Do the Cubs need to improve their bench?

While most of the early talk around acquisitions have been focused on pitching, there does seem to be an opportunity to make improvements to the offense off the bench.

Since Matt Shaw came back up to play 3rd base, The Cubs have had one of the more stabile lineups in baseball. They really only have a 3-man bench, as the catcher position has been a rotation all season, with McGuire filling in after Amaya’s injury. But they may want to give players a few more days off as the season progresses, without having as much of a decline in the lineup.

So, here are the 3 bench players, and their current roles:
-Justin Turner – 1B/DH, playing primarily against left-handed pitchers
-Jon Berti – 2B/3B, primarily a pinch runner
-Vidal Brujan – IF/OF – only back-up centerfielder on the roster

Turner was brought in to provide a right-handed bat to play first, as Michael Busch has terrible results against lefties. Unfortunately, Turner has not mashed lefties, with a .265/.315/.347 slash line and has been even worse versus righties (.156/.286/.178). Combined with his lack of defense, he currently carries a -0.3 WAR.

The Cubs signed him to $6-million-dollar contract, and do not have a ready replacement in the organization. Plus, his leadership has been cited as a source of value not showing up on the boxscore, but at some point they are hoping he will produce. He has show the ability to get better as the season progresses, as his OPS+ was 38 points higher in the second half of last season, and 11 points higher over the course of his career.

Jon Berti was an interesting signing, getting a 2-million dollar deal as a 35-year old. He’s played infield and corner outfield during his career, with a brief stint as a first-baseman in the World Series last season. He’s never been a great hitter, but does have speed, stealing 42 bases in 2022. With an unproven Shaw at 3rd and Nico Hoerner coming off an injury, it was important for the Cubs to have someone who could play both of those positions.

He did get several starts at 3rd when Shaw was sent to Iowa, but his numbers were not great, with only 2 extra base hits (both doubles) in 76 official at bats. Lately, he’s been relegated to a pinch runner, with his last at bat coming as a pinch hitter in a blowout on May 20th, and his last start at 3rd base on May 16th. He’s finally getting another start today, June 15th.

Vidal Brujan was acquired as more Shaw/Hoerner insurance in a trade for Matt Mervis, who was stuck behind Busch on the depth chart.

Mervis has some early season success with the Marlins with 7 home runs, but did not show much else, and had been sent back to AAA. He is raking again in the minors, but has not been able to carry that success over.

Meanwhile, Brujan has had limited opportunity with the Cubs this season. He has only 25 at bats, playing in both the infield and outfield. In a rare day off for PCA, he went 0-4 playing in centerfield. The Cubs don’t really have another centerfielder, but they haven’t really needed one.

Generally, I think to Cubs may want more production off those three non-catcher spots on their bench, specifically:
-A 1B/DH type who can mash lefties (to replace Turner)
-An player with positional flexibility (both infield and outfield) who would provide a little bit of power to replace Berti or Brujan

However, it still a bit early to target any specific external players as replacements. Internally, I don’t think the Cubs have anyone they want to relegate to the bench. We might see Ballesteros, Cassie, Long or Alcantara come up in case of injury, where they would get consistent at-bats. But I doubt the Cubs would want to stunt their growth by having them come up just to get a few at bats per week — yet.

Veterans Greg Allen and Carlos Perez have done well in AAA this season, and could be looked upon as additional bats against lefties. But Allen does not play first, and Perez would most likely have to replace Turner, a move I doubt the Cubs are ready to make — yet.

However, as we get deeper into the season, I think there is a much higher possibility the Cubs either decide to bring one of their younger players up or make a minor trade to address the lack of performance from the bench. I would expect the All-star break to be around the timeline we might expect changes.