Just a few weeks after acquiring catcher Martin Maldonado from the Kansas City Royals, the Cubs have shipped him off to the Houston Astros according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. Astros beat writer Chandler Rome reports the Cubs are getting back Tony Kemp.
Maldonado appeared in only four games with the Cubs collection zero hits in 13 plate appearances with two walks and five strikeouts. He was never expected to be a huge contributor with the bat, but his glove work is very well respected that he could've definitely been useful for the Cubs.
However, the Cubs already Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini as the primary catching tandem, so they might just not feel it is necessary to carry three catchers, especially with the overall lack of depth and offensive struggles.
Kemp, who was designated for assignment last week, is a solid utility player that can fill in at both the outfield and at second base. He was having an OK season with the Astros hitting .227/.308/.417 with a 29-16 strikeout to walk rate and a career best seven home runs. His numbers could possibly be deflated by a .233 BABIP which is well below his career average of .270. Similar to a lot of players this year he is posting career best power numbers, which definitely will play for the Cubs
This is a solid depth move by the Cubs, Kemp is a serviceable defensive player who can provide much better hitting than Albert Almora and Daniel Descalso. He won't be an elite defender, but he is above average and has two outs above average according to Statcast.
The Cubs do save a bit of money with this deal as Kemp is making just $583,600 this year and won't be arbitration eligible until at least 2021.
No comments:
Post a Comment