3 Right-Handed Arbitration-Eligible Bats Who Could Complement Cubs Roster Nicely

[Matthew Trueblood]

A stronger bench and platoon presence from the right side is a must for the 2025 Cubs. One avenue through which they could pursue that needed improvement is the trade market, where other teams' reluctance to spend money could benefit Chicago.

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

As good as Michael Busch was in 2024, there are very, very few left-handed hitters in baseball who aren't good candidates for at least occasional relegation to the bench. For the season, Busch batted .246/.336/.452 against righties, but a relatively paltry .258/.330/.382 against lefties--and that counts as holding up exceptionally well against southpaws. Adjusting for park effects, Busch's numbers were 14 percent better than average for a left-handed batter against left-handed pitchers. That's how much most lefties struggle with southpaws.

There is some evidence that keeping one or two left-handed hitters in the lineup against a left-handed starting pitcher is valuable, because it forces them to break up their rhythm and pitch mix more than if a team runs a lineup full of right-handed bats at them. Given that Busch hangs in there well, maybe you want him to start even against lefties, along with Pete Crow-Armstrong (whose value resides mostly in his glove, and is therefore less sensitive to offensive matchups on a day-to-day basis). It's important not to bat Busch as high in the order against lefties as you would against righties, though, and that means having a good right-handed complement to him--someone who can play first base or be the DH, and who might come off the bench to pinch-hit in a key situation against a lefty on the days when he doesn't start.

That sounds like a small role, but it's easy for such a player to find 300-400 plate appearances in a season, once you bake in injuries all over the roster and some rest for regulars. Last year, the Cubs gave this job mostly to Patrick Wisdom, but unfortunately, Wisdom wasn't able to sustain the success he's occasionally found in starting roles when shifted into a less routine-oriented job. They need an upgrade.

As with the three left-handed infield bats I identified as potential targets Monday, the following three hitters are arbitration-eligible, and their teams could easily choose to retain them. For various reasons, though, that seems unlikely, and they might be available at a discount--but they might also have a bunch of upside left.

Andrew Vaughn, 1B, White Sox
Two years of team control remaining, MLB Trade Rumors projected arbitration earnings for 2025: $6.4 million
As underwhelming as his numbers have been throughout his big-league career, Vaughn has shown plenty of signs of being a competent slugger. He's been a victim, in part, of one of the worst organizations in baseball, into whom he was conscripted by the 2019 Draft. The White Sox have failed to develop him into a player of substantial value, but the parts of a legitimate hitter are here.

Vuaghn makes high-quality contact. He ranked in the 83rd percentile among hitters in the percentage of his swings that resulted in contact with an exit velocity of at least 100 miles per hour last year, and for the first time in his career, he consistently lifted the ball. He's not the pull hitter who might theoretically profile best at Wrigley Field, but his approach permits him to generate hard contact at a high rate without striking out as often as most hitters who do so. 

Last season, he batted a deeply problematic .234/.287/.387 against right-handed pitchers, but against lefties, he went .281/.327/.445. He'd be perfect in a slightly reduced role, shielded from many right-handed pitchers but placed prominently against lefties. Because the woeful White Sox are looking to get cheaper instead of better next season, he's also bound to be near the top of their trade list, since he's due more than $6 million via arbitration. The Cubs could probably acquire him pretty cheaply, and by the end of next season, it could look like a steal. His floor as a lefty-mashing bench bat and platoon partner to Busch and (should he opt in) Cody Bellinger is sturdy, and his ceiling is higher than those who have only seen him play for a disastrous series of coaches and managers are likely to realize.

Ty France, 1B/DH, Reds
One year of team control left, est. 2025 salary: $8.6 million
As I wrote yesterday with regard to Josh Rojas, Seattle was a poisoned hitting environment in 2024. Whether it was a sightline issue at T-Mobile Field, some kind of atmospheric phenomenon, calamitous coaching, or a cocktail of the lot, nothing worked for most of the season for the Mariners.

France, 30, became the poster boy for that, after the team gave up and cut him outright after the trade deadline. He batted an anemic .223/.312/.350 for them, with eight home runs in 340 plate appearances. Claimed by the Reds, he promptly socked three homers in his first fortnight, and in his first 163 plate appearances with the team, he batted .287/.325/.433. A 2-for-29 slump to end the season torpedoed his small-sample stats in a Reds uniform, and the combination of a hefty expected arbitration price tag and the expected returns of Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Matt McLain next year will make him eminently expendable for them this winter.

In fact, France is probably a non-tender candidate, but the Cubs could jump that line and avoid the risk of having some other team offer him a multi-year deal. Whereas Vaughn would cost something in trade, landing France would require them to surrender nothing of importance; Cincinnati is sure to want to shed the salary obligation. He's a lower-upside play, but a cheaper one, in terms of acquisition cost if not in terms of dollars.

Ryan Mountcastle, 1B, Orioles
Two years of team control remaining, est. 2025 salary: $6.6 million
The Orioles might be the only team with more interesting, voluminous and varied arbitration decisions ahead of them than the Cubs this year. They've been a very inexpensive contending team over the last two seasons, but they'll have to scale up and become one of the top spenders in the game over the next two, or else lose their perch as a playoff-caliber powerhouse in the highly competitive AL East.

Mountcastle is not quite superfluous, but the team will have to make hard choices somewhere on their roster, and he would be a logical piece to move to save some money and open some playing time for young players like Coby Mayo. He batted .271/.308/.425 in 2024, continuing a trend of showing a good nose for hard contact, a bit too little plate discipline to blossom into a real star, and the ill effects on power of hitting the ball toward the cavern in left field at Camden Yards. For his career, he's a lethal .285/.338/.503 hitter against left-handed pitching, making him a perfect fit for the Cubs' needs. Obviously, he'd also get some help from hitting at Wrigley Field, rather than in Walltimore.

To justify the cost of trading for Mountcastle, the Cubs would probably want to carve a role involving roughly 500 plate appearances out for him. That's likely possible only if Cody Bellinger opts out, so this proposal is a bit dependent on that possibility, but if it comes to fruition, the team should make a call about the slugging righty bat.

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The Cubs need more reliable power production in the heart of the lineup against lefties, and they need better depth of power threats against righties. Adding one of these three hitters could accomplish both, by giving them the odd power jolt from the (say) seventh spot against a righty while pushing Busch down the order and beefing up the cleanup or fifth spot against a lefty. As long as that comes at a moderate overall cost, it's worth serious exploration.

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[Bertz]

I think this overstates Mountcastle's value a good bit.  I think he's closer to being a non-tender than he is someone whose trade will hurt.  I could see needing to open up 500 PAs for him as a condition of swooping in and signing him as a FA, but if we trade for him giving him basically the Patrick Wisdom playing time would make sense.  IMO Mountcastle is the "Bellinger stays" lefty masher option, while we aim higher and for more of a complete 500+ PA option (Taylor Ward?) if/when Bellinger opts out.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

33 minutes ago, TomtheBombadil said:

I’d rather bet on Busch, keep his approach in the lineup, than going after a RHH 1B/DH? Ideally a RHH DH is C/DH (I still don’t hate the pre-arb Langeliers) or OF/DH? 

Right now the 10th/11th hitters on the roster are Bellinger and Tauchman, and Bellinger can opt out.  So a RHH bopper doesn't necessarily force Busch to a platoon role since they'd be up for plenty of DH at bats. But that acquisition does hedge against him regressing, which I think is a useful secondary goal for the offseason.