Right fielder Seiya Suzuki seems to be very close to coming back to the Chicago Cubs and that means someone on the team’s bench is in danger of losing his job with the big league club. Let’s just say that right now is definitely not the best time to make stupid mistakes that get you on the radar for the wrong reasons and that is exactly what happened with Luis Torrens during Sunday’s 8-2 loss against the Texas Rangers.
The series finale was already annoying enough with a few defensive miscues that made Jameson Taillon’s pitching line look worse than he actually was. Anyway, Torrens came in to pinch hit for Tucker Barnhart in the seventh inning and he got a hit. However, with one out and the Cubs trailing 8-2, Torrens did something you simply cannot do in that situation.
Torrens was picked off of first base by left-handed pitcher Will Smith. It wasn’t even close either, not that it matters, but still what the hell was Torrens thinking here with the Cubs down by six?
Yep, the disappointment in Pat Hughes’ voice says it all.
Torrens being on the Cubs Opening Day roster was already a bit of surprise and maybe his power potential will give him some extra leeway with the coaching staff, but he can’t be doing dumb stuff like that for much longer.
The other bench guys who could be sent down to the minors when Suzuki returns are Nick Madrigal, Miles Mastrobuoni and Edwin Ríos. Out of those three, Madrigal has the least amount of versatility on the roster because he’s not a power bat like Ríos and he can really only play third base and second base. I’m not the biggest fan of Mastrobuoni, but he’s another left-handed hitter that can play multiple positions.
Once Suzuki returns, Trey Mancini will go back to mainly being the designated hitter and playing first base when a left-handed starter is the mound. Meanwhile, Patrick Wisdom is leading the way in the power department for the Cubs and he’s their best option at third base right now, so he’ll be more of a fixture there for the time being.
So, maybe it will come down to Torrens and Madrigal because Mastrobuoni can be the team’s fourth outfielder? As you can tell, the end of the Cubs bench isn’t exactly solid.
Meanwhile, right-handed pitcher Javier Assad isn’t doing himself any favors through his first appearances out of the bullpen. Maybe it’s rust, as Assad’s outing on Sunday came eight days after his season debut, but for the second consecutive time he allowed three earned runs. The only positive was that Assad did go three innings and didn’t completely tank after giving up three runs in the sixth against the Texas Rangers.
Assad earned a spot in the Cubs bullpen following his great performances for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic where he was hitting 96-97mph and averaging 94-95mph with his fastball. That was a great sign to see as the righty added a few ticks to his fastball, but Assad has only been averaging 93mph like he was a year ago.
Like Suzuki, left-handed reliever Brandon Hughes has been on a rehab assignment with the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A. The Cubs will have to make a bullpen move once Hughes is ready.
