Chicago Cubs News: What Patrick Wisdom's role could be in 2023
31-year-old slugger Patrick Wisdom is entering his fourth year with the Chicago Cubs organization. The former St. Louis Cardinals first-rounder had made his way into the Cubs lineup on a regular basis in 2021 when he unexpectedly hit 28 home runs and posted a .823 OPS. Last year he played in a career-high 134 MLB games and hit 25 home runs.
He is a versatile player with some really nice power, but there are holes in the swing. He is a career .217/.301/.459 hitter with a 37 percent strikeout rate. With that said, it is still worth giving him props for being a “late bloomer” with a high strikeout rate and still being able to maintain value in the majors. We have seen older career minor league players come up, mash, then quickly fizzle out.
Patrick Mooney of The Athletic discussed Wisdom’s role on 670 the Score Friday afternoon. The state of the team has obviously changed with all of the moves that were made this offseason, thus impacting Wisdom’s role in 2023.
“I don’t think they’re going to give Patrick Wisdom 150 games out there, but I think they think he can put up some good numbers in the right matchups more towards the bottom of the lineup and not being the guy that who had to replace Kris Bryant.”
This really should not come as a surprise. Third base, Wisdom’s primary position, now includes Edwin Rios, Christopher Morel, Nick Madrigal, and Zach McKinstry on the depth chart. Prior to the offseason Wisdom was a primary candidate at first base, now the Cubs have Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini. He could get a chance to play some outfield or DH, especially if there is an injury or if the lineup construction calls for certain guys to be in the lineup.
It would make sense to have Wisdom in the lineup when there is a lefty on the mound. He sports a career .833 OPS and .240/.322/.512 slash against lefties, vs. a .729 OPS and .207/.292/.437 slash against righties. He’s also done a lot of damage against the division rival Milwaukee Brewers, posting a career 1.017 OPS in 29 games against them.
Even if Wisdom is not an everyday player, it’s still nice to have the power he provides on the roster. There really is no mystery as to who he is, being an “all or nothing” hitter is what can be continued to be expected of him, so the Cubs can use it in the most optimal ways going forward.
