Jon Berti – super-utility man

When it was announced that the Cubs had signed Jon Berti, my initial thought was it was gret if they had a players named Ern, so that we could have Ern and Berti on the team.

Beyond that, my initial reaction to the signing was underwhelming. I was hioping to see a better hitter, like a Justin Turner, be the backup at 1st who could also play some 3rd and 2nd – basically a replacement for Patrick Wisdom.

Then I noticed that Berti had never played first base during the regular season or in the minors (although a frilend pointed out that he played 3 games in the playoffs at first for the Yankees in lat year’s ALDS). That made we wonder if there was yet another move in store to get a backup 1st basement.

However, considering Berti has played all the other infield and outfield positions in his career, first really should not be much of a stretch. And his ability to play in the outfield, including in center, would give the Cubs a ton of flexibility with their roster. There are going to be a few tough choices when they need to get down to 13 position players after Spring Training, and having someone who can play everywhere is very valuable. Berti has also showed good speed (41 steals in 2022) and decent OBP (.344 lifetime with a high of .388 in 2020), which are nice to have on the bench.

So, I’d guess he’ll be a backup for Busch at first, provide infield depth, and possibly backup PCA in centerfield. That’s where things get a bit tricky, as the current thought I had would be that Alexandre Canario would be the backup centerfielder. Ian Happ has played some there, but an OF with Suzuki in left and Happ in center is not ideal.

Canario is out of options, so he will either be on the roster or would need to be put through waivers (where I’m sure he’d be claimed) or traded. As one of the pieces in the Kris Bryant trade , along with Caleb Kilian, it would be tough to lose him for nothing, especially as hes show flashes of talent in the majors and minors.

But ultimately, the Cubs front office needs to construct the best roster they can to win. Canario as a 5th outfielder/DH would probably not get much playing time, leaving him as a pinch hitter option, which he might not be suited for.

The Cubs have another roster concern with Gage Workman. As a Rule 5 draftee, Workman must be on the 26-man roster the whole season, or be offered back to Detroit for $50k (half of the $100 it cost to draft him). The Cubs may have drafted Workman as a Matt Shaw insurance policy, in case Shaw is not ready at all. But the likelihood that Workman would be MLB-ready and Shaw would not seems unlikely.

If the Cubs 13 position players include Happ, PCA, Tucker, Suzuki, Busch, Hoerner, Swanson, Amaya, Kelly, Berti, Shaw and Brujan, that leaves only one spot for Canario and Workman. There is always the possibility of an injury that would free up another spot, especially if Nico is not available to start the season, but otherwise I don’t see both Workman and Canario on the roster. There also the possibility that another player with minor league options does well enough in Spring Traing to force himself onto the roster, which would shuffle all of these scenarios.

Here are the most likely outcomes I see right now:

1. Most likely – Workman is sent back to Detroit for $50k
2. Possible – The Cubs work out a trade with Detroit to keep Workman and send him down to AAA
3. Less likely -The Cubs trade Canario
4. Improbable – Injuries throughout the season allow both Workman and Canario to be on the 26-man roster

Overall, while I’m still not a huge fan of the Berti signing, I can understand it from a roster construction perspective.