Cubs signed Japanese star Tyler Austin … WHO?
Just like we all predicted, the Chicago Cubs got their star and they got their star from Japan. The Cubs have signed former Yankees prospect and first baseman Tyler Austin, who has been playing in Japan for the last handful of years. And what I mean by last handful of years is I mean he hasn’t played in Major League Baseball since 2019. Who did he last play for though? Ah yes, the Milwaukee Brewers. Craig Councel could be playing chess while the rest of the league is playing checkers. Just feeding these little things to Jed Hoyer. I don’t know. I’m trying to find some reason to understand why the Cubs would do this. He’s 34 years old and as you see here, he had a really good slash line, 293, 377, 568. I saw this tweet on Twitter. This guy’s been killing it in Japan, man. Even though he didn’t hit 25 homers in 2025 like he did in 2024, he still had a 147 WRC plus as a bench bat playing first base platooning with Michael Bush. That’s fine with me. Biggest thing that I like about this move though is that it’s not just the classic Cubs sign the veteran guy who’s way past his prime like Justin Turner or Trey Mancini. The Cubs are kind of taking a swing at upside here. a guy who’s been in Japan the last five years and now is coming back to MLB to see if he still has it or if he can finally figure it out, I should say. Because in his first stint in MLB, it wasn’t great. Outside of the 451 slugging percentage, he was a 96 WRC plus, which is basically league average. Will the Cubs be hoping he exceeds expectations? Probably. But this is still better than signing someone like Paul Goldmid. I’ve had enough of the Cubs signing these way past their prime veteran first baseman that they hope and pray is going to revive their career and instead they freaking suck. So, I don’t hate this. Let me know your thoughts and of course follow for more Cubs content this offseason.
The Cubs have signed first baseman Tyler Austin. The slugger has played in the Japan the last few years and will probably platoon with Michael Busch.
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