As memorable as this 2015 Chicago Cubs season was, there was not a player who made a louder statement to close out the year than Kyle Schwarber. While the Cubs’ bats largely fell silent in their NLCS loss to the New York Mets, Schwarber kept on plugging. He finished his first playoff appearance with an on-base percentage over .400 and an OPS of 1.308, the latter of which is primarily thanks to the five home runs he hit throughout the postseason.
Impressive as it was, though, there still lies a bit of uncertainty surrounding Schwarber and his future in Chicago, at least in the eyes of some. Obviously it doesn’t have anything to do with his performance at the plate, but rather what will become of him in the field.
LCS Coverage
It’s not as if the defensive numbers paint a particularly ugly picture for Kyle Schwarber. FanGraphs had him at a -3.4 Def rating for the season, with a UZR of -0.7, which would paint him as just about average, if not barely below it. He also went -3 in the Defensive Runs Saved category. Of course, it’s a relatively small sample size, especially for a statistic like UZR, and defensive metrics in themselves aren’t a perfect indicator of a player’s ability in the field. But in the case of Schwarber, the metrics are probably doing him a favor.
Shortcomings are certainly magnified in the postseason, and we saw that demonstrated as perfectly as possible at the tailend of the NLCS. Schwarber was devastatingly bad in the outfield, taking poor routes and diving multiple times only to come up short. Questionable routes had been a thing that Schwarber had fortunately been able to overcome and still record outs, but such was not the case when it really mattered. Grantland has a solid writeup of that aspect for Schwarber, as well as how he grades as a defender overall.
With Kyle Schwarber, the Cubs are left with three very clear options: put him left, stick him behind the plate, or trade him. His body type and offensive upside could indicate first base if it were not for the presence of franchise player Anthony Rizzo. So just what do the Cubs do with their young offensive star?
As far as left field is concerned, his instincts are poor but his work with the fundamentals can be improved. The Cubs can work on that first step and work on taking effective routes to the ball, even at this stage of the game. What needs to be learned in the outfield could likely be taught far more than what he needs to work on behind the plate.
We haven’t seen enough of Schwarber behind the plate at the Major League level to make a true assessment of his skill back there, but scouts don’t look upon him too favorably. His defensive skill is a tremendous obstacle, primarily in regard to blocking, and his framing, a factor now of the utmost importance, is just okay. His attempts to throw out baserunners didn’t exactly prove fruitful, either.
Then there’s the trade route. The Cubs could seek to trade one of their young, high upside bats in order to acquire quality starting pitching. With so many other premium youngsters in the field, they could decide position-less Schwarber is expendable. However, given Schwarber’s immense offensive talent and his ability to square up almost everything he comes into contact with, it’s really difficult to see them trying to move that for something they can throw money at this winter, or utilize other prospects that are still unproven and may be blocked.
Which is why the most likely route it seems the Cubs will go is to stick it out with Schwarber. Try and turn him into at least an average defensive outfielder or a subpar defensive catcher with incredible offensive upside. With what Kyle Schwarber brings to the mix offensively, you can afford to overlook his shortcomings at least a little bit. And in all likelihood, that’s what the Cubs will choose to do.
**Statistics via FanGraphs
