Chicago Cubs Bench

[chibears55]

This needs some serious upgrading, IF Hoyer dont want to add to payroll or use up prospects to address this, they probably would be better if they just added guys from Iowa and get better production then this.

I know bench guys these days aren't counted on a whole lot, but damn, they should at least be useful when needed and not hurt the team more then help.

Jon Berti:
.202/.256/.226
40 wRC+
-0.3 WAR

Vidal Brujan:
.161/.188/.226
13 wRC+
-0.2 WAR

Justin Turner:
.202/.289/.262
61 wRC+
-0.3 WAR

[Derwood]

DJ LeMahieu was just DFA'd. Has to be a better option, right?

[mul21]

3 minutes ago, Derwood said:

DJ LeMahieu was just DFA'd. Has to be a better option, right?

Yeah, looking at his numbers, the power is gone but he's hitting .266 with an OBP of .336.  I don't know if he can play 3B defensively anymore (the numbers from last year make him look competent, but not great) but if he can be competent there, he's a very logical pickup assuming he clears waivers.

[Layoutman]

On 6/30/2025 at 11:44 AM, chibears55 said:

This needs some serious upgrading, IF Hoyer dont want to add to payroll or use up prospects to address this, they probably would be better if they just added guys from Iowa and get better production then this.

I know bench guys these days aren't counted on a whole lot, but damn, they should at least be useful when needed and not hurt the team more then help.

Jon Berti:
.202/.256/.226
40 wRC+
-0.3 WAR

Vidal Brujan:
.161/.188/.226
13 wRC+
-0.2 WAR

Justin Turner:
.202/.289/.262
61 wRC+
-0.3 WAR

Jonathon Long's bat is MLB ready. Kid has improved his numbers after each promotion. Long would surpass Turner's terrible numbers but some of Turner's value and contributions don't show up in the box score.

With that said, even with his intangibles, you simply need a better RH bat on the bench.

Guessing here but it wouldn't surprise me if Carlos Zambrano or Travis Wood put up better numbers through a half season than Turners 2025 numbers.

Edit: Added link to Long's big 4th of July performance:
Jonathon Long's multihomer game | 07/04/2025 | MLB.com

Edited July 10, 2025 by Layoutman

[Rcal10]

4 hours ago, Layoutman said:

Jonathon Long's bat is MLB ready. Kid has improved his numbers after each promotion. Long would surpass Turner's terrible numbers but some of Turner's value and contributions don't show up in the box score.

With that said, even with his intangibles, you simply need a better RH bat on the bench.

Guessing here but it wouldn't surprise me if Carlos Zambrano or Travis Wood put up better numbers through a half season than Turners 2025 numbers.

Edit: Added link to Long's big 4th of July performance:
Jonathon Long's multihomer game | 07/04/2025 | MLB.com

How many guys whose bat is ready at AAA fail when they first come up? How many times does it have to happen before some people realize it is a huge jump from AAA to the majors. There were people here who swore Shaw’s bat was ready. How is that going? This is not to suggest Shaw is a bust. It is just saying expecting a guy from AAA to come up and hit from the start and never stop hitting is very unrealistic. 

[Rex Buckingham]

check out Jackson Merrill's line so far this year, or Corbin Carroll's first half last year... hitting in MLB is hard, even for guys who have had great success

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/merrija01.shtml

[chibears55]

4 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

How many guys whose bat is ready at AAA fail when they first come up? How many times does it have to happen before some people realize it is a huge jump from AAA to the majors. There were people here who swore Shaw’s bat was ready. How is that going? This is not to suggest Shaw is a bust. It is just saying expecting a guy from AAA to come up and hit from the start and never stop hitting is very unrealistic. 

Only one way to find out..

I agree with you but you dont know til they actually get an opportunity, I get what Turner brings off the field, and think they should just give him an injury and IL him if he prefers to stay over being released. But, I'd take my chances with a couple of guys from Iowa over Berti and Brujan any day.

[Rcal10]

37 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Only one way to find out..

I agree with you but you dont know til they actually get an opportunity, I get what Turner brings off the field, and think they should just give him an injury and IL him if he prefers to stay over being released. But, I'd take my chances with a couple of guys from Iowa over Berti and Brujan any day.

I get that. And I am not saying they shouldn’t give Long a chance, at some point. But the comment I responded to was “Long’s bat is major league ready”. Personally I don’t think he will be very good from the start. 

[Backtobanks]

I wonder if Wilmer Flores is available as a rental answer at 3B.  According to BTV he has a negative trade value, so he shouldn't cost too much.

[Post Count Padder]

I was saying like a month ago we should give Long a shot. We barely use Brujan (and both he and Berti suck). Swap them out and it gives them a few games to see if Long could be a useful bat down the stretch and doesn't stop the front office from making other moves. We have no power on our bench aside from our catchers, which is grim. Something needs to change.

[Bertz]

I'm actually down for making the Long/Turner swap whenever.  Long's had a prolonged slump and worked his way out, which tends to be the last box to check for the Cubs' to move a guy up a level.  And Turner's had another month to show its not gonna happen.  And letting him hold on to get dong #200 is the kind of good gesture the players see.

Turner and Brujan out with Long and Willi Castro in would be a pretty perfect way to tie a bow on the position player group IMO.

[mul21]

13 hours ago, Bertz said:

I'm actually down for making the Long/Turner swap whenever.  Long's had a prolonged slump and worked his way out, which tends to be the last box to check for the Cubs' to move a guy up a level.  And Turner's had another month to show its not gonna happen.  And letting him hold on to get dong #200 is the kind of good gesture the players see.

Turner and Brujan out with Long and Willi Castro in would be a pretty perfect way to tie a bow on the position player group IMO.

Just based on what we've seen from prospects of late, even the best ones, is there any reason to think Long will do anything but struggle in a cup of coffee?  I mean, Ballesteros has about as good of a profile as you can have to expect a guy to come up and be able to hit and we saw what he did (or didn't do).  I find it difficult to imagine Long would be any kind of improvement over anything on the current MLB roster for this season.

[muntjack]

Turner and Berti both have a wRC+ of 70

Brujan has a wRC+ of 4.

Bad is likely an improvement. There is also value in getting those first PAs  behind them.  If Long puts up a 75 wRC+ for his first 150 PAs, that's already a step up.

Add in the potential to make an adjustment and take off,  and it becomes a pretty obvious move to me.  

 

[squally1313]

5 minutes ago, muntjack said:

Turner and Berti both have a wRC+ of 70

Brujan has a wRC+ of 4.

Bad is likely an improvement. There is also value in getting those first PAs  behind them.  If Long puts up a 75 wRC+ for his first 150 PAs, that's already a step up.

Add in the potential to make an adjustment and take off,  and it becomes a pretty obvious move to me.  

 

I just don't think there's really a position for him and the standard line up doesn't really lend itself to needing a lot of pinch hit opportunities. While he's gotten a handful of opportunities at 3B, I haven't heard anything that says he's close to handling the position. Carrying two essentially first base only players, especially with the four outfielders using the DH position as half days off, just doesn't seem feasible. If you dump Berti you don't have a middle infield back up, if you dump Brujan you don't have an outfield back up beyond blowing the DH. So then you're left with cutting Turner, and while I think it's a possibility for an established bat, I don't think Long is the guy they're going to do it for. Trading out Turner, who has been very bad for a rookie to get very sporadic ABs given what we've seen from an adjustment period, doesn't seem like much of an upgrade, and that's ignoring the soft skills of Turner (value those as you wish).  

[Jason Ross]

I'll leave this here, because it doesn't feel like it warrants a different thread. But today in the Athletic, Mooney and Sharma mentioned bats and how the Cubs will look for help at the deadline (there was plenty of pitching nuggets, but that doesn't belong here).

They mentioned a few names, Willi Castro and Rob Refsnyder as two specifically. They mentioned that it would be more about versatility, and it didn't seem like they were looking to pigeon hole themselves into "starting 3b" (much the chagrin of some folks, I'm sure) or "RHP who mashes LHP" (though both names above fit that category). Does seem like they'll prioritize the bench more than upset the applecart on the starting lineup as much.

[Bertz]

45 minutes ago, mul21 said:

Just based on what we've seen from prospects of late, even the best ones, is there any reason to think Long will do anything but struggle in a cup of coffee?  I mean, Ballesteros has about as good of a profile as you can have to expect a guy to come up and be able to hit and we saw what he did (or didn't do).  I find it difficult to imagine Long would be any kind of improvement over anything on the current MLB roster for this season.

A few things IMO

#1. Like Muntjack said, the bar is on the floor right now

#2. It has definitely gotten harder for hitters to break into MLB than in the past, but that's not to say *nobody* can have early success.  It's just now gone from like a 50/50 deal to like a 30/70 deal

#3. I see Long's long term role as owning the Turner role on this team.  I'm fine pulling the trigger on giving it to him now.  "But what if he's bad?" doesn't really move me because the pressure to compete is going to be just as strong next year

[chibears55]

15 minutes ago, Bertz said:

A few things IMO

#3. I see Long's long term role as owning the Turner role on this team.  I'm fine pulling the trigger on giving it to him now.  "But what if he's bad?" doesn't really move me because the pressure to compete is going to be just as strong next year

The what if he is bad part is why you put Turner on the IL (if he accepts of course).

As someone said above , if he going to get an opportunity, now would be the time before the deadline to see what he can do. 

As far as positions goes, he has played in his time in the minors...

1B 1200 innings 

3B 294 innings

LF 162 innings

So, yea 1B is his position but he can fill in a game or two at 3B and LF if needed.

 

 

[Bull]

5 hours ago, muntjack said:

Turner and Berti both have a wRC+ of 70

Brujan has a wRC+ of 4.

Bad is likely an improvement. There is also value in getting those first PAs  behind them.  If Long puts up a 75 wRC+ for his first 150 PAs, that's already a step up.

Add in the potential to make an adjustment and take off,  and it becomes a pretty obvious move to me.  

 

Vidal Brujan is one of the slowest Cubs

Berti is faster, Shaw is much faster. 

Brujan's only perceived value is as a PR and its just not there. Bring up Long, let him platoon with Busch, get some reps at 3B, and give Hoerner and Dansby some rest, play Shaw or Berti at 2B

No matter the alignment you have at least one of Berti, Shaw, Nico, Dansby on the bench ALL of which are better PR options than Brujan. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

Dansby and Seiya are as fast as Nico, what?

[Neuby]

Dj lemahieu is a free upgrade over Brujan. 

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, Neuby said:

Dj lemahieu is a free upgrade over Brujan. 

But he already said he can’t play 3rd. He told the Yankees that at the start of the season. 

[Neuby]

 

Sounds like Dj is still willing to give it another go. He's not the answer at third everyday but he's an upgrade over our entire bench right now. 

 

[Rcal10]

16 minutes ago, Neuby said:

 

Sounds like Dj is still willing to give it another go. He's not the answer at third everyday but he's an upgrade over our entire bench right now. 

 

Absolutely, if he can play 3rd a bit. 

[Tryptamine]

Hot take, what about Luis Robert as a lefty masher off the bench? He's completely and totally useless against righties, but he still hard mashes lefties to a 144 wRC+ this year. He does nothing to address 3B, but he'd address 2 of the benches biggest weaknesses(LHP/power). That he should cost just about nothing and could be dumped after the season is pretty enticing.