Zach McKinstry will likely be on the Chicago Cubs Opening Day roster. The 27-year-old is out of minor league options, so the North Siders may be forced into giving him an extended leash to start the regular season.
Once considered one of the Los Angeles Dodgers' top prospects, McKinstry has struggled to find his way at the Big League level. He hit just .208 in parts of three big league seasons with the Dodgers before the Cubs acquired him at the trade deadline last year.
With Chicago, the Toledo native hit .206 in 47 games, a stretch that saw him club four long balls and drive in 12 runs.
He hasn’t exactly impressed in his first MLB Spring Training with Chicago, batting just .095 in 25 plate appearances. Like several others in contention for roster spots, McKinstry’s versatility will be the key to playing time.
In the minors, he primarily split time between second and third base. However, Cubs manager David Ross put him in left field against his old team over the weekend, a position he only has 44 games of experience, including 25 starts, between both the minor and Major League levels.
While it’s not ideal, preparing McKinstry for any scenario that may arise come the regular season is what Spring Training is for.
“That’s not kinda the priority, but if I have to put him out (in the outfield), it’s just a little irresponsible of me not to get him some reps,” Ross said via Marquee Sports Network. “He is an option out there, he’s played there before. Just making sure that we get him a game out there, some game reps, something to just turn his attention [to] the little details out there, be fundamentally sound out there.”
Given his performance in the exhibition schedule, if McKinstry had any minor league options remaining, he’d be a safe bet to start the year there.
But he gives the lineup a left-handed bat, and the Cubs need to assess what they have before potentially losing the utilityman.
McKinstry is a career .323 hitter in 114 games at the Triple-A level, including a .335 average in 2022. He’s shown some pop in the lower levels, slugging 12 home runs and 52 RBI in 95 games for the Dodgers’ Double-A outfit in 2019.
He’s shown flashes of potential at the Major League level. In April 2021, McKinstry hit .296 with three home runs and 14 RBI in 17 games for the Dodgers.
In a seven-game stretch with the Cubs in September last year, he hit .355, including a 4-for-5 night against the San Francisco Giants.
The potential is certainly there, but that's all it has been to this point in his career. Combined with his slow start, other fringe roster players will be chomping at the bit if McKinstry struggles in the first few weeks of the regular season.
More must-reads: