The Chicago Cubs designated outfielder Matt Szczur for assignment yesterday. Teams will have the opportunity to claim him. Could the Pittsburgh Pirates be a possible suitor?
The #Cubs today recalled LHP Rob Zastryzny from @IowaCubs. OF Matt Szczur has been designated for assignment.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 6, 2017
To call John Jaso and Jose Osuna defensive liabilities in the outfield for the Pittsburgh Pirates would be an understatement.
They both have been terrible.
The Pirates currently have two true outfielders on the team. It’s going to be like that until Starling Marte returns from his suspension in mid-July. That is unless they look outside of the organization. In that light, Matt Szczur suddenly becomes an intriguing option.
Why he was DFA’d
In short, the Cubs have a plethora of outfielders. Jason Heyward, Kyle Schwarber, and Ben Zobrist are primarily starters with Albert Amora Jr. and Jon Jay coming off the bench. They did not need a sixth outfielder. Szczur was out of options and was the odd man out in part because he wasn’t hitting as well as Amora Jr. or Jay. At age 27, Szczur has had modest success in the big leagues although he has never had a real shot at playing every day.
This season, Szczur is batting .211/.273/.263, racking up four hits in 19 at bats. Obviously, playing time has been an issue for Szczur in Chicago this year. Last season, he hit .259/.312/.400 with five home runs, nine doubles, and a triple in 200 plate appearances.
He didn’t light the world on fire, but there is something to said for a bench player trying to hit consistently without getting consistent playing time. It is really hard to find a groove.
A True Talent
Szczur was drafted in 38th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of high school in 2007. They failed to sign him, and the Chicago Cubs scooped him up with a 5th round selection in 2011. He signed with the club, and shot up to a number seven ranking of Cubs’ prospects after his 2010 season.
From there, wound through the Cubs’ minor league system at a pretty standard pace before breaking through to appear in 33 games for the team in 2014. Along the way, Szczur’s esteem within prospect circles fluctuated, ranking as high as the club’s number three prospect overall before a final ranking of #26 after the 2013 season.
However, Szczur was frequently highlighted as having highly skilled base running and defensive techniques by publications such as Baseball America, who also ranked him as the best defensive outfielder in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 2014.
Hmm. A true outfielder who excels at defense and base running…
The Pittsburgh Pirates should put in a claim
Putting in a claim for Szczur would easily serve as the Pirates’ best chance at landing outfield help outside of the organization without giving up assets. Why not at least try? There is room on the 40-man roster.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Baseball America ranked him as the best defensive outfielder in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 2014.[/perfectpullquote]If the Pirates landed Szczur, he would most likely be the team’s right fielder until Marte returns. Depending on how the club feels about Gregory Polanco’s progress in left, he could easily server there as well.
When the team is back to full strength, he would slot nicely into the role of fourth outfielder. Defensively, Szczur is light years ahead of Jaso, Osuna, Adam Frazier, Alen Hanson, and Josh Harrison.
And that defensive edge comes about mainly because he is a true outfielder. Those other players are simplt, well, not.
In 2016, Szczur had four defensive runs saved and an ultimate zone rating of 6.1. For reference, Jaso had -3 DRS and a UZR of -1.9 going into today. Osuna had -4 DRS and a UZR of -2.2. That just won’t cut it. Szczur is no Billy Hamilton, but he would be a huge upgrade defensively.
With the bat, Szczur can’t be much worse than Jaso who is hitting .143/.239/.254 this year. I understand that it is still early in the season and those numbers have to normalize. Jaso isn’t that bad at the plate but he has been dreadful.
When you can’t field your position, it is extremely hard to be patient with a player who isn’t hitting. It is easy to sympathize with Jaso. Since coming to Pittsburgh, he has been asked to field three different positions. That can’t be easy for a player who spent a lot of time at DH in his American League days. His success in taking up first case emboldened the Pittsburgh Pirates to press their luck and try him in the outfield, but that experiment has been a clear failure.
The Pirates have nothing to lose by putting in a claim on Szczur. If that happens and they are successful, the club could easily option Phil Gosselin to the minor leagues to gain everyday at-bats, or they can simply DFA him without much consequence. When Frazier and David Freese are healthy, DFAing Jaso also becomes an option. If that happens, the bench would be Osuna, Frazier, Hanson, Stewart, and Gift Ngoepe until Marte’s return necessitates another move.
How much nicer would that bench look with a true outfielder?
Photo credit – Bruie Laker – Flickr Creative Commons
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