I had to get the words “utility man” in the headline, or it may have taken you a moment. Maybe it did take you a moment. The Chicago Cubs have signed ANDREW Romine to a minor league deal – he is the brother of AUSTIN Romine, the Cubs’ back-up catcher (when healthy).
Romine – the non-catcher version – is a 35-year-old utility man who was just let go by the Twins, and who has quietly had a long big league career as a glove-first option off the bench. Since 2010, he has appeared in every single big league season except 2019, splitting his years among the Angels, Tigers, Mariners, and Rangers. And he’s done it despite a career slash line of just .235/.291/.301, which is 37% worse than league average by wRC+.
How do you pull off such a feat? Getting into 587 big league games spread over a decade without being able to hit? You do it by being able to play literally every single position – heck, Romine once did it all within a single game! Including pitching and catching!
Sure, that particular game was a novelty, but he really does play every single other position, and the metrics say he’s pretty darn good at all of them! Romine is a really fun player in that regard, and it makes sense that teams would love to have him around as a just-in-case guy.
For the Cubs, my guess is he was signed primarily as a just-in-case Ildemaro Vargas gets claimed off of waivers this week. He’ll head to the alternate site as a veteran depth type, and maybe he’ll even get to see his brother for a bit as the other Romine works his way back from the knee injury.