Ahead of tonight's series-opening game in San Francisco against the Giants, the Cubs recalled infielder Nick Madrigal and sent infielder Miles Mastrobuoni down to Triple-A Iowa.
A Mastrobuoni Disaster-oni
The Cubs acquired utility man Miles Mastrobuoni in a trade that sent minor league RHP Alfredo Zárraga to the Tampa Bay Rays this offseason. At first, it seemed he was putting together good at-bats and getting a bit unlucky. However, throughout his 25 games played and 64 plate appearances, he's hit only .161 with a 29 OPS+. His struggles have been hard to watch.
I was a little confused by the trade because I really like Zárraga's arm and enjoyed watching him pitch for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (mostly) last season. However, zooming the camera out a bit, the trade made sense from a Triple-A and MLB depth perspective. That said, just because it made sense doesn't mean it was a good move. Mastrobuoni needs a lot of work offensively to become a quality MLB utility bench option.
Nick Madrigal Returns
On May 25, the Cubs sent Madrigal down to Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move to activate RHP Kyle Hendricks off of the IL. Since his demotion, Madrigal has been nothing short of excellent in 11 games with the I-Cubs. "Nicky two strikes" slashed .488/.580/.854 (1.434 OPS) with six doubles, three triples, and a home run.
Nick Madrigal hasn't hit a homer in 93 games played and 326 plate appearances in a Cubs major league uniform. He only has two career big league homers, and the last time he smacked one was June 4, 2021, with the White Sox.
That's just not who he is as a hitter. Power is not in his baseball DNA. He's predominantly a singles and line-drive hitter when he's on his A-game. However, since his demotion to Triple-A Iowa, the extra base power has been friendly. Will it continue at the big league level this time around? Probably not, but it's encouraging for a guy who has sputtered mightily to even hit singles this season with a .247 batting average.
We'll see if he can build on his work in the short time spent at Triple-A. As for tonight's game, he's in the starting lineup, playing second base and hitting leadoff. Nico Hoerner receives a day off from David Ross. The first pitch is at 9:15 PM CDT and will air on Marquee Sports Network for TV and 670 The Score for radio.
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