Fourth in the series. Today we look at the Cubs’ recently-acquired backup DH/First Baseman.
Tyler Austin is a 34-year-old journeyman, drafted by the Yankees in the third round of the 2010 MLB Draft. His lifetime 0.9 bWAR is inflated by his reasonable 2018-2019 seasons.
After 2019, he journeyed to NPB, where he did well for six years, and also played for the US team during the last Olympics. The Cubs seem to be banking on some transferable improvements from those experiences. Austin right now is penciled in as a backup to first baseman Michael Busch and DH Moises Ballesteros. It’s unclear if he’ll open the season on the major-league roster, given the Cubs’ needed bench improvement, but if he provides a big RH bat off the bench, he very well could break camp bound for Wrigley.
Most projections have him in that spot, and slashing something like .240/.315/.430, with 10-ish homers and 30-ish RBI in 200+ plate appearances. Austin has good power and isn’t a butcher at first, but that and DH are his only spots, and the Cubs need positional versatility. He’ll have to hit his way to Chicago.