Cubs Predicted To Cut Ties With Offseason Trade Acquisition This Season

The Chicago Cubs are loaded with talent, but they’re expected to acquire more talented players before the trade deadline.

If the Cubs are going to go trade for two or three players to add to the active roster, they’re also going to have to cut a few players on the team right now. While this is typically a tough decision, the Cubs have an obvious candidate to be designated for assignment: utility man Vidal Brujan.

FanSided’s Zachary Rotman recently predicted the Cubs would cut ties with Brujan in the coming weeks, too.

“Small sample, sure, but Brujan has been on the active roster since mid-April when he was activated off the IL and has started a total of six games,” Rotman wrote. “Yes, he’s essentially started two games per month for half the season, which is absurd. For the most part, he’s either entered a game as a defensive replacement, a pinch-runner, or as a pinch-hitter in a blowout.

“Brujan can play a variety of positions, which is valuable, but what else does he offer? He has a .389 OPS this season and a .522 OPS in parts of five MLB seasons, so he can’t really hit. He’s known for having good speed, but he’s stolen only 16 bases in 30 attempts in his career, has gone 2-for-3 this season, and ranks in the 42nd percentile in sprint speed according to Baseball Savant.”

The Cubs acquired Brujan in a trade during the offseason, but it never really made much sense. He doesn’t excel at anything, and Chicago’s lineup is way too loaded with talent for Brujan to ever earn any regular playing time.

Cutting him seems like the obvious move. He’s likely going to be the first player to go from the roster when the Cubs begin making their big trade deadline acquisitions that everybody seemingly expects them to make.

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