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The Cubs offense really fizzled out at the end of May, but overall they finished the month tied for the second-most home runs (51) in MLB and averaged five runs per game. Yeah, they had two brutal stretches when no one on the team could get a hit with runners in scoring position, but in general the offense was doing it’s job. There were a couple players who were bad throughout May, but Daniel Descalso took his awfulness to a whole new level.
Descalso was given more playing time after Ben Zobrist was placed on the restricted list and boy was he terrible. During May, Descalso went 5-for-53, with 3 RBIs, 5 runs scored, 6 walks and 18 strikeouts. He had one extra-base hit, a triple against the Phillies that was just a fluky hit in the left-center field gap.
The good news? We’ve already seen Descalso’s playing time diminish in the past week and that should continue, as newly acquired Carlos González is basically getting Descalso’s playing time.
González was added to the Cubs 25-man roster Monday, started against the Angels and is right back in the fifth spot against the Rockies Tuesday night.
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So, the best thing about González being with the Cubs is less of Descalso.
However, if González proves he can contribute to the team, it may also cut into the playing time of Albert Almora Jr. He’s been out of the lineup for the past two games, as the Cubs have faced right-handed pitchers and Almora’s struggles against RHP have been well chronicled.
Almora did have a power surge in May, slugging .536, but we saw in 2018 that even after an impressive three months, Almora can go in a big nose dive at the plate. For now, González seems to be insurance to avoid any prolonged slumps from multiple outfielders at the same time.
And also, to get Descalso out of the lineup. Of course, Addison Russell and David Bote starting to produce again certainly makes the decision easy for Joe Maddon to keep Descalso on the bench.
