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This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
The Cubs looked like a logical landing spot for free agent José Abreu this offseason, given their need for offense, the hole at first base, his familiarity with and history in Chicago and the balance between adding to a position that has a prospect coming soon in Matt Mervis. Then, Abreu signed with the Astros.
The World Series champions gave the veteran Abreu a three-year deal worth a reported $58.5 million. The Cubs might need to move out of their comfort zone for an impact signing this offseason (see: shortstop), but it makes sense to avoid exceeding the type of contract Abreu received to woo him for a shorter-term need at first base.
The 24-year-old Mervis is coming and will likely get a chance at some point in 2023 — maybe as soon as Opening Day — to stick at first. Where Abreu made sense was as a veteran option to split the at-bats at first (plus designated hitter) to ease Mervis into the mix. That remains a goal for the North Siders.
“We’ve talked about depth a lot, and it’s important to keep building that depth,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at last month’s General Managers Meetings. “So, [Mervis] is very much in our plans, but I think we’re also going to be active in exploring alternatives that can play first [and] can play DH, and I think that’s really important.”
With the Winter Meetings starting Sunday in San Diego, let’s look at some other free agent possibilities for first base:
Josh Bell: The 30-year-old Bell would be a boost to the Cubs’ lineup via first and/or DH, but could require a longer deal than some others on this list. His ’22 was a tale of two seasons, as he hit .301 (.877 OPS) in 103 games for Washington before slumping down the stretch for the Padres (.192 average, .587 OPS in 53 games). Still, Bell is a switch-hitter with power and presence. Across ’19-21, he had a .498 slugging percentage with 72 homers in 344 games.
Brandon Drury: Depending on the length of the deal, Drury could be a sneaky good pick for this role for the Cubs. He played mostly third base in ’22, but also spent time at first and second. At the plate, the righty hitter crushed lefties (.955 OPS), while slashing .263/.320/.492 with 28 homers, 31 doubles and 87 RBIs overall between the Reds and Padres. Drury’s power and positional flexibility could be attractive for the Cubs.
Yuli Gurriel: The 2021 American League batting champion (.319 average) and a former Gold Glove Award winner, the 38-year-old Gurriel is a free agent following seven years with Houston. He has generally been a plus defender at first but is coming off a down offensive season (.242 with eight homers, 53 RBIs and a .647 OPS). He hit .347 in 12 postseason games in 2022, but sustained a right MCL sprain in Game 5 of the World Series.
Trey Mancini: One of the game’s great comeback stories of the last few years — he returned in 2021 after a bout with Stage 3 colon cancer — Mancini hit .239 with 18 homers and 63 RBIs for the Orioles and Astros last year. Mancini, 30, had his best year in ’19 (.899 OPS with 35 homers) and has boasted plus defense at first in his career. He also has remarkably similar splits against righties (.265/.330/.456) and lefties (.266/.331/.459) in the Majors.
Wil Myers: Over the course of 10 years in the bigs with the Rays and Padres, the 31-year-old Myers has posted a 111 OPS+ (11 percent above MLB average offensively). He moved mostly between right field and first base last year, providing plus defense at both spots. In ’22, Myers also performed better against lefties (.815 OPS) than righties (.659 OPS).
Luke Voit: Non-tendered by the Nationals, the 31-year-old Voit presents another right-handed slugger option. He has actually had reverse splits in his career (.838 OPS vs. right-handers and .768 OPS vs. left-handers), which were even more pronounced in 2022 (.767 OPS vs. righties and .569 OPS vs. lefties). Voit’s slugging percentage also dropped to .402 in 2022 from .437 in ’21 and .610 in his monster showing during the abbreviated ’20 campaign.