Isaac Paredes gives the Cubs more versatility |
When the Cubs traded Christopher Morel to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Isaac Paredes on Sunday, the Cubs upgraded at third base — a position they have been trying to solve since Kris Bryant. But bringing Paredes in also benefits the Cubs in terms of what else it allows them to do.
Christopher Morel was loaded with potential and provided some exciting moments in Chicago. Still, his value was diminished exponentially because he struggled to find an everyday position. There were defensive concerns at second base, third base, and the outfield, which hamstrung the Cubs in many ways. The Cubs believed in his bat, so they gave him the runway to be the Cubs third basemen in 2024 — but because of his struggles defensively, it forces players like Nick Madrigal and Miles Mastrobuoni into the lineup more often as defensive replacements or spot starts. This shoved Morel into the lineup more frequently as a designated hitter, which did not allow the Cubs the opportunity to play their outfielders as much as they’d like. With Michael Busch coming into his own at first base, a healthy Cody Bellinger would have to play the outfield while Busch played first and Morel DHed. What about Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki? They both make over $20 million per year and need to play. However, that means Mike Tauchman, who is producing a .700 OPS this year, is often left out of the fold. Pete Crow-Armstrong, who leads the team on stolen bases and is the best defensive outfielder of the bunch, also has a more challenging time getting on the lineup card. But when you throw Isaac Paredes into the mix as your locked-down everyday third baseman, it frees up the DH spot for Seiya Suzuki, who has displayed his fair share of struggles defensively. Happ will always be the left fielder, but it frees up more opportunity for any combination of Cody Bellinger, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Mike Tauchman to play center and right. Plus, should the Cubs trade any of Bellinger, Suzuki, Happ, or Tauchman — it opens up plenty of leeway for the Cubs to see what they have in PCA with everyday playing time, plus Kevin Alcantara, Alexander Canario (when healthy), Brennen Davis (when healthy) or even highly touted prospect Owen Caissie to make his MLB debut. Without Morel’s defense weighing you down or him DHing because of his lack of defense, the Cubs are afforded so many more opportunities offensively. The most significant advantage of inserting Paredes into the lineup every day is that the Cubs don’t need to put players like Madrigal, Mastrobuoni, David Bote, and Patrick Wisdom on the lineup as often. Not to knock those players (Bote hits lefties well, Wisdom has elite power, and both Mastrobuoni and Madrigal play above-average defense), but when those players were in the lineup (because they were an upgrade defensively), you always felt that the Cubs were sacrificing something. Plus, for the inconsistent defense that Morel displayed, his .199 batting average and OPS of .675 were not good enough to justify his being in the field playing below average. The Cubs get a less risky, pure offensive upgrade, and the fact that he finally answers their third base question gives the Cubs value that Morel never could.
