Cubs acquire former Angels infielder Kevin Padlo |
There haven't been too many cases over the past few seasons where a team makes an in-season transaction this late in the year. A big reason for that is that we don't have the waiver deadline anymore, as the Trade Deadline is now the final day for teams to sign players to potentially help them down the stretch.
While no major league players can technically be signed after the deadline, Minor League players can be signed at any point, as the Cubs and infielder Kevin Padlo have agreed to a Minor League deal. This is one of those deals that may have been overlooked last week, as Padlo was signed right around the deadline and has already appeared in a few games with AAA Iowa. Considering Luis Vazquez, Nick Madrigal, Matt Mervis, and BJ Murray Jr. are all out with injuries right now, the Cubs needed to add some depth, especially across the infield, which is where Padlo comes into play. The Cubs have also promoted James Triantos, Matt Shaw, and Kevin Alcantara in recent days, so Iowa is doing a good job replacing the missing pieces with arguably better options. Getting back to Padlo for a moment, you are getting a long-time journeyman infielder who has bounced around between several farm systems across his professional career. Padlo has seen time in the Rockies, Rays, Mariners, Pirates, Giants, Angels, Royals, and Dodgers systems so far, and at just 28 years old, he could be one of the most, if not the most, traveled middle infielders in the Minors today. What makes his journey surprising is the way he hits the ball along the way. He was a very good hitter throughout his career, especially during the 2019-2022 seasons. Over those three seasons, he combined to hit for a .256 average and slugged 66 homers. For his career, Padlo is a .240 hitter with 124 homers and has shown off the ability to steal a few bases with 114 career steals. Even if the numbers were very good for an extended stretch, Padlo seemed to always hit a wall in AAA. He seldom had any MLB opportunities come his way. When he has gotten those opportunities, Padlo hasn't delivered, as he has proven to be what you would call an AAAA-level player. For those of you who don't know what that means, an AAAA-level player is someone too good for AAA but not good enough to be in the majors. Padlo fits that category, as do many Cubs on their current roster and in AAA. Given the injuries this team has had to go through recently, they needed a bat, especially one that could fill some gaps on the infield, and Padlo was one of those guys who made a ton of sense. While he has seen some playing time since arriving in Iowa, with Triantos and Shaw now on the roster look for his playing time to start decreasing a bit. Some even went as far as to say that they wouldn't be shocked to see Padlo released sooner rather than later, but don't expect that to happen just yet, as the Cubs need as much depth as possible right now. As mentioned above, these are those so-called opportunities that Padlo never gets, and when he does have an opportunity, he fails to deliver. For him to stick in the lineup and see as many plate appearances as he can, he will need to produce when called upon, even if Shaw and Triantos receive most of the reps. With other veteran infielders, Jake Hager and Jack Reinheimer, still on this team, it could come down to who is a better veteran teammate for the young guys as opposed to the better overall player. Many fans fail to discuss these things when discussing prospects, as veteran leadership is just as crucial to their development as playing time. That is the sole reason David Bote has been with this organization as long as he has. He was sent to the Minors in 2021 and stuck in Iowa for two-plus seasons before coming back to Chicago. Instead of trying to land a job elsewhere, Bote was one of the veteran leaders for the Cubs the past two seasons, and all of the young players thrived off the knowledge he gave them. Miles Mastrobuoni is another guy similar to Padlo as those guys will now be viewed as the veteran leaders in the club house the remainder of the season. These are the types of moves the Cubs have been making a lot of this season, as their unbelievable amount of injuries has hampered this organization all season.
