The Cubs have traded 29-year old pinch hitting star Tommy "3 AM" La Stella to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for cash or a player to be named later.
La Stellas numbers look just mediocre on the outset, he hit .266/.340/.331 in 192 plate appearances, but his primary value came off the bench where he led the league with 24 pinch hits, which is incredibly valuable especially in late game situations. He had very good bat control, walking in 8.9 percent of his plate appearances while striking out in just 14.1 percent, a very impressive skill in this day and age.
The move comes at the heels of the Ronald Torreyes trade, and ultimately fell victim to a roster crunch. Unlike Torreyes, he is very limited defensively as he primarily played only second and third with the Cubs and graded below average at both of those positions. La Stella was projected to earn $300k more than Torreyes in arbitration, so the move will save the team a bit of money.
La Stella, was a fan (and Jesse Roger) favorite. He will conclude his Cub career with a very solid .273/.356/.397 line. He was an important member of the 2016 team that won the World Series, and although he had his send down controversy he will be remembered fondly for his knack for hitting off the bench.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Cubs acquire Ronald Torreyes from Yankees
The Chicago Cubs made a small, but interesting move today acquiring recently DFA'd infield Ronald Torreyes from the Yankees in exchange for a player to be named later.
Torreyes, just 26, hit only .280/.294/.370 in 102 plate appearances for the 100-win Yankees. The move made sense on the Yankees part as they had already had a glut of infielders and are rumored to be interested in star infielder Manny Machado.
The move is interesting from the Cubs perspective as they already have players like Javier Baez, David Bote, Addison Russell, and Tommy La Stella as options on the left side of the infield. However, with Russell potentially being a non-tenure candidate due to both his domestic violence suspension and poor offensive performance the move makes sense from a depth perspective as he can play short if Baez, for example, gets injured.
Torreyes value comes in his defensive versatility as he has garnered a solid amount of innings at second, third, and short throughout his major league career. His best play has come at third where he has a 1.8 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR). He could easily slot in for the Cubs at any of those three positions as a backup/injury replacement.
His offense is a bit of a concern as he is a high contact/no walk or power type of player, but he hasn't had the results that shows he can stick in the major leagues. His career OPS+ of 82 is significantly below average, and he has just 40 extra base hits in 615 career plate appearances. He seems to be more of a guy that is willing to put the ball in play and hope the ball will find a whole. He doesn't particularly hit the ball very had with an average exit velocity of 81.7 MPH in 2018, and has a high ground ball rate at 53.4%.
It's a smart move for the Cubs as they try to shore up their infield with some additional depth as they brace for either an Addison Russell non-tender or a 40-game suspension to start the 2019 campaign. Torreyes is still young, with team control and an option, and the positional versatility that the Cubs seem to love.
Torreyes, just 26, hit only .280/.294/.370 in 102 plate appearances for the 100-win Yankees. The move made sense on the Yankees part as they had already had a glut of infielders and are rumored to be interested in star infielder Manny Machado.
The move is interesting from the Cubs perspective as they already have players like Javier Baez, David Bote, Addison Russell, and Tommy La Stella as options on the left side of the infield. However, with Russell potentially being a non-tenure candidate due to both his domestic violence suspension and poor offensive performance the move makes sense from a depth perspective as he can play short if Baez, for example, gets injured.
Torreyes value comes in his defensive versatility as he has garnered a solid amount of innings at second, third, and short throughout his major league career. His best play has come at third where he has a 1.8 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR). He could easily slot in for the Cubs at any of those three positions as a backup/injury replacement.
His offense is a bit of a concern as he is a high contact/no walk or power type of player, but he hasn't had the results that shows he can stick in the major leagues. His career OPS+ of 82 is significantly below average, and he has just 40 extra base hits in 615 career plate appearances. He seems to be more of a guy that is willing to put the ball in play and hope the ball will find a whole. He doesn't particularly hit the ball very had with an average exit velocity of 81.7 MPH in 2018, and has a high ground ball rate at 53.4%.
It's a smart move for the Cubs as they try to shore up their infield with some additional depth as they brace for either an Addison Russell non-tender or a 40-game suspension to start the 2019 campaign. Torreyes is still young, with team control and an option, and the positional versatility that the Cubs seem to love.
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