The Cubs have agreed to a minor league deal with free-agent outfielder Mike Tauchman, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. Presumably, the Meister Sports client will be in Major League camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.
The deal with the Cubs marks a return to North American ball for the 32-year-old Tauchman, who spent the 2022 season with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. It was a brief but productive stint, as the former Rockies, Yankees and Giants outfielder turned in a hearty .289/.366/.430 batting line with a dozen homers, 37 doubles, four triples and 19 steals while appearing in 144 games and tallying 648 plate appearances.
Tauchman is best known for a terrific 2019 season, when the Yankees acquired him from the Rockies in exchange for lefty Phillip Diehl and were rewarded with 296 plate appearances of .277/.361/.504 output from a then-28-year-old Tauchman. The former 10th-round pick couldn’t replicate that showing in 2020, batting .242/.342/.305. After a similarly slow start in 2021 he was flipped to the Giants in a trade that netted the Yankees left-hander Wandy Peralta, who has since emerged as a quality member of manager Aaron Boone’s bullpen.
The trade didn’t pan out for the Giants, with Tauchman hitting .178/.286/.283 in 175 plate appearances. San Francisco designated him for assignment in late July and passed him through outright waivers a couple days later. Tauchman became a free agent at season’s end and signed with the Eagles for a $1MM salary in 2022.
He’ll now return stateside in hopes of cracking the Cubs’ roster as a bench option behind starting outfielders Ian Happ, Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki. Other outfield options for the Cubs include Nelson Velazquez, utilityman Zach McKinstry, and prospects Brennen Davis and Alexander Canario, all of whom are on the 40-man roster.
Tauchman will likely join Ben DeLuzio as a non-roster hopeful in camp, and as it stands he’ll be the most experienced member of that bunch vying for an outfield spot. Tauchman has just over three years of Major League service time and carries a .231/.326/.378 batting line in 667 MLB plate appearances, in addition to a .306/.377/.489 line in parts of five Triple-A campaigns.
Shooting for the AAA championship I see..
It’s minor league depth, what’s the big deal?
You gotta fill the AAA team too… ya know..
A .795 OPS in Korea really isn’t anything special
He ranked 21st in OPS in the KBO:
mykbostats.com/stats/top/ops
He gave the Yankees an unexpected excellent season on both sides of the ball, but I think his hitting was enhanced by the rabbit ball in 2019.
Yeah Rob, I tend to disregard 2019 stats, especially slugging.
Fink I saw this guy steal 2 bases in one game for the Yanks. Greatness is only as far as it can be manufactured, whose on your side.
Love this as a depth signing. We needed a proven vet in Iowa.
Started looking at the 2019 and was perplexed I couldn’t remember who the heck Jackson Frazier was considering he got so much playing time for them that year.
All the pieces are in place…
Probably will have early success and flame out. He grew up about 30 miles from Wrigley. Nice story but don’t believe he will have any long term impact.
Gives him something to do while he waits for another Asian team to sign him, and a veteran to take the OF role Frazier had at Iowa last year. And he’s someone plausible to send out to road games west of the airport during Spring Training.
Is it me or does it seem that the players we are signing to minor league contracts this season have connection to Chicago/Illinois?