Facing a free agent market for outfielder Dexter Fowler isn’t something new for the Chicago Cubs. Fowler was as good as gone to the Baltimore Orioles until a last-minute deal kept him in Chicago.
A World Series ring and an on base percentage of .393 and near .300 in the postseason will make that next to impossible this year. Somebody is going to offer the switch-hitting outfielder a deal he can’t refuse and he knows it. It’s why the outfielder declined his $9 million mutual option with the Cubs Friday.
“I’m definitely going to be a free agent, but hopefully it happens a little bit quicker than last year,” Fowler told ESPN. “You can’t control what goes on, but I loved my time in Chicago and I’m definitely not counting them out, but we’ll see what God has planned for us now.”
https://twitter.com/DexterFowler/status/794083911336951808
Fowler hasn’t shut the door to a Chicago return, but that’s just not realistic. At 30 years old, Fowler is still in his prime and will be looking for $25-30 million. The Cubs are already paying Jason Heyward $28 million in right field in 2017 and World Series MVP Ben Zobrist $16.5 million in left. Unless the market dies for Fowler and the Cubs can get him under contract for under $20 million, he’ll walk.
So what are the Cubs’ options with Fowler gone?
They’ve got plenty. The most logical step is to move Heyward to centerfield. That was the plan last season before Fowler re-signed with the team. And while Heyward has spent his career in the corners, there’s little doubt the team would be fine with him in center.
The Cubs have tossed Kyle Schwarber in the outfield just to keep his bat in the line up and my guess is a healthy Schwarber ends up in left field, regardless of anything else they do. Zobrist either goes to right or the move him to center and leave Heyward in right. Either way, those are your three starting outfielders on opening day 2017.
.@kschwarb12 went from non-factor to X Factor.
@MLBNetwork's @jonmorosi caught up with him for an amazing interview. pic.twitter.com/9rpX9OhnBc
— MLB (@MLB) November 3, 2016
Behind them the Cubs have Jorge Soler locked up until 2021. He’ll play left when Schwarber doesn’t. Soler made up for a lackluster regular season at the plate by batting .400 in the postseason with a 1.300 OPS.
Chris Coghlan will be gone as a free agent, but Albert Almora Jr. is locked up until 2022 and is a natural center fielder. Matt Szczur is under Cubs control until 2021 and was a key cog in the team’s regular season run. There will be an early defensive hit without Fowler in center, but Schwarber’s bat should more than make up for what Fowler brought to the plate this season.
The real prize for the Cubs is still in the minor league system. Trey Martin made his Double-A debut with the Tennessee Smokies this season and had a .994 fielding percentage. This is the same guy that won the centerfield gold glove in High-A Myrtle Beach in 2015. At 23, Martin still has a couple of years in the minors before he’s ready for big league pitching. He batted just .233 with the Smokies last season with an OBP of .261. If Martin can get his bat together, he’ll lock down center field for the Cubs for the next decade.
Tonight, #Smokies CF Trey Martin committed his first error since 2014. A span of AT LEAST 193 games. #Cubs
— Justin Rocke (@JustinRocke) August 25, 2016
The wild card in the minors is Jacob Hanneman. Hanneman is an outstanding athlete, recruited both as an outfielder and cornerback by Brigham Young University. He spent most of last season on the disabled list with the Smokies and, like Martin, will likely return to Tennessee in 2017. Splitting time between High-A and Double-A is the only thing that kept Hanneman from getting his own gold glove award in 2015 as he recorded a 1.000 fielding percentage in both leagues. Like Martin, Hanneman has struggled with Double-A pitching, batting .247 with the Smokies in 74 games this season.
The bets outfield bats in the Cubs’ farm system finished the year in Triple-A Iowa this season, Bijan Rademacher hit .307 in Double-A and Triple-A with 22 doubles, 10 home runs and 44 RBIs. Mark Zagunis, a converted catcher out of Virginia Polytchnic, finished 2016 with a .288 batting average, 25 doubles, five triples, 10 homers and 49 RBIs.
