Insider's proposed lineup change allows Cubs to sign projected $200 million slugger

Though they've played better baseball in the second half, the 2024 season has been an overall disappointment for the Chicago Cubs.

After fading in 2023 to miss the playoffs by a single game, the Cubs are barely still in the race this time around. At 75-71, Chicago is five games out of a Wild Card spot with only 16 to play.

Many facets of the Cubs' roster could stand to improve in 2025 to prevent a similar playoff disappointment. But the biggest structural concern is that the Cubs do not have a true power bat. Only two Cubs have 20 home runs this season, and Ian Happ leads the team with 23.

One insider believes there is a potential solution on the free agent market. That solution, however, would require a fairly radical position change.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post proposed that the Cubs could sign New York Mets four-time All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso and move their current first baseman, rookie Michael Busch, to second base.

"Cubs 1B Michael Busch is playing well two ways, so you wonder whether Pete Alonso is a fit there now. One possibility: Busch is so good defensively, they could move him to 2B," Heyman said.

There are some obvious issues to sift through with Heyman's proposal. One, the Cubs already have a second baseman, and an elite defender at that in Nico Hoerner, who is only five months older than Busch.

Even in a down year for Hoerner offensively, the two have comparable value (2.9 WAR for Busch, 2.7 for Hoerner).

Second, Busch has only played four games at second base in MLB (one with the Los Angeles Dodgers a season ago, three this season), and was worth -1 OAA, according to Baseball Savant. The Cubs would be making a huge gamble, and potentially a massive defensive sacrifice.

Alonso is also projected to command a hefty contract this winter, based on the $158 million extension he rejected last year. Bob Nightengale of USA Today offered $200 million as a rough benchmark for Alonso back in June.

"The $151M Chapman deal could possibly raise the bar for Alonso, offered $158M over seven years by the Mets last year. Though Chapman’s an elite defender, he’s two years older and never had 100 RBIs," Heyman said.

Could all these concerns be worth foregoing to jump-start the offense? Absolutely. And perhaps adding Alonso is worth shipping either Busch or Hoerner elsewhere in a trade. But there is no simple fit here, nor any easy fix to the Cubs' predicament.

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