Ivy League Cubs

By: Jake Russell

Yesterday, Cubs fans got some interesting news from Matt Spiegel, a radio host on 670 The Score, about Seiya Suzuki.

Yes, you heard that right–Seiya Suzuki, previously well-regarded for his glove, will spend a majority of time at DH once Cody Bellinger is able to play the field again. Bellinger has had multiple IL stints this season, and is still not 100% recovered from a broken finger on his throwing hand.

Suzuki has had his share of struggles in the outfield, often on very easy plays. Four times this season, Suzuki has either misplayed or made errors on batted balls with 99% catch probabilities, which came off the heels of Suzuki’s dropped fly ball against Atlanta in 2023. Despite that, Suzuki still sits at just -4 Outs Above Average, had +2 OAA last season, and actually has +5 Defensive Runs Saved dating back to 2023. Plus, Suzuki typically gets some of the best Outfield Jumps among all outfielders in baseball. His 1.8 foot jump versus average ranks 17th in all of baseball, which ranks in the upper 16th percentile of all outfielders.

I’m a little bit surprised that the Cubs are planning on making Suzuki a primary DH, instead of rotating players in and out of the spot. Truly, I don’t think Seiya is that bad of a defender, I think he’s just made some very confusing and out of character blunders that don’t reflect his talent level defensively. That being said, Bellinger is also athletic, and likely will man the outfield a little bit better than Suzuki. I would just be in favor of rotating the DH through several players (them being Happ, Suzuki, Bellinger, and maybe Busch at times–although Busch has started at DH just once all year, and for good reason. He will be a Gold Glove contender at First Base).

Ultimately, what I think this means for Seiya Suzuki–and the Cubs as a whole–is that the Cubs don’t totally trust him in Right Field. I also wonder if this means the Cubs may attempt to trade him in the off-season. The Cubs don’t strike me as the type of organization who likes to have the DH spot occupied. Though, certainly, Seiya can play the outfield–he isn’t limited to just DH. Still, if Bellinger is on the roster next year, and Caissie is up in September like Spiegel also reported in the aforementioned clip, we could see some roster shuffle. It would be surprising if PCA isn’t the starting Center Fielder next year, and the Cubs have a plethora of prospects knocking on the door who may not fit positionally on this roster (Shaw is a primary Third Baseman, while there are big questions about Ballesteros’ catcher defense).

Now, of course, Suzuki still has that no-trade clause. Bellinger could opt out, and, at the end of the day, prospects are still prospects. I’m not saying I think Suzuki will be, or should be traded, I just think this adds to potential options the Cubs can explore in the offseason if they really do view Suzuki’s defense so poorly.

Picture Credit: Joe Sargent, Getty Images