Truth is that no free agent infielder was really going to excite Cubs fans at this point of the offseason, but Jon Berti is pretty damn solid as the veteran bench player to back up Matt Shaw and give the team cover for Nico Hoerner.<\/p>\n
The Cubs reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with Berti on Wednesday night. FanSided\u2019s Robert Murray had the signing first.<\/p>\n
\nFree-agent infielder Jon Berti and the Chicago Cubs are in agreement on a contract, according to sources familiar with the deal.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) January 23, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
You can tell how much Berti was valued by the Cubs because despite being limited to only 25 games in 2024 with the New York Yankees the 35-year-old secured a guaranteed deal in Chicago.<\/p>\n
According to MLB.com\u2019s Mark Feinsand, Berti will make $2 million and has the chance to earn an additional $1.3 million in incentives.<\/p>\n
\nBerti gets $2 million for one year from the Cubs, per source. Deal includes $1.3 million in incentives.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 23, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Berti has a career 95 wRC+ in 461 MLB games, so he\u2019s been a bit below league average since making his debut in 2018. The right-handed hitter was a late bloomer, getting his first cup off coffee in the big leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays and then settling into a utility role with the Miami Marlins from 2019-2023.<\/p>\n
The infielder has started games at second, third and shortstop, while also starting 63 games in the outfield.<\/p>\n
The numbers aren\u2019t going to jump off the page, but Berti has been a solid role player for several years. In 2022 and 2023, he was worth 2.2 fWAR and 2.1 fWAR with the Marlins. Berti plays good defense and is a good base runner. In 2022, Berti stole 41 bases in 102 games.<\/p>\n
Berti has a career slash line of .259\/.337\/.366. He\u2019s not going to hit for much power, Berti\u2019s career high in a single season in home runs is seven in 424 plate appearances in 2023. He ended that year with a 101 wRC+, slashing .294\/.344\/.405.<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll also take his fair share of walks, carrying a career 9.6 BB%.<\/p>\n
The concern is that Berti is coming off a calf injury that sidelined him from the end of May until the second week of September last season. He ended the year slashing .273\/.342\/.318, in 74 plate appearances. Hopefully that leg injury hasn\u2019t taken away too much of Berti\u2019s athleticism and can still be a versatile player for the 2025 Cubs.<\/p>\n
Obviously you\u2019re not thinking of Berti as an every-day player for the Cubs, but as insurance early in the season with Hoerner\u2019s status unclear for Opening Day he\u2019s a fine addition to the roster.<\/p>\n
Again, is this a blockbuster move? No. The Cubs aren\u2019t going after Alex Bregman, he\u2019s out of the question. The Cubs want Matt Shaw to play third base and they\u2019re not going to block him. So, signing Berti, who can fill in if the rookie struggles, is completely acceptable, while he also provides a backup option at second base and shortstop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Chicago Cubs have signed a free agent infielder, who will be a perfect backup on the 2025 roster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":28581,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n
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