Chicago Cubs Season Report Cards: First Base |
Once again, the Cubs are faced with the challenging task of addressing a few roster holes on this team. Given the team's financial status, addressing those holes could be challenging, as Jed Hoyer will have to get creative when it comes to trades or contracts.
One of the positions he can now check off his list is first base, as the Cubs finally found an answer at first. Ever since trading the beloved Anthony Rizzo in 2021, the Cubs have struggled to find an answer at first base, and that was a significant hole on this roster. They tried several different pieces, including Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini, last season, but neither panned out and were released before the end of the season. In 2022, the Cubs were banking on Frank Schwindel continuing what was an amazing finish to the 2021 season and the young Alfonso Rivas, who was one of the Cubs' better prospects at that time. Neither of them did much when given a chance and thus were on their way out the door. Then came the 2023 offseason, when Hoyer made the surprising move of trading Jackson Ferris to the Los Angeles Dodgers and landing Yency Almonte and Michael Busch in return. While Almonte showed signs of improvement before a season-ending injury, Busch made this trade a win for the Cubs. He put together a great rookie season and looks to be the Cubs' first baseman of the near future. That shouldn't shock you when you look at his success in the Dodgers system, but it was nice to see someone take the first base role and run with it.
When the Cubs made this trade, you could understand why, as they were fairly desperate need of a first baseman. Busch was a highly regarded prospect coming off a season where he hit .323 with Oklahoma City and slugged 27 homers to go with 90 RBIs. The year before that, Busch had 32 homers and 108 RBIs, proof that he was too good for the Minors. With the Dodgers having guys like Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, and several others blocking him from having a regular role in the bigs, the Cubs pounced on the opportunity and not only made him their everyday first basemen, but Busch showed a lot during his rookie season. From an average side, Busch hit a .248, but it was a season full of adjustments as he did a great job of going through the peaks and valleys. His production wasn't quite what the Cubs expected, but it was still very good. He connected for 21 homers and drove in 65. A big reason for the low RBI total was that many of his homers were solo shots, as no one could get on base in front of him. Next up for Busch is improving his average while being more consistent power-wise at the plate. Season Grade B: Busch had a very good rookie season and will be right up there with Jackson Merrill and Jackson Chourio for Rookie of the Year consideration. The Power was there at times, but the quality at-bats were there all season, even if the average doesn't always show that. Defensively, Busch took his lumps along the way, but he got much better as the season went on, which is all you can ask for.
I think it is safe to say that the Patrick Wisdom experiment needs to come to an end, as it would be a massive disappointment to see him on this roster in 2025. Wisdom has been a part of the Cubs roster the last several seasons, and if he were an everyday player, he would have 40-homer potential. The problem is, he isn't an everyday player, and this season, he wasn't even a role player, as Wisdom's high strikeout rate and lack of contact made him a liability all season long. Not only that, but this guy crushed lefties, and for whatever reason, he couldn't hit lefties this season and hit under .150 against Southpaws. All that together saw a season slash line of .171 with eight homers and 23 RBIs. Season Grade F: It's understandable why the Cubs stuck with Wisdom as long as they did, but the time has come to move on from the slugger. Wisdom has shown the ability to crush the baseball and was often the Cubs' best power hitter. However, when you struggle to make contact, especially against lefties, which is the main reason you are with the team, you become an expendable piece and one that will most likely be looking for a home next season. The Cubs also saw Garrett Cooper and Matt Mervis see time at first base throughout the season, but with Cooper being traded before May and Mervis playing less than 20 games, they received an incomplete for their season grades. Cody Bellinger will be graded with the outfielders.Michael Busch
Patrick Wisdom
