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The Cubs have several positions to address this offseason and that includes center field. The defense out there in 2022 ranged from bad to mediocre, and the overall production at the plate was below league average.
Jed Hoyer spoke to the media earlier this week as the GM Meetings are taking place in Las Vegas. One area he directly discussed was center field, saying the Cubs will go out and obtain an outfielder in the offseason to take over as the regular center fielder in 2023.
“I think it was always most likely that we go outside and certainly [Alexander] Canario’s injury, Brennan [Davis’] setback, I think made that that much more obvious,” Hoyer said Wednesday during his nearly-hour-long session with the media. “So, I think we can expect that.”
“We have guys internally that will certainly play out there,” Hoyer said. “But I think the lion’s share might come from external.”
While the Cubs might be active for some of the top free agent shortstops, it would be surprising to see them pursuit the top of the outfield market that is headlined by Aaron Judge and Brandon Nimmo.
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Yet, there are some decent options, at least a few guys that you know will give you good to great defense in center field. Patrick Mooney of The Athletic wrote about the Cubs having interest in Kevin Kiermaier and Cody Bellinger.
Via The Athletic.
One player on the radar is Kevin Kiermaier, a three-time Gold Glove winner who became a free agent when the Tampa Bay Rays declined their $13 million contractual option for 2023, a formality since the player is coming off season-ending hip surgery. Kiermaier grew up in the Midwest and his brother, Dan, is the head groundskeeper at Wrigley Field.
The Nov. 18 tender deadline will be another important date on the calendar. The Cubs will be monitoring what the Los Angeles Dodgers do with Cody Bellinger, who remains eligible for arbitration for one more year. Bellinger earned $17 million this year while posting a .654 OPS, continuing the long decline from his MVP peak in 2019. Bellinger needed shoulder surgery after the 2020 season and struggled throughout most of the past two years. But Bellinger would check a lot of boxes as a change-of-scenery player who could bring left-handed power and defensive versatility at positions of need. The Cubs could also give Bellinger a good one-year platform to rebuild his value.
The Tampa Bay Rays declined Kiermaier’s $13 million option for 2023, paying the 32-year-old a $2.5 million buyout. Meanwhile, Bellinger is headed to the final year of arbitration and his estimated salary is $18.1 million according to MLBTR. There has been heavy speculation that the Dodgers will non-tender Bellinger to avoid having to pay him a large salary after his steep decline since 2019.
It’s been pretty brutal for Bellinger at the plate the last few years and he’s actually been less valuable offensively than Kiermaier, who is known far more for his great defense than productivity at the plate.
Shoutout to @ballskwok for pulling this comp.
Obviously there are reasons why these two guys might be available for any team to sign. Kiermaier only played 63 games for the Rays in 2022, having season-ending hip injury in the summer. And well, Bellinger has flat out stunk at the plate.
But there is upside to both. Kiermaier is an elite defender in center field and if the Cubs can tweak something with Bellinger, then you could be getting a bargain with him on a short-term deal. He is only 27-years-old and just three years ago Bellinger had a 1.035 OPS, winning NL MVP, as the left-handed slugger received 19 of 30 first place votes. Bellinger also won a gold glove in 2019.
Kiermaier is a three-time gold glove winner and was named the platinum glove winner in 2015.
The Cubs can probably sign either of them to a one-year deal. Sign me up, but my preference is definitely Bellinger because if the Cubs can fix him, then he’s a star.
