Can Cubs Lessen Seiya Suzuki's Workload and Bolster Lineup at the Same Time?

Seiya Suzuki has been a liability defensively this season. He currently has -2 Outs Above Average, and Cubs fans know that that evaluation is (if anything) generous. The Chicago outfield is already packed, and moving him to DH wouldn’t be the worst option in the world. He doesn’t have to be there every day, but giving him some extra days off might be for the best, as well. He’s already injured his oblique twice in as many seasons, and his hand and ankle on separate occasions in 2022. Three times, he's required a stint on the injured list.

With Suzuki clearly being injury-prone, some days off could limit the chance he is injured, which might not only reduce the number of games he misses, but avoid the disruptions to his rhythm and production that have come with each injury. Thankfully, Craig Counsell has plenty of options to help out the lineup, making this a feasible possibility. 

The first one is pretty obvious, which is giving Pete Crow-Armstrong more playing time. He already has 0.8 fWAR, although that is mainly because of defense. He hasn't been used quite like a regular, let alone an everyday fixture. If he can get more consistent at-bats, I would assume his numbers should improve somewhat. Making Crow-Armstrong the main center fielder would move Cody Bellinger over to right field. Thanks to his versatility, Bellinger could always play first base, too, and allow Mike Tauchman to patrol right field on days that Michael Busch has off. Bellinger’s ability to play first is very helpful, and ensures the presence of his bat in the lineup every day.

Another option is calling up Brennen Davis, who has been raking in Triple-A Iowa since coming back from an injury. Davis has already blasted 10 home runs, giving him a 150 wRC+ and .582 SLG. His walk percentage is 14.1%, which would be the best on the Cubs' major-league squad as of right now. Davis can help in the outfield, while also giving the struggling Cubs offense a spark in the lineup with the potential to send a baseball onto Waveland Ave. Fans have been asking for his promotion for a few weeks now, as more and more highlights are coming out of Iowa of the stellar Triple-A squad hitting home run after home run after home run.

If Davis is called up, one of my main worries is that he will just sit on the bench like Alexander Canario did when he was promoted earlier this year. Davis had been one of the best prospects in baseball before his back injury, so it’s really exciting to see him back to his old self, and hopefully, he gets a chance in Chicago soon.

Canario, too, has been raking in Iowa, as I mentioned in the last section. He’s gotten a couple of chances in Chicago, and has done solid work in those brief stints with the big-league club. The one problem was his strikeout rate, which was at 44%. That’s not sustainable, and can make him borderline unplayable. However, after going back down to Iowa, he has reduced that to a 26.1% K rate. That’s still not great, but it’s certainly better than striking out nearly half of his plate appearances. Canario has a .586 slugging in Iowa, already hitting 11 home runs. A 138 wRC+ is right around what he put up in Chicago, but that shows that the power is there. Calling him up would add another outfield option, as well as putting him in the DH spot. 

Michael Busch has positional flexibility, as well, so there is a chance we could see him at third base, along with some more playing time at second. This means Bellinger can play first base more, opening up the outfield for whomever they would call up to get some more playing time. While the team plainly doesn't want to use Busch at positions other than first base with any regularity, they've broken that seal now. Moving Suzuki to a near-exclusive DH role and utilizing the positional flexibility of Bellinger and Busch could make way for another young hitter, even though it would have to come at the expense of a much-respected veteran, be it David Bote or Patrick Wisdom. That move doesn't feel imminent, but it might be closer than we think.