Should Cubs Rely on Top Prospect Over Fan Favorite Infielder Next Season?

The Chicago Cubs may do themselves a disservice by bringing back this veteran.

Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs are preparing to enter an offseason on the heels of four consecutive missed postseasons and five of the last six.

If the last two years with identical records of 83-79 even after making Craig Counsell the highest paid manager in the history of the sport last winter were any indication, the roster is simply not good enough and changes need to be made. How willing Jed Hoyer and ownership are to make those changes this winter will go a long way towards determining the future direction of the franchise.

Re-tooling the current roster and not handing money over to average players would be a start towards doing what needs to be done in order to make this team more competitive sooner rather than later. An example of this is fan favorite infielder David Bote. Bote is not a terrible player by any means, but upgrades can be made without even spending money by denying his $7 million option and trusting top prospect Matt Shaw to at the very least replace Bote's proudction. Zach Pressnell of FanSided thinks that this move is obvious but could still see Hoyer making the wrong call.

"Instead of bringing Bote back for $7 million, the Cubs could bring up top prospects like Matt Shaw or James Triantos," Pressnell wrote. "Shaw, the team's top prospect is beyond big-league-ready. Last season, across two levels of the minor leagues, slashed .284/.379/.488 in 121 games. He's ready to come up to the big leagues, take Bote's spot, and play every day for Craig Counsell...But, knowing Jed Hoyer, he will likely be bringing Bote back on his overpriced team option."

Bote has seen his role dwindle with the team over the past couple of seasons due to injury and overall declining performance. He was showing some promise in 2024 with an average over .300, but played in just a total of 37 games before being designated for assignment after missing the entire 2023 season due to injury and playing in just 41 games the year prior.

The simple fact is that while Bote is a good guy to have around and has done some productive things in his career with the Cubs, teams must pay players for what they will do, not what they have done. And everything over the last several seasons has trended towards Bote's best baseball behind him and not worth the $7 million.