something?
I’ll pass. The Cubs loves the Cardinals back wash.
He was so good that his OPS+ was 5% BELOW league average and the Cubs let him go after 1 year. Getting hit in the azz by pitches and hitting weak flairs is not game changing. He’s a horrible defender, no arm, no speed, no power. Teams love him so much that he is now looking for yet another team to play on for the 4th straight year.
Respect
Lots of dumb posts referencing batting average in this thread
Yes. What a useless stat. Where are all the posts about exit velocity and launch angle? In fact, MLB should do away with batting champs and replace them with exit velocity and launch angle champs!
Solid, unspectacular, infield depth. Just like LaStella was.
cubs finally answer for Goldschmidt
Goldschmidt was Cards answer for Rizzo there bud
And the gold glove for 1st base goes to someone in the NL central. Goldy, Rizzo or Votto
Freddie Freeman plays in the NL East
The 3 guys I named are better. Maybe the pirates will trade for Freeman. That way the next 3-7 year the NL gold glove for 1st will go to one of 4 teams from the NL central.
I’ll take Freeman over Rizzo anyday.
Why? Rizzo is better defensively. Freeman might have a slight advantage on offense but it’s not by much. Freeman is great at first goldy and rizzo are better. The fact that rizzo fields bunts basically in front of the mound makes him better. And because hes left handed the Cubs get way more Double Plays.
You’re splitting some semantical hairs with that declaration. Pick any of Rizzo, Goldschmidt, Votto or Freeman. You won’t be disappointed.
The debate was DEFENSE, aka gold glove. What does anything else you mentioned have to do with defense? i hate the Braves, but Freeman is a stud regardless.
I never said Freeman ess bad. I said he was great on defense. Only that goldy and rizzo are better. Matter if fact Rizzo and Freeman won the gold glove this year.
3 upvotes, 12 down tells the story of just how wrong you are.
Cards already had a better first baseman on their roster than Rizzo. Now they got two
NL top 5 1B – Goldy, Votto, freeman, Carpenter, rizzo
haha Carpenter
A) Votto #2??? Is this Brian Kenny?
B) Aside from Carpenter’s torrid 6-ish weeks, he was pretty average. Rizzo is the far superior defender. Also Carp won’t be playing first base next year. I respectfully disagree with your ranks.
Carpenter?? Gold glove? Better than Rizzo? Lol
Cubs once again win the FA battle with the Cards. Congrats Daniel!
This is hilarious. Carpenter had a great two months and was average for the rest of the year. He was abysmal in September when the Cards needed him the most.
If I’m not mistaken, we’re only about a year removed from Cards fans saying how terrible Carpenter was and needed to be traded.
Who had a better WAR last year: Rizzo or Jesùs Aguilar?
In the middle? Are you a Cardinals fan?
Vanilla Good… Who had the better WAR for a single year? Haha.. It was a down year for Rizzo and the best year Aguilar ever had or ever will have. Please tell me you aren’t trying to compare the two..
Take a look at Aguilar’s second half stats.. reverting to the norm.
@shocktop so the first year Aguilar is ever given a starting role is 100% certain to be his best year ever? Sure he was playing out of his mind the first half. He also severely slumped the 2nd half. Isn’t it possible he’s capable of something between the two resulting in a similar overall year? Or he could even… (gasp) dare I say it? Improve?!?!?!
He will be 29 years old next season. Its just as likely that scouting reports on him improved when he played his first year and half way through the season pitchers figured him out. Can he adjust? Yep, he could.. The “something in between” though.. isn’t better than Rizzo.
Keep acting like you’re 8, buddy
Carpenter raked May-August… His lowest OPS in any of those months was .961.
Rizzo OPS’d under .875 4 of the 6 months he played last year.
Which one had a great two months and was average for the rest of the year?
Ok homer
Shock top……dead on. Also i’m so sick of people thinking WAR is the all tell when it comes to rating players. Anyone who believes that has never played the game.
Carpenter was such a “top” 1B that he was replaced.
Haha, the Cubs don’t need an answer for Goldschmidt… unless he’s gonna have a MLB record 20 WAR.
They will need an answer when pitching to him
You mean just like they did when he was in ARI? You mean like every team does when they pitch to him? Haha, who cares. Sometimes they’ll get him out, sometimes they won’t. Nobody including the Cubs are afraid of STL. How hard was ARI to beat? Not very.
.353/.471/.699 are his career numbers vs cubs. Those are the kind numbers hitters put up that you are afraid to pitch to. I would assume he will have better hitters around him that he did with the Dbacks. Won’t be DD hitting behind him
Just what we need: another low average, high OBP guy that will get on base but won’t score because no one in the lineup(outside of Baez) wants to swing the bat.
Relax. Hes a bench bat that can play multiple infield positions and also adds a verteran’s presence. All of which the Cubs needed. If the guy hit .300 he would be making 10 mil a year,
No such thing as “bench bat” under Maddon. Everyone gets fair share of playing time so everyone is rested before October vacation. This move solidifies depth, but I don’t see any advantage to the team beyond the 1st month of season.
I mean La Stella rode pine all season so Id call him a bench bat. The fact that Descalso can actually play is a plus. I’m not going to get into usage as that varies from manager to manager and there is no way to quantify which philosophy is better.
I agree. But it doesn’t make my original post wrong.
That’s fair. I would love it if the cubs found a lead off bat that could hit over .300. That is what they really need offensively, but I don’t see that in the lineup already(Almora maybe). Unfortunately there aren’t any FAs this year that fit the bill either
Yeah, I think it’s becoming more apparent how valuable Dex really was to the lineup.
He has to play daily while Russell is out.
26+% K rate.
He actually doesn’t. You sure spend a lot of time making white sox fans look like idiots! Thanks for the laughs fella
Don’t forget Harper.
Now a .324 OBP is considered “high”? Does anyone on here understand baseball? I’ve now read that Babe Descalso is a good hitter, has a solid glove, and a high OBP? Is there another Hank Descalso I’m not aware of in MLB?
Who said his obp was high?
Above. Bryzzobistory did.
To be fair he has had a much higher obp and ops the last 3 years
.356 OBP for a .238 hitter is pretty high. My point being that we added the same type of hitter to a lineup that is basically one clone after another.
It’s easy to increase your OBP and OPS when your home stadiums are Coors and Chase Fields.
Someone to fill out a uniform. He might do a good job but I’m not impressed. I would have liked to see an attempt to trade for Whit Merrifield so the infield would have been strong for a long time and we would have had an EXCELLENT infielder and lead off hitter. To me this is just one more disappointment.
Dang was kind of hoping the Cards could find a way to bring him back.
Why? He’s terrible, unless you like negative defense and weak bat?
Not at all. I’d want a lefty bat off the bench the Cards need anyway and if his power stays developing, he wouldn’t be a bad fit at all.
Stay salty
Sucks for Cubs fans
How? He’s a bench guy to replace LaStella. Big whoop…
Why? The Cubs need a backup SS/utility guy and as far as those go he’s one of the better ones
He hasn’t played SS in a while. Bote is next on the depth chart until Russell comes back. I think we’ll be seeing a lot of Baez and Zobrist at SS and 2B in April which is fine.
This looks more like a David Ross role for Descalso.
I’m not sure I want to see Zobrist trying to play SS at this point in his career…
Note is probably bit making the team out of spring training. Pitchers figured him out.
He can play every infield position at at least an average level and has decent power.
I think his position is pretty secure
He was talking about Bote at SS and Zo at 2nd.
He had good ABs but hes not gonna stick around.
He did secure the #1 comeback win of 2018. Well deserved too.
Bote’s metrics at SS are actually right around average. he may not look the part, but he can play it
As catcher? He’s replacing LaStella.
Some of you really need to work on your reading comprehension. He was clearly talking about Baez at SS and Zobrist at 2B.
In their defense, I should of added “respectively”.
Try again. He has a career Negative DRS at 3B, SS, and 2B. He’s God awful.
If he phrased it badly that’s not my reading comprehension problem, so dial down the needless aggression there,sparky. You’ll be taken more seriously
Were you born a waste of carbon or is it something you learned?
Hey petriedish, isn’t it past your bedtime sport?
Speaking of wastes of carbon…
Its about time the Cubs did something.
He may be the starting second baseman! If the Cubs go to battle without more changes they are in trouble! Who thinks Schwarber and or Happ should be untouchable! If Theo thinks they are he is mistaken!
It’s entirely Theo’s decision as to who is or is not ‘untouchable’, so he really can’t be mistaken on that front…
Theo has said that no ones untouchable, so Im not sure what your on. Also hes a bench bat not a starting second baseman. Zo or Happ would start before him most likely.
Good – as long as he sits on the bench he won’t be striking out 26% of the time.
Waste of money. I guess Cubs are pocketing their profits.
They should have signed someone versatile and productive like Yolmer Sanchez!
“Mga…” need not reply.
You are muted.
Wow! You love exclamation points so much! Not every sentence really needs such strong emphasis! Or maybe it does!
I have Theo under my spell.
Well Holstein what changes do they need. They have a real good team. They had bad ending to the season. Maybe you would panic and start trading everyone. I would not.
No one said Schwarber or others are untouchable. Not even Theo. So what offers for Schwarber have the Cubs turned down?
Chapman for Schwarber while keeping Torres… That’s the only one I know of.
Nice little move. Now let’s solidify the bullpen. Me likes Andrew Miller
I’m a huge fan of his but his arm is a ticking time bomb if the last two seasons have shown anything 🙁
I love how every time a depth/ bench/ utility signing happens, fans come out of the woodwork complaining that it’s not a bigger move….. Perception on roster structure is key here, people. No roster is constructed only of superstars. A winning organization needs players to fill a litany of roles. Daniel Descalso is a fine baseball player. He doesn’t have to be a superstar to serve a valuable purpose.
It’s the internet, the bigger picture is what most people are here to avoid.
But yeah, Cubs finished with the second best record in the NL last season, so the odds of them doing anything major were always fairly slim. The team didn’t need a huge overhaul
How many playoff games did they win last year though? If you don’t make changes who takes the blame- players, coaches or management. Seems to me that the blame has been placed on the coaches last year. I think the others deserved more blame though!
They had huge expectations and accomplished very little!
whosyourmomma: Yes. The coaches took too much blame and the players seemingly less. Joe Maddon did deserve his share however and the “blameless” FO would seem to agree with me since they were unwilling to extend him following the season.
Additionally, the primary reason the Cubs are unlikely to add a “major’ piece this offseason was because of the failure of their last couple of big additions in Jason Heyward and Yu Darvish which has mostly impacted their ability to spend “huge” this offseason.
Whoseyourdaddy… Many of those same core players were on the WS team so dial it back a notch.
That same group of players has actually won a lot of playoff games in recent years.
Overhauling the coaching staff needed to be done. Chili’s approach to hitting wasn’t working. Overhauling the roster is a lot more difficult, so it makes a lot of sense to start with the coaches and see what the result is BEFORE spending hundreds of millions on upgrades that may not even be needed.
Patience may not get headlines this time of year, but sometimes is that smart call.
Yeah, it was the same last year with Yu Darvish and (I believe) Luke Gregerson on the Cards’ side. The shortsightedness and lack of perspective of people is astounding.
Gee, Descalso worked great for one of MLB’s greatest managers, Tony Larussa. Now he’s a Cub, he sucks. Cardinal fans, go back to your doublewides.
An older and weaker hitting version of Tommy La Stella who will now assume his role with the Cubs.
He actually has more power and is not a defensive liability. Can play everything but catcher so thats a huge plus when you are talking about bench bats.
People seem to forget there’s a very good reason La Stella only ever pinch hit…
Of course, La Stella also excelled in that role. It seemed that whenever Joe Maddon called upon La Stella late in a tight game he would come through, be it getting on base to start an inning, advancing a runner with a bunt or well placed ball or just driving in a runner from 3B with less than two outs. I can’t speak for Descalso’s ability to do the same but I can say that La Stella was clutch, more so than most of the Cubs hitters in those same situations.
Nearly everyone with the ezcpwtio of the pitchers can play a 2nd a 3rd position. And In Baez case. 4 positions. That’s a great “problem” problem. To have. Rizzo might be the only one who wont play anywhere but 1st. Although he has an inning of work at 3rd. Made a 5-3 put out too.
Their dWAR would suggest they both suck. Descalso has more defensive versatility, especially since he has played SS. Unfortunately, he’s only made one appearance at that position since 2016.
Descalso might have a slight advantage with power but La Stella is the better pure hitter. The former’s biggest advantage may be one of leadership, perhaps assuming the David Ross role that the front office has suggested was lacking on the club in 2018. I’ll stick with my original comment since both were and will be the final positional pieces for the Cubs active roster.
That slight advantage in power is about double in reality and while La Stella had a 20 pt advantage in average, Descalso had a 10 point advantage in OBP last year. Im not going to claim that Descalso is a gold glover by any means but he did play multiple positions for his club last year. There is a reason Tommy rode the pine and only pinch hit. Its hard to keep a guy on the bench that cant be used in the field especially in the NL. In my mind this was a slight upgrade overall, but definitely a big boost to the defensive versatility of the club.
If you are going to compare these guys than do it without cherry picking a particular season. I prefer looking at the total body of work with more emphasis on the recent seasons. Age is also a factor here with La Stella being a little more than two years younger than the 32-year old Descalso who hasn’t been as effective or nearly as versatile as he has aged, particularly in his ability to play SS which could have been his biggest advantage over La Stella
Additionally, La Stella wasn’t asked to play a variety of positions on a team that already had great versatility with Ben Zobrist along with many of their regulars. That’s not to say that he wasn’t able to fill in for some regulars in the past on a short term basis at 2B or 3B.
I wouldn’t call looking at last seasons stats cherry picking. That’s absurd. On the other hand saying Descalso hasn’t been as effective as he aged might be. Over the last three years he has had a much higher OPS (0.763) than his career average (0.645). The fact that he hasn’t played short in a couple years doesn’t mean that he cant play it now. And the biggest joke here is that “his ability to play SS could have been his biggest advantage over La Stella.” Thanks for the laughs. You must have not watched enough of either of them play.
Not
Don’t forget the single most attractive thing Descalso brings that the Cubs have been searching for is his veteran leadership & clubhouse presence. The fact that he’s versatile and can swing the bat a little is just a bonus!
So Lester and Zobrist, just to name 2, don’t bring veteran leadership and clubhouse presence? How many guys do you need on a team to “lead” a group? Which I think is crap anyway.
The Cubs offense is back! LMAO
in the meantime, Boras and Lozano are laughing as Reinsdorf tries to add a diminished skills clause to Harper and Machado’s contract proposals.
Do we know for a fact that is the case? Even if it was, wouldn’t it be a smart move that every owner ought to consider? If it actually happened, Boras. Lozano and the MLBPA wouldn’t be “laughing” so hard over Reinsdorf.
One thing we do know is that the players with all those high priced contracts are “laughing” when their checks are deposited into their bank accounts each pay period, especially those that have under-performed as they have aged. That’s to say nothing of the Jason Heyward’s and Yu Darvish’s of MLB!
I’d like to see the Sox get Harper or Machado. But unless Jerry is holding séances summoning Mike Ilitch, I don’t see it happening.
Unfortunately for White Sox fans, including myself, you are probably correct.
I still see Bryce Harper going to the Dodgers if he waits long enough for them to clear out some OF and payroll space. If Harper does settle for a shorter term but record shattering AAV deal that would make LA the prohibitive favorite as well unless the Cubs can miraculously move Jason Heyward without eating too many dollars.
I think Manny Machado winds up with the Yankees where I have predicted him going from the get-go. They are his preferred destination, the team he rooted for growing up. They Yankees can also more easily guarantee Machado the chance to play his preferred position of SS with Didi Gregorius out until July or August recovering from TJ surgery. Gregorius is also slated to become a FA following the 2019 season as well. Most importantly, NY is the strongest short and long term contender among trio that includes the Phillies and White Sox who are the only confirmed teams set to meet with him so far.
If an all-out bidding war ensues, which in theory at least should only involve the Phillies and White Sox because of luxury tax implications, then each figure to walk away with one of their targets.
Btw-Nicely done with the Mike Ilitch remark! It’s still possible Jerry Reinsdorf may wind up surprising us all on his own. After all, he will turn 83 in February and is set to sell the White Sox in the coming years. One would think he’d want to add to his collection of championships before then. Spending big dollars to supplement a good looking group of young players and prospects could do the trick.
@ChiSoxCity
Its too bad you cannot comprehend the real value of the signing but it takes a baseball fan with knowledge of baseball to do so. That would exclude you. Keep laughing.
This^^^
little known fact… he’s Bryce Harper’s brother in law
Cubs just like taking former cardinals because they know how good they are. Jon Jay, Jason Heyward, John Lackey, Daniel Descalso etc.
How’s that Fowler singing working for you guys?
As a life long Cubs fan since the early 1960’s I’m giving the Cardinals the edge in any squabble among common players. The Cubs trade of future HOF great Lou Brock to their bitter rivals alone would seal that argument. Cub fans are also wishing that Jason Heyward would have taken the Redbirds FA bid as well just 3 offseasons ago.
Anyone who thinks Willie Jay and Mario Descalso are good needs a refresher course in baseball.
Solid bench guy with defensive versatility. Nothing more… nothing less.
Bryzzo2016, let me edit your comment. —– bench guy—- ——— ———– . ——- —- …… ——- less.
Cubs fans have conditioned themselves to love moves like this. Every “under-the-radar” move they make just proves the Ricketts family has every intention to milk the cash cow for all it’s worth, with no impactful improvements to their roster. But hey, they’ll have a winning record next year. That’s all that matters, right? Congrats on 3rd place.
So, with injuries to Bryant (missed a ton of time and wasn’t the same when he came back), Strop, Morrow, Darvish (missed the entire year) and Russell being suspended, you think the moves the other teams in the central made are enough to put the Cubs in third? I think with healthy versions of each of those players (I hope Russell gets traded or cut) the Cubs still have the best team in the Central.
If Yelich and Cain are still playing on easy difficulty, we’re all done for.
At this point, I don’t think it would be smart for the Brewers, Cubs, or Cardinals to make any significant short-term investments. I think we’ve got some great baseball ahead with the current rosters as nobody is a clear favorite.
“Favorites” only lead to disappointment IMO.
Brewers are not not gonna be the same team. They got lucky with three #4 starters and two #5s. They overused their bullpen which was exposed by the Dodgers in the NLCS. If anyone finishes third its Milwaukee
So what are you considering Nelson, Woodruff, and Burnes next year?
Stop being a bitter Sox fan..Reinsdorf is cheap asf.That’s why they never sign anybody of note…Or is it because That ballpark what ever you’re calling it these days is only full when you play us..you’ll always be second fiddle to the Cubs!! No matter what you do.
One day you’ll have a real owner too and then you’ll stop being consumed by jealousy…
Yea they will have a winning record again as usual. That really gets you going doesn’t it. A bit jealous huh? Oh and last time the Cubs finished 3rd they went to the NLCS.
Of course you are not acquainted with the concept of post season baseball naturally
Tommy La Stella 2.0
So, we trade La Stella to “save money” so we can spend $2 million a year more on a worse bat and marginally better defender?
Who said it was to save money? The media? I don’t recall the cubs saying that. Also he checks off a lot more boxes than La Stella did. And I loved Tommy I think he’s a fine pinch hitter.
If Baez and Russell, when hs returns, are taking SS and 2b, there has to be more in the works, especially is this guy is playing regularly for now.
Heyward, Zobrist, Schwarber, Almora and Happ can’t all be grtting time only in the OF.
Zo has just one year left, but it would be a waste to use him like that.
Happ for BP help?
Solid, solid ballplayer.
Your move brewers
Padres should offer nix and stammen to the cubs for Bote.
Cubs pick up a young rotation piece and 1 year of a reliever
Padres pick up a 3B.
Really wraps up a day of former cards stuff
Beltran joins Yankees front office
Dd signs with cubs
Lynn signs with rangers
Adams signs with Nationals
4 out of 5 headlines in a row lol
Headlines that will make nobody’s front page!
Next, Willie Jay signs with Yomiuri Giants.
If Descalso is fortunate enough to achieve any of those PA incentives the Cubs will be in deep doo-doo.
He is bad at sport ball!
How do you spell DESPERATE?
D-E-S-C-A-L-S-O
Good signing by the Cubbies. Descalso is one of those pests at the plate. Dude can hit! Decent glove too.
He’s a career .240 hitter with an OPS below .700. He’s also a career defender of -30 some runs in the infield. Lay off the crack pipe.
azsnakepit.com/2018/12/9/18132322/2018-arizona-dia…
All the proof you need that he’s a good hitter
Let’s be perfectly honest here. If he was a good hitter, he’d be a starter
He’s not an especially good hitter, but as far as bench depth goes he’s been one the better ones lately
Completely depends on your definition of good. Having a bench hitter that has “clutch” ability? I would take that every day of the week. This isn’t the NBA, it isn’t always the starters that win a series. It may not be flashy, but having a stronger bench can be a big edge, and this guy has shown he can come in late in games and produce time and time again.
Still better than Heyward lol
Here’s some education for those that think Ozzie Descalso is a good defender. -1 DRS at 2B. -21 DRS at SS. -11 DRS at 3B..
I guess the proof on the back of his baseball card of .240/.324/.694 isn’t enough proof? Good to know you simply ignore every year he played except 2018. Grab me some of those cherries you picked.
While I partially agree in the sense that some people are vastly over rating him, I think you may be under rating him a little. He’s hit well in the context of a bench player.
In his career, as a sub, his slash line is as follows. .215/308/634. As a pinch hitter, his career slash line is 218/304/638. As a starter, his career slash line is 245/327/706. What am I missing that says he’s hit well?
The whole ‘lately’ part. He hit well in a bench role last year. There’s no reason to expect regression in 2019. The contract’s only for 2019.
So his career numbers don’t matter that much. Like with relievers it’s more ‘what have you done lately’ that counts
I meant 2019/2020, mistyped. apologies.
He just had a career year in a hitter friendly park. I expect regression. So does baseball reference projections. They project a .40 point decrease in his OPS. That’s not always correct, but I certainly don’t expect him to follow up his career best with the same or better numbers.
DD had an outlier yr vs lefties but he’s posted above avg numbers the last 3 seasons vs rhp’s (ops+). On a 2yr deal for bench $, he’s a good add.
Willson Contreras-bust
Kyle Schwarber-bust
Addison Russell-bust
Albert Almora-bust
Kris Bryant-busting
Jason Heyward-most overpaid bench player
Yu Darvish-toast, lucky to get three quality starts per year
Tyler Chatwood-junk
Anthony Rizzo-declining rapidly
Warm fuzzies aside, the Cubs roster is fading fast. Starting rotation is decent but old; no power arms to speak of. The fall for this team will be rapid (and unexpected by the fan base). If Theo is as smart as he pretends, he’ll start trading guys by the deadline next season.
oh boy…
All these busts of players yet they won 95 games?
Just look at all of the busts in Cooperstown!
Because White Sox fans are renown for objectivity when it comes to the Cubs…
White Sox organization – bust
I like the move. Fits the same kind of moves Cubs have made in their best seasons, having that extra guy off the bench to fill whatever holes you need on the field. Basically, an upgrade over LaStella whom they traded away. Tommy was a great guy in the clubhouse, but Descalso is a better defender and more pop in the bat.
Solid utility player who played well against the Dodgers. Too bad he signed with a declining team.
What team is declining?
Declining? 95 wins last year even though they lost Darvish, Morrow, and Bryant to injuries. Schwarber, Contreras, and Happ all had down seasons….still 95 wins. Worst manager in baseball….still 95 wins. They have more depth this season. Hamels, Lester, Hendricks, and a healthy Darvish are all +500 pitchers. Maddon is in last year of contract with something to prove as a manager. If this team adds a closer to the pen, they will easily top 100 wins.
I found the declining comment amusing too. Cardinals fans so are so damn insecure, that they have to try and falsely convince themselves since their team sucks, then everyone else in the division must be bad too.
Baez played out of his mind, that’s why they won 95 games last year. The Cubs got exposed the last month of the season. They looked old and worn out in the playoffs.
Baez played out of his mind? Really? Or you could look at it as he has gotten progressively better the last 3 years. It’s called improving as you get more comfortable in the league. .737 OPS in 2016. .796 in 2017. .881 in 2018. More at bats brings more productivity. But going by your reasoning, I guess we can say a guy like Miles Mikolas of the Cards pitched out of his mind. Now that’s more truthful than Baez playing out of his mind. Let’s see how Mikolas adapts to the league in 2019. My guess is he will regress closer to his old norm of a 4.00 ERA pitcher.
Schwarber raised his OPS by 40 points… If you think he had a down year, you either weren’t paying attention or significantly overvalue what he brings to the table, likely both.
I agree with a lot of this. The counterpoint to your 100 win argument would be a much improved NL Central and NL East.
Btw-Don’t forget Jose Quintana’s impact on the Cubs 2019 rotation. He always seems underappreciated in MLB and you just did it as well.
Quintana is one of the most frustrating pitchers in baseball. Some days he looks elite, other days he can’t find the strike zone and can’t keep the ball in the park. He’s consistently inconsistent. Has Milwaukee’s number though, so I guess tgat’s something?
Oh no, they ‘declined’ to merely making the playoffs instead of a 4th straight NLCS… The horror…
In search of the next Ben Zobrist….
Ironic that a few hours later Addisson Russells ex gives an interview. Talk about timing.
I hope the Cubs unload Russell soon. We don’t need this poison in the clubhouse.
I’m really tired of him and his drip-faucet ex who gives drips of the story, months apart.
Hey lady. Go to the proper authorities, say your piece, ONCE, and be done with it.
This isn’t a telenovela. I’d love for this entire soap opera to go away.
It’s been a MAJOR distraction for that entire clubhouse for far too long, and plenty of big boys have jobs on the line here.
This isn’t high school.
The Cubs should have just non-tendered Addison Russell last month and let his next team deal with all the fallout. This would have made sense both off the field and on. Off the field they would have rung their hands of any further allegations or specifics that were sure to become public at some point, like today’s two stories. They also would have saved some dollars with his 2019 arbitration salary which could have gone toward a bullpen arm or as a down payment on a free agent like D.J. LeMahieu who could have filled two needs, a starting 2B who can play solid defense as well as one who could hit atop their batting order.
Because they tendered Russell knowing he would miss the first 28 games of 2019 to complete his suspension they were left with a hole in the infield that will require shuffling in April and more in May when he returns. If Russell was gone the Cubs would have known Javier Baez was their SS period. LeMahieu or another FA like Brian Dozier could have been signed to play 2B as a relative “bargain” since there is a glut of them available this offseason. The Cubs could have then just kept Tommy La Stella as one of MLB’s premier clutch pinch-hitters and also utilized him as an emergency backup at 2B and 3B.
Because of keeping Russell they had to let La Stella go in order to sign a more versatile defensive infielder in Daniel Descalso who is not as good a hitter. Descalso was needed because their top versatile player, Ben Zobrist, will have to start the majority of games at 2B in April while Baez filled in at SS until Russell returns. Baez is a far better overall player than Russell, one who could match his defense at SS while providing a more impacting bat to the lineup. LeMahieu is a better defensive 2B than Zobrist and probably his equal hitting considering their age difference. Zobrist would then have remained in his ideal role as a supersub who would have started 4-5 games per week at 2B, LF or CF while subbing at those same positions as well as at SS and 1B in a pinch. The Cubs also still have David Bote who could have backed up at the positions that La Stella had played which might have made the former disposable either way.
Bottom line: The Cubs could have been a better team in 2019 simply by letting Russell go at the non-tender deadline. Instead they will have a continual headache off the field and unnecessary chaos on their roster in April and May. In a very competitive NL and expected tight NL Central race, that could spell the difference between winning a division, settling for a wild card or just going home at the conclusion of the regular season.
Guys, I feel like this is the move that’s gonna get us another World Series!
Do I even need to put the “/s” in?