The Chicago Cubs have done a lot this off season, but they’ve especially focused on depth.
The team added a ton of depth in the bullpen. They’ve picked up catching help and a couple of potential starting rotation pieces to add depth there. They’ve also been active in acquiring utility men who could fill holes on the fly.
The unspoken primary focus when it comes to the addition of utility players has to center around third base.
A Focus On Third Base Depth
The Cubs will likely be relying on top prospect Matt Show to win his way to the starting third base gig. The 23-year-old has the raw ability to be a major league hit, but he only has two years of professional ball under his belt and only 88 total games played at third, between the minor leagues and college.
There has to be a backup for the team’s 2023 first round pick.
That’s why the Cubs have picked up veterans with third base experience to fill out the roster. Jon Berti, Vidal Brujan, and Justin Turner all became Cubs this offseason. The acquisition of 25-year-old Gage Workman, though, is the depth pickup causing the most thought and consideration.
The Gage Workman Dilemma
Workman was selected from the Detroit Tigers in December’s major league Rule-5 draft. As such, Chicago has to place him on the 26-man opening day roster or put him through waivers and offer him back to the Tigers.
That means that if he doesn’t break spring training on the major league roster, he won’t be a Cub at all. And with the kind of spring training Workman’s been having, the team would hate to give him up.
The 6-foot-4 Arizona State product broke into baseball as a shortstop, but has played every other position since than, aside from pitcher and catcher. His raw ability is immense and his skill maturity for a player with only Double-A experience is impressive.
So far this spring, Workman leads the team in home runs, is tied for the lead in RBIs, and is sporting a .364 batting average (with a .423 on base average). He’s also shown himself to be a very impressive defensive third baseman.
And he’s doing this with his back up against the proverbial wall, not only unsure of whether he’ll make the major league roster, but also unsure of which team he’ll actually be playing for in 2025.
“He’s probably in the toughest situation of anybody coming into camp,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com. “It’s a brand new organization…You know what the Rule 5 pick means…and I think he has handled it with a lot of maturity.”
“That’s led to really good performance and just really letting Gage Workman kind of shine,” Counsell added. “That’s a left-handed bat with some power, good plate discipline and a good defender. He has shown all three of those things, which is hard to do in a really small sample.”
Chicago Cubs Have A Tough Call To Make
The dilemma for the Cubs, now, is to find a place for him. If they place him on the 26-man opening day roster, they will lose Brujan (acquired from the Miami Marlins for Matt Mervis), who has no minor league options left. Chicago would definitely not want to drop key veteran acquisitions Berti or Turner to make a spot for Workman.
So, for now, the Cubs just wait and see how things play out, while contemplating options.
In the meantime, Workman is just focused on baseball and on becoming the best player he can be, regardless of where he’ll eventually play.
“I’m just trying to take care of what I can take care of every day,” Workman said. “I feel like I’m playing well defensively. Playing well offensively. Just trying to be someone that the team could use throughout the year.”
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