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Kyle Schwarber’s walk-off home run Tuesday night against the Reds was his third straight game with a long ball and his reward? Three straight games on the bench.
Albert Almora Jr. is not only getting his third consecutive start, but he’s leading off again. When Almora does play he’s definitely not a guy who should be leading off with his .282 OBP.
Oh, but the Cubs are facing left-handed pitchers, Almora kills those! Not this year. In 77 at-bats against LHP in 2019, Almora has a .221 batting average, .259 OBP and .312 slugging % with 17 strikeouts and 3 walks. He only has three extra base hits against lefties, two HRs and a double.
But maybe the Cubs are giving Almora these starts because they’re showcasing him for a trade?
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Before Friday’s game against the Padres, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reported the following.
Via 670 The Score.
The Giants’ Tony Watson and Will Smith are two of the most-sought after lefty relievers on the trade market. The Giants have a top scout in Chicago evaluating Cubs players this weekend for a possible trade match.
So, the Giants have a top scout in Chicago watching the Cubs and we’ve actually seen Levine report that a few times this year. All of a sudden Schwarber is out of the lineup for THREE games in a row? Hmmmmmmm.
Or who knows, maybe Joe Maddon is just being Joe Maddon. Here’s today’s lineup against another lefty.
At least my guy Robel Garcia is back in the lineup.
Maddon did comment about putting some of the guys who are slumping in the lineup against lefties these past two games.
David Bote has been brutal since June 16. Almora’s struggles are well documented. 11 more days until the trade deadline and remember the Aug. 31 trade deadline no longer exists, so we should expect some changes?
We’ll find out soon enough.
