Chicago Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber made a huge stir when he was assigned to the team’s Arizona Fall League affiliate, and on Monday he’s going to play in yet another game with the Mesa Solar Sox.
After Schwarber is done with the game, he will head to Cleveland and join the rest of the Cubs as they prepare for Game 1 of the World Series against the Indians, but it’s unclear at this point whether that means he’ll be joining them as a player or just another guy along for the ride.
According to multiple reports over the weekend, the Cubs are working Schwarber out in AFL games with the express purpose of seeing if he could fill the role of designated hitter during the World Series, and although he didn’t get a hit in the first game he played on Saturday night, the team is still seriously considering adding him to the 25-man roster.
The question then naturally arises as to whether or not it’s a good idea to include him in the mix for a roster spot. After all, he hasn’t played in a competitive Major League game since early April, and jumping back into a game in the highest pressure situation imaginable seems like a tall order, but the Cubs seem convinced that he is going to be capable of making the adjustments necessary to face live pitching on the big stage.
So should the Cubs activate Schwarber and have him play as a designated hitter in Cleveland? The answer to that question obviously depends on his health, but there are at least a few reasons why it could be a good idea to get him back on the field.
First and foremost, the Cubs need a good left-handed hitter to go against an Indians team whose rotation and bullpen are heavily right-handed. In his career, Schwarber has 180 at-bats against righties, with 14 home runs and a .936 OPS against them. He also managed to coax 32 walks against right-handed hurlers, giving him an on-base percentage of nearly .400 in the process.
In addition to his success against righties, Schwarber provides more pop than just about anyone else on the Cubs’ bench, and he is capable of hitting in colder weather. That has been a consistent criticism of Jorge Soler, who would seem to be one of the other options at the DH spot along with Willson Contreras. Schwarber pounded five home runs in last year’s postseason, so clearly hitting in the October weather doesn’t bother him that much.
Chicago Baseball
If Schwarber does end up coming into the mix for the series, then it would appear that there are two players who could potentially getting removed from the 25-man roster that the team used in the NLCS. One option is Chris Coghlan, who has only been used sparingly in the playoffs. He is hitless in four at-bats (all pinch-hitting appearances) for the Cubs so far this postseason.
The other potential player to get the bump is pitcher Rob Zastryzny, who was added to the roster for the NLCS as the Los Angeles Dodgers tended to struggle against left-handed pitchers. He didn’t make any appearances in the season, so it’s possible that the Cubs could go with 11 pitchers again instead of 12 in the World Series.
The final roster decision will be made on Tuesday morning, while Schwarber will fly to Cleveland on Monday night.
