Chicago Cubs should explore trade for Cubs killer to fill gaping roster hole

The Chicago Cubs have been awful at third base.

There’s no point in sugar coating it. When a team has to use 6 third basemen in just 32 games, one can safely assume that third base is a hot mess.

On a team that is dazzling with execution and bursting with productivity, the hot corner has remained a black hole off to the side of a supernova.

How many games has the team lost already, due to errors and miscalculations at third? We recently saw a crucial error from Jon Berti lead to a loss. There was also the Vidal Brujan miscalculation from a few days back that saw the Cubs give up an insurance run to the Philadelphia Phillies in a crucial bases loaded tenth inning situation.

We could probably go on, but let’s stop there.

The Chicago Cubs Must Do Something With Third Base

This glaring team weakness will likely go on and continue to be the Cubs’ brutal buzzkill if it isn’t addressed before entering into the heat of a playoff push.

At this point, though, what can the team do, internally, to fix this situation?

Top Prospect Matt Shaw, who was designated the Cubs’ starting third baseman out of spring training, struggled mightily with the bat and didn’t impress with the glove all that much, either. He was sent back to Triple-A Iowa after just 18 games played.

Rule 5 draft pick Gage Workman showed promise in the Cactus League, but was traded to the White Sox after zero offensive production and a poor defensive showing in the regular season. Justin Turner, a 40-year-old offseason free agent acquisition, has played a little at his former position, but can’t be trusted there full-time. Utility men Berti and Brujan may be capable fill-ins, but it should probably be clear by now that they’re not full-time guys. Most recently, another utility man, Nicky Lopez, was tried out at third.

This is why, more and more, it appears that the Cubs will have to look externally for a permanent, playoff-capable third baseman for this run of theirs.

The Solution May Have To Come Externally

The solution may be in the form of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Cubs killer Eugenio Suarez.

Right now, in Chicago, Suarez is most (in)famous for having hit 5 home runs in just 24 at bats versus Cubs pitching this season. Overall, though, the Venezuela native has just been a pain to the Cubs in general, with 36 home runs in 478 career at bats.

But what the right-handed Suarez could represent to the team in the immediate future is a veteran stopgap at third with good pop and a .300 average in limited postseason play.

Things To Consider With Eugenio Suarez

His current .193 batting average may scare some, but the 33-year-old 12-year veteran is a career .247 hitter and will likely get the average up around his career mark before too long. He also has 10 home runs right now, tying him for most in all of baseball.

Defensively, he’s relatively steady. His range is not great and consistency has been a career-long issue, but even with his flaws firmly in place, he represents a defensive upgrade from what the Cubs have had so far at third.

Suarez will become a free agent at the end of this season, although that won’t be too much of a concern for the Cubs since they’ll be banking on Shaw coming back to the majors next year after some more minor league seasoning this season.

If the Diamondbacks are out of contention by the trade deadline, their asking price for the veteran shouldn’t be too hefty, either. A low-tier Top 30-40 prospect should be more than enough to get Arizona to trade a guy they have no real intention of re-signing next year.

At the very least, a trade for Suarez is something to look at and consider, especially for a Cubs team whose only remaining strategy for third base is to wait on Matt Shaw to get good.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE