The Chicago Cubs are making their big free agent addition by signing Dansby Swanson to a seven-year, $177 million contract, but Jed Hoyer still needs to acquire more talent this offseason and the latest rumors indicate that he will indeed be doing that.
Chicago baseball reporter Bruce Levine has been connecting the Cubs to free agent hitter Trey Mancini for a while. Last week he tweeted about their continued interest in the right-handed batter.
The Cubs have also been recently linked to left-handed hitting outfielder Michael Conforto by national MLB reporter Jon Heyman.
That brings us to Saturday, when Levine was on the Marquee Sports Network talking about what the Cubs lineup could look like in 2023 after the signing of Swanson. Levine sounded fairly confident that the Cubs may be looking at Conforto.
And more from Levine on Conforto.
Levine also sounded adamant about Mancini being a potential pick up by the Cubs during his radio show Saturday morning on 670 The Score in Chicago.
Via Bleacher Nation.
Levine said the Cubs would be adding another bat like Mancini, which was the only name he mentioned at the time. It was very matter-of-fact, as though we could safely assume Mancini was happening. That’s not me – or Levine – saying it *IS* happening, mind you. I’m just saying that was how the mention came off. It was noticeable.
Since the start of the offseason we have pretty much known that the Cubs would be exploring the market for a veteran hitter to play first base. Left-handed hitting prospect Matt Mervis is expected to compete for an Opening Day roster spot in spring training following his breakout 2022 season in the minors, but the Cubs don't want to rely on him to be an immediate contributor. If he is, that'd be great, but you'd still want some insurance to pair up with Mervis at least during the early portion of the regular season.
So, that's why we saw the Cubs reportedly interested in veterans like José Abreu and Josh Bell. Those guys signed multi-year deals and it's easy to see the Cubs not wanting to commit more than two years for that position. So, pivoting to Mancini probably fits the Cubs current plan. He's fine. Not really a guy you should expect a great season from, but he's a good clubhouse leader and can provide above average offense.
Mancini is projected to hit about 20 home runs in 2023, with a 107 wRC+ and put up a 1.3 fWAR according to Fangraphs.
As for Conforto, he'd be a great signing in my eyes for the Cubs. Yes, I know he's coming off shoulder surgery and didn't play all of 2022, but this guy has the potential to be a stud playing at Wrigley Field, while providing a high floor on offense. He walks 12% of the time and has three seasons hitting at least 27 home runs.
While I am disappointed the Cubs were never real suitors for Carlos Correa, an offseason of Dansby Swanson, Michael Conforto, Cody Bellinger and Trey Mancini would be solid. Not great, but a solid effort that makes the Cubs better and positions the team to be in the mix to compete in a weak division.
We'll see if the Mancini and Conforto rumors lead to signings soon.
More on the Cubs offseason on the Pinwheels And Ivy Podcast.
Comments
Join the discussion below. Keep it civil and focused on the content.
Loading comments...