In a very quiet offseason for the Cubs, the three most notable free agent signings were probably Brad Brach, Xavier Cedeño, and Daniel Descalso.
Brach came down with mono, had his deal restructured, and his velocity is down.
Cedeño has been dealing with a sore left wrist that has him shut down.
And now, to complete the trifecta:
INF Daniel Descalso slowed by sore left shoulder. No time table on his return.
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) March 13, 2019
No wonder the Cubs couldn’t manage more free agent signings this year. Apparently signing with the Cubs means you’re immediately going to be in physical trouble.
Descalso, 32, last appeared in a Spring game four days ago, and was signed this offseason to add a veteran presence and some versatile pop to the roster. He figured to get starts primarily at second base and in the corner outfield spots in the early going, with his playing time mostly dictated by the health of the rest of the roster and his bat.
If Descalso is out for a while, that’ll open up another roster spot for a position player, with Victor Caratini, Ian Happ, and David Bote locked into three of the four spots (I’m counting Ben Zobrist as the second baseman for purposes of that calculation). That means someone like Mark Zagunis could start the season on the big league bench, or perhaps a third catcher like Taylor Davis. It kinda depends on just how injured Descalso is (assuming he’s out at all to start the season). Johnny Field, Jim Adduci, Jacob Hannemann, and Cristhian Adames have seen the most time among the non-roster position players this Spring, so it’s possible they could also get a look.
UPDATE: Just a little more info on what happened:
Daniel Descalso jammed his left shoulder during Cubs' game against the Angels on Saturday. Shut down from hitting right now. No announced timetable. Could potentially make up ABs in Minor League games later in camp.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 13, 2019
Position player veterans like Descalso don’t need much time to be ready for the regular season, so if he’s healthy by the final few days of Spring Training, he’s probably going to be good to go. But, of course, his healthiness is currently TBD.