As the season rolls along for the Chicago Cubs, it is clear that they maybe made a couple of dumb trades. Of course, you can’t go wrong with Kyle Tucker. However, when it comes to baseball, it is usually a good thing when third base has a reliable player. The Cubs trade from last season’s trade deadline, which was actually pretty pointless at the time, is now looking pretty dumb.
A Look Back at Last Season’s Trade Deadline
Should the Cubs Have Traded Christopher Morel?
There were a couple of good trades last season at the trade deadline. However, in addition to this, there were a couple of bad ones, such as the strange trade for struggling Trevor Rogers. Then, there was this trade. A pointless, confusing trade that saw the Tampa Bay Rays and Cubs trade third basemen. First, the Rays acquired Christopher Morel, Ty Johnson, and Hunter Biggie, while the Cubs acquired Isaac Paredes. What was confusing? Morel and Paredes were both having pretty bad seasons that were very similar.
The result was the Cubs getting pretty much nothing from Paredes. In 52 games, Paredes hit just three home runs with a .223 average, while Morel did pretty much the same thing in Tampa Bay. Of course, both teams really didn’t get much or even lose much. The Rays got a hitter who hits for a low average and a couple of prospects, while the Cubs got a poor hitter as well, with a little bit better defense. Overall, however, the trade felt pretty pointless.
What Happened to Paredes?
The strangest trade during last season’s trade deadline was a pretty big failure for both teams. The Cubs literally got more offensive production from anyone else but Paredes. Unfortunately for Chicago, their last-ditch effort to improve offensively and defensively fell flat as the team missed the postseason again. As a result, Paredes wasn’t a hot commodity for the Cubs anymore and was instead traded to the Houston Astros as part of the big Tucker trade. The hope for the Cubs was for Matt Shaw to quickly take over the hot corner a produce with good numbers. However, another trade, another mistake for Chicago.
Getting Tucker wasn’t the mistake for Chicago. Many teams wanted and needed Tucker. However, the mistake was probably trading away Paredes. His offensive numbers aren’t exploding so far this season. However, he is still hitting for a nice .267 average with 6 home runs and an .825 OPS. Perhaps Chicago should have been wiser at the third base position.
Cubs Have Black Hole at Third Base
Really, both Morel and Paredes aren’t superstars and aren’t going to make too many fume with anger that they aren’t any longer in Chicago. However, both players are doing better than all of the third basemen that the Cubs have combined. The hope for the Cubs is for top prospect Shaw to fill the third base position this season. However, Shaw’s early-season performance was abysmal, as he hit .172 in 18 games.
Other players who have manned third for Chicago this season, Nicky Lopez, Vidal Brujan, Jon Berti, and Justin Turner, have combined for a total of 0 home runs, and each of them is hitting at least .222 or below. These players have also combined for just 12 RBIs. In simple terms, the Cubs may have the worst third base position in baseball.
Overall, Morel and Paredes aren’t Alex Bregman. However, the Cubs undoubtedly have a massive hole in their lineup because of third base. This only leads people to wonder why they traded away two decent third basemen in a short amount of time. All in all, hopefully, Shaw can lift this team up eventually.
Main Image: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
