Matt Shaw<\/a> a run in the outfield to start next season, but they would still need a lefty bat and\/or a bat to provide Suzuki\u2019s power output. It feels like there are a couple of interesting options in free agency, but I am curious what names they could pursue whether via trade or signing.<\/p>\nI tend to agree on Alcantara. I\u2019m not especially bullish on him. If you\u2019ve followed my chats, mailbags, etc. at MLBTR over the years, you know I tend to be pretty lukewarm on players who strike out\u00a0this often in the upper minors. Alcantara has posted above-average but not elite offense in three straight seasons of Triple-A work. He\u2019s never had a single-season strikeout rate lower than 29.1% there. This year, in his third full look at the level, he\u2019s fanning at a 30.4% clip \u2014 his worst of his three seasons in Triple-A. It just doesn\u2019t bode well for his ability to hit major league pitching on a consistent basis.<\/p>\n
Alcantara could still have a role in the majors moving forward, to be clear. He\u2019s a good runner with plenty of raw power who can handle center field. He\u2019s a right-handed hitter who\u2019s been decent against lefties in a small minor league sample, but he\u2019s actually punched out more often (on a rate basis) against lefties in the minors than he has against right-handers. Alcantara might have a future as a fourth outfielder who hits for some power but has low average and OBP marks, but I don\u2019t think the Cubs would be wise to hand him a starting job in 2027.<\/p>\n
So, where can they turn?<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week\u2019s MLBTR Mailbag will dig into the Cubs\u2019 long-term outfield look, the Rays\u2019 crop of catching talent,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864315,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-864314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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