Seiya Suzuki must play BIG ROLE for the Chicago Cubs

Seiya Suzuki must play BIG ROLE for the Chicago Cubs

Seya Suzuki with another roller coaster season. Are you ready to hop back on or could there possibly be a trade? Let’s talk about it. You are Locked on Cubs, your daily Chicago Cubs podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Your team every day. You are Locked On Cubs, part of the Locked On Network. your team every day. Alongside Sam Olber, I’m Matt Cozy. Sam and I are lifelong fans taking our passion into a discussion with you on all things Cubs. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app today. We finish naming and grading and whatever you want to call it to the rest of the 2025 Cubs to wrap up uh later in the show. We also look at uh the future of Seiya Suzuki and the future of outfield right field namely in DH for 2026. So we start with Sei’s 2025 where in 151 games he slashed 245, 326, 478 with an OPS of 804 to go along with 32 home runs, 31 doubles. And this one snuck up on me. 103 runs batted in. Yeah, it’s the best best one. Sam Seiya, as you’ve said many times, including in the open today roller coaster, we’ve used the term enigma before. How did you view Seiya’s 2025 campaign? It’s I think it’s the toughest grade for me because early in the year I thought Seiya did exactly what you wanted him to do, especially hitting around guys like Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow Armstrong. He kind of he really altered his approach almost in an extreme way. Uh he he he finished the year this year with a 326 on base percentage which is low for him. uh his career is 346 and the in the year prior he was 366 but in doing that in shrinking his on base percentage he was more aggressive particularly in RBI spots and it led to a ton of big hits and runs batted in and at times it looked like he was going to drive in close to 130 runs and and hit close to 40 home runs um the first half of his season um and let’s include the then you have a really big day that like the first day out of the break against Austin, if my mind serves me correctly, at that point I I think he was having like an A+ season or or an A season because he was doing exactly what he needed to do. Be aggressive, look to drive the ball. And I remember I had a tweet that went viral that I didn’t want to go viral because it’s it’s just how sometimes it works. um in May and I said the only one of the things that scares me about this offense is like if say is gonna be your second best hitter or third best hitter, what’s gonna happen when you have the inevitable this guy can’t hit for a month or two and I got crushed for it and it happened and it was really really bad and I and I’ll be honest with you heading into the last week of the season I was done with Seiya. No, I’m I’m serious. I was right. So you were wondering about his playoff uh starting status. Absolutely. I was done with him. Uh I I I threw in the towel. Um unlike Ian Hap, he’s somebody that I think realistically could wave his no trade clause because I think he would just like to play somewhere warmer just from everything we’ve heard about Jed lying to him about the weather and that whole story. And then he gets really hot heading into the postseason. And I say to myself, h this is classic Seiya. Once the postseason starts, he’ll, you know, he’ll be back. And he was amazing in the playoffs. He hit three home runs. And I’m telling you, Matt, if things went a little bit differently, he could have hit some of the biggest home runs we’ve seen in a Cub uniform. That three-run homer in game two against Milwaukee, that could they could have won that game. That solo shot to tie the game in game five. Um I I think I ended the year kind of back in on Seiya. Absolutely. No. And I and I like how you took us through that because uh it’s it’s really hard. He’s a hard guy to figure out. There’s b there’s bumpy roads with him. Yeah. You know, they don’t get it. They don’t put the construction signs out and pave it every summer with him. It’s it’s it’s bumpy. It has some degrading to it as I just uh you know, I appreciate your your reaction to that, but I just thought of that. But uh the the the memorable possible memorable moments in the postseason really sparked me as well. Yeah. I mean the one against San Diego was memorable to me. Um and then the near the near ones against against the team up north that that played like a JB team uh in the NLCS. But uh yeah, final final the final week for say in the regular season. No, they looked like a JV team. Thank you. For him, did it prove? If you don’t believe in momentum, then what then what did the last week of the regular campaign do for Sey in the playoffs? What would you call that? Because it looked like he just rode it into the playoffs to me. I call it momentum. Thank you. And this is a guy that that also though did hit 213 in the second half. Awful. He at at Wrigley Sam. Well, first of all, his batting average was 20 40 points lower than his first three years. If you look at 22, 23, 24, he sacrificed a lot of average and a lot of OBP and he added in the slug uh uh department. And to your point about trades, which which we’ll get to even even uh next segment more, even though slug was less. On the road, he hit 43 points higher. That’s a lot. I don’t know how else to put that. Let me let me get some info here, too. Uh one home run in August in 27 games. He had such a drought then, right? But again to to glean from is it glean or gleam? I don’t know. You taught English. Don’t comment. In totality, if we’re inspired by Jed Hoyer, in totality, the baseball card, despite some turbulence and average and on base, the production does look good. uh bear in mind, you know, his teammates around him, especially the first 90 uh to 100 games. But Sam, for the Cubs to be good again in 26, for them to win 90 plus, for them to do damage in the postseason, Seiya has to play a big role. There’s no other way about it. I feel like we just described Ian Hap season, but just a better version of it, right? And that’s why those guy those guys are tough to have together. You got really great highs, really low lows, up and downs, and ups and downs and and and that’s the case. I I’ve moved on from the Sea Suzuki. Oh, could this guy be a real real highlevel star? But I think you’re right. You got to have some guys in there that you know what you’re going to get over the course of 162. Is there a way Jed even talked about this like is there a way to to minimize the downs? So, like I mean Matt in August with him and parts of September, it genuinely looked like we had a pitcher batting. Yeah. And it’s like, wait, this guy has 30 homers. What happened here? Um, but the totality was good. And I know it sounds I know a lot of analytic people will roll their eyes, but I think it’s really significant to me that he he got it done when it mattered in the playoffs. He was at his best when they needed him most. You know how I feel about that. I um I I’m open with Seiya to to have him back be one of the middle of the order guys, but you got to then surround him with guys that are a little less volatile monthtomonth. Would you like a grade? Yes, because I graded Ian Hap a B minus. That that that plays a role in my grade. I’m giving Seiya a B. I gave Ian Hap a C and I’m giving Seiya Suzuki a B. Okay. Full letter grade more. Mine just a uh a little bit more. Okay. 32 32 and 103. Higher OPS than HAP. I mean I think they need to be separated by a full grade. Matteo. Well, I will take that. And folks, under adisement just And by the way, when I say this stuff to to our incredible co-host and producer here, you know, we’re having fun. You know what I mean? I’m not But you just said my name differently. You mean? Well, yeah. Well, I saw some comments. Sam’s kind of, you know, he’s being mean to Matt. Let me tell you something. If Matt thought I was being mean to him, he’d take care of it off the air, folks. Okay. Coming up next, Suzuki I’d give I’d give Suzuki a B. We do a show which some other uh Cub shows don’t understand. Anyway, we’re having trying to have some fun. It’s October and it looks like it’s snowing. Yikes. It was cold. Pretty cold today. Coming up next, Seya seems destined for one position in 2026. We tell you what that is and why right after this. Today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch. Let’s be honest, most of us can’t even name all our financial accounts, let alone what they’re worth between 401ks, savings, and investments. It’s easy to lose track, and that can mean leaving money on the table. That’s why I started using Monarch, an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean, easy to use interface on your laptop or on your phone. It’s helped me organize my accounts, track my spending, and get a better handle on my investments without having to touch a spreadsheet. 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You could pick Saquon Barkley, more or less, rushing touchdowns, and a whole lot more. Download the prize picks app today and use code locked on MLB to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code locked on MLB for $50 in lineups after your first $5 play. Prize picks. It’s good to be right. Shout out to the Everydayers. You can become a locked on Cubs every day or by joining us for every episode throughout the week. Unless I’m missing something, Seiya seems destined for right field in 2026. Kyle Tucker likely to depart in free agency. So Seiya goes back to the outfield with Pete and Ian Hap next to him. He did improve defensively in 2025 after uh being at best a mixed bag. the three seasons before and at worst a disaster at times missing routine uh fly balls. Sam, it does seem like he’s ticketed for right field and and I I think as we discuss internal options, I I do think I’m I’m okay with that. 100% if he plays, I think he’s going to be in right. Um I you know, it’s it’s too early for the rumor mill. Uh, but there was some Schwarber stuff today with Heymon. Don’t know if you saw that. Yeah, I got to catch up on the rumor mill stuff. Yeah, it was nothing. It was just like I’m doing a delayed rumor mill this year. Yeah, it’s likely Phillies, but you know, Cubs, nostalgia, whatever. Uh, but even in that case, Shoreber DH, they would be in right. I think the bigger question I agree with you by the way. I agree with you right field. Okay. But the bigger question is is say is owed 19 million in 26. Okay, we know that the Cubs are on a big budget tight budget plan with with Bayisteros in the fold with Casey in the fold with PCA locking down center in this case assuming Haps not going to wave his no trade clause. Is there a world where the Cubs would explore it? I only ask because for whatever reason, I have no inside info at all here. Just just reading between the lines, I just feel like if one of the two guys, Happ or Seiya, were to wave of the no trade, it’d be Seiya. And we heard those rumors in the offseason to San Diego last year and Houston. And Houston, right? Is there a world where the Cubs trade him? Uh what would they get back? I I thought about it hard. I just if you’re gonna lose Tucker, how do you lose him and then put out an offense that makes sense? Great question. I mean, great question. That’s where I’m at, too. In that case, they’d have to add a Schwarber, add Allonzo, and then maybe they trade Seiya and they get a different type of bat in return or like an arm. I I doubt it. Yeah. Well, what would interest me is if they got someone under control for at least two years to play right field or an impact starting pitcher in in a trade for him. I guess you could trade him for a prospect and then do that in separate signings or trades, but you’d like to do it in the same the same deal. Um, yeah, we do know that he came up with at least two teams last year. Um, we were confused in December. Well, wait, they’re going to trade Seiya in the same deal for Kyle Tucker. That doesn’t make any sense, right? Uh, that quickly was dispelled and it didn’t happen, thankfully. But I I think you’re really you’re really transforming your team if you lose both. And I I just it’s hard to see a path to transforming it for the better. Better combination. better combination, Seya and Tucker. Uh uh or or Bellinger and Schwarber. I think I’m going to go Sey and Tucker because of the diversity, the bat, the uh handedness diversity. It’s a great thought. I asked the question without an answer. I think a reunion with Bellinger and it’s I can’t believe it’s come up already this off season, but I there’s some I don’t know if I’m missing something or There’s something to it, isn’t it? Yeah, but I just don’t see why. I’ll tell you why. I’ll tell you why right now. They enjoyed being here. No. Who? Well, he did. He did enjoy. Who Who did we do a show on yesterday? Uh Bush, what do we talk about with Bush? And and when lefties are on the mound first base, right? Bellinger could play a tonies. Yeah, he could hit lefties, play a ton of first base, you you kind of kill two birds with one stone with that type of acquisition. But how many lefty batters are you going to have, especially at Wrigley? Mistake. You’re right. So, um, and and don’t get me wrong, Bellinger’s had a good three years in a row, and last year he was ex 23 and 25 he was excellent. Yeah, they’re probably not trading Seiya. You just convinced me. I mean I mean I I already didn’t think it, but it it was a thought coming into the year because like they need I mean, how many real right-handed power bats do they have in their lineup right now? Well, that’s why I’m warming up to and I I know. Well, here this is I think this is going to encourage you. First of all, the person that should step in internally is Mo’s bias in my mind to DH. Yep. Uhhuh. Owen Casey possibly in her supporting role or Owen Casey on the Marlins or the Twins or the Nationals, whoever. Yeah. The Dodgers. Just throw them out there for everything. Yeah. But for 21 years young, Sam Bayos put up amazing numbers last year. He slashed at AAA 316, 385, 473, and a limited time in the bigs, 298, 394, 474. He’s had almost 800 played appearances at Triple A. Triple A is over for him. He’s an everyday He’s ready to be an everyday offensive player. It’s going to be somewhere. And if you want one more Nicoer type, then he might be the guy. Yeah, he knows the strike zone well. He puts the ball in play. His time is now. And if that’s the case, then you put Shaw in that trade with Casey to the Twins for Joe Ryan. And you bring in the guy we wanted in July in AU Henno Suarez for your right-handed power bat. Wow. And where does Willie Castro play in the Independent League? Okay. He’s a free a he’s a free agent, right? Yeah. I I I I prefer him signed somewhere else. But does that excite you at all? That plan thrills me. I’m starting to draft some plans. It thrills me. Okay. It absolutely thrills me. So you’re you’re you’re saying you’re replacing Bayisteros with Tucker. By the way, I’m trading Shaw, Casey, and Wiggins to the Twins for Joe Ryan. Yeah. Thrilling. Well, Joe Ryan would be the perfect guy to pitch here because he’s elevated heat. Tons of fly balls. Ball doesn’t go anywhere. He might have an RA at Wrigley and that starts with a zero. Oh, Matt. Matt, that’s a high price. Oh, Matt. Matt. No, nobody at the deadline got traded. Oh, who started game seven for Toronto last night? I’m sorry. Was that not a trade deadline acquisition? That was Shane Bieber. Is he all former? I don’t think so. How many He was available at the deadline. How many games will the Blue Jays win? Give us a call. 312. Are you rooting for the Blue Jays? Yes. Coming up next, we uh name all the rest of the Cubs that played for the Cubs last year. Stay tuned. This episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get 300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. Pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Folks, I gave out another winner. The Detroit Lions minus five and a half. Cha-ching. Um, I have some things in play for for for Sunday. I’m not ready to give it out yet. Uh, I’ll tell you this. If Lamar Jackson is healthy, you might want to jump on FanDuel. Uh, uh, and some props and all that. Um, I’m waiting to see the health status of him before I jump on Baltimore. A, and I got some other plays. I got some plays. We’re gonna I’m 23 and six right now, and you guys deserve uh, if I’m hot, you should be hot, too. But once I lose a couple in a row, we’ll stop. Okay, so what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. Today’s episode is brought to you by Rouette. Let’s be real, making excuses doesn’t solve anything. We’ve all heard them before. It’s just stress. I’m tired. It happens to everyone sometimes. But when it comes to performance, sometimes your body just needs a little extra support. And that’s where Rouette comes in. rouette.com offers fast acting doctor prescribed treatments for ED designed to help you stop making excuses and start making moves. Rouette makes it to get started. You just connect with a boardcertified doctor. 100% online. No awkward waiting rooms. No inperson appointments. And if prescribed, your treatment ships discreetly straight to your door. The process is fast, simple, and private. And it’s all handled by real doctors. Visit rougeette.com rug.comlockedonmlb to get 15% off your first order. rouette.com/locktonmlb. And don’t forget to use our code locked onl so that they know we sent you. Rouette. Stop making excuses and start making moves. Make sure you’re subscribed to Locked On Cubs on your preferred audio platform or YouTube. That way you don’t miss any of the great Cubs content we’ve got for you. All right, final segment of the show right here. Uh we started last episode, naming, reviewing, memor memorizing, that’s a word I made up. uh the all the Cubs that that we aren’t doing individual grades for the main pieces in the rotation and bullpen. So, uh the remaining pitchers, Sam, yeah, first of all, Eli Morgan, who’s a non-tender candidate, Michael Sarroa, who was the Cubs trade deadline acquisition, one of them. He did pitch a little in the playoffs. Ethan Roberts, in my mind, is a non-tender candidate. Hennessy Cabrera made a cameo appearance this year. Gavin Hollowwell, Aaron Savale was a September 1st acquisition. And then I got a few more names and then we could uh move on to the next phase of pitchers. Jordan Wixs, very little innings this year. Maybe he plays a role. No, no, Jordan. Yeah, that it was disappointing. Yeah. Uh Nate Pearson and Taylor Rogers this first phase. Yeah, all three you could put that word. Yeah, I wonder if Wix would be in like one of those trades in the off season. Not sure. Oh, Hollowell is a non-tender candidate, too. He’s still on the 40, man. Taylor Rogers, a free agent. Nate Pearson was a free agent. He recently signed a minor league deal, I think, with Houston. And Sam, do you remember Julian Merryweather was on this team? Oh, I do. I think I was calling for him to to be uh DFA for a couple of weeks. A and was the same guy that was calling for him to be late innings early in the year. That shows you how how the rel the relief market works. It’s volatile for sure. I I think I had a short that was titled this Julian Merryweather needs to be DFA. Yeah, it makes sense. Yeah. Uh yeah, he had a he had a a fast fall there. Where is he? Don’t know. Ryan Brazier was a disappointment this year, Sam. Yeah, especially for Especially for you. Yeah. Uh, Porter Hajj had a really up and down year. Huge disappointing disappointing. He entered the year as the closer. Javier Assad came back not until August. Pitched pretty well. Mhm. Wonder what type of a role he could have. Maybe a Swiss Army role in 26. That seems to fit him well. Ryan Presley was DFAD. Yeah, we could. We saw that one coming, didn’t we? Yikes. Uh Chris Flexon had a zero erra at one point and then about two weeks later he got DFA. Yes. Yeah, he did. He He did. He he pitched uh you I don’t know if you’d call meaningful innings, but he did a good job while he was here. He did. He did. Thank you. And believe it or don’t, but the sixth most innings this year belong to Ben Brown. And if that happens next year, that’s a problem. That’s all I’m going to say. Yeah. Well, we’re gonna have a a certain pitcher on the show here this week that that once upon a time I was a little concerned about, you know, in 22 or whatever. And so I I I don’t want That’s true. I guess maybe I shouldn’t overstate it. I’m not gonna go there yet with Ben Brown, but I just I’m just not a huge fan of what I’ve seen. I’m I’m tired of the Flashes. I’m ready for some more substance. Yeah. No, that’s a good way to put it. May and maybe he goes to a one inning roll. Who knows? Yeah. All right. The 12 other position players quickly and you know, the Cubs really the position group was pretty healthy all year. For example, six of these non-main 12 got 45 at bats or less. So, they barely even played. Um, Kevin Elcontra, we’ll see what his status is with the Oric moving forward. Gage Workman was a Cub this year. I know I know you had you had your script ready for for him to be I believe the lead of that Cubs Dodgers game and then the Cubs won, right? When he made that that he made those two errors. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Great memory. Nikki Lopez, Sam, the Neapville Central grad was a Cub. I thought he did a fine job. Carlos Santana had a cup of coffee with this club. Carlos Santana being a Cub will be a great immaculate grid in about five years. Yeah, it’s a good call. Uh Sam, I I really like that double header day Owen Casey had. That’s my memories of him against the Brewers. 100%. That was great. See what happens with him. Videl Bruhan got a few too many uh games in, but eventually he was sent packing. Uh we talked about Bayisteros earlier. Here’s a name that I thought Bastos had one of the biggest hits of the season. Wow. Against Milwaukee in Milwaukee the day before the trade deadline. That base is clearing double. Okay. Hoping good things for Miguela next year. Oh, I big things. Uh, Willie Castro, no comment. I got a comment. He wasn’t very good. John Birdie, I got a comment. Wasn’t very good. You know who was good, especially in the slug department and handling the staff and really since June 1st was the Reese Maguire. Reese Maguire did an outstanding job for this team. He won him a game. Which one? The game in Cincinnati. Yeah, that Sunday, right? I I think I fact check me on this later, folks. He had two home runs in that game. I think both of them were actually off lefties. Wow. I could be wrong. Check me on that. And finally, we’ve talked about him a little bit this week already. Justin Turner, who has an option. Yeah. And I thought he did pretty much what he needed to do. He hit lefties. He got some clutch hits. I would have liked to seen a little bit more thumb from him, a little bit better of a year, but I thought he did fine. This is Lockdown Cubs, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. your team every day for your second listen. Check out Locked on MLB game night during the World Series, every World Series game every night. Get local analysis on a national scale. Find MLB Game Night in the Lockown MLB channel on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast. Maybe the Dodgers will lose a game. We’ll see. What if they go 10 and0? Crazy. Yeah, they lost the one game against Philly, right? Oh, so they go 13 and then they played in the wild card series which they didn’t care about. I’m losing my mind. So they go 13 and one potentially. I I totally forgot. I I am He’s Sam Olber. I’m Matt Cozy. This is Lock.com.

We discuss the 2025 season for Seiya Suzuki and what the DH/RF outlook is for the Cubs in 2026.

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