Cubs Sign Speed Demon Jon Berti as Second-Base Stopgap and Utility Man

The Chicago Cubs signed utility man Jon Berti to a one-year deal Wednesday night, a source confirmed. Robert Murray of FanSided was the first to break the news.

Berti, who turned 35 Wednesday, will make $2 million on the one-year deal. He's a .269/.337/.366 career hitter, and hit .268.335/.368 since the start of 2022. He remains one of the fastest players in baseball, even at this advanced age, and is 62-for-74 stealing bases over that same three-year span. His Statcast sprint speed for 2024 was 29.0 feet per second, an impressive number even before accounting for the facts of his age and his injury issues; he lost much of last year to groin and calf strains.

Obviously, this is a quintessential bench piece, a guy whom you slot in only when a primary option is unavailable. His price reflects that, though, and the good news is twofold: 

1. Berti, unlike other versions of this player type the Cubs have tried in recent years, has a track record of getting on base, where the ability to run so well can make a real difference. Nick Madrigal (.304) and Miles Mastrobuoni (.283) never ran OBPs that allowed their other skills to have much value. Berti should.
2. It's clear that the Cubs expect to run early and often in 2025. They're going to get aggressive. Berti fits that approach, not only because he's so fast, but because he's spent last season in the Yankees organization, from which the Cubs just hired baserunning gurus Jose Javier and Matt Talarico. Presumably, Berti will be able to act as a player conduit for the unique base-stealing ideas those two coaches bring to the organization.

By signing Berti on such a cheap deal, one might fairly hope, the Cubs gain the option of spending more freely to upgrade the pitching staff than they otherwise would. Whether that turns out to be true will determine how good anyone should feel about Berti's arrival, but given the pressing need for infield reinforcements and the frustration of watching Madrigal and Mastrobuoni fail to clear the low offensive bar for that role over the last few seasons, this is a perfectly sensible signing. It's not a needle-mover, but it does improve the team.