Gonzales: Poised, patient Rivas had short stay with Cubs

Maybe it was meant for Alfonso Rivas to arrive in the Cubs' organization before many of his teammates were traded from other teams last summer.

What Rivas might lack in power and blazing speed is compensated by his polished approach at the plate and defensive skills at first base and left field.

"He's a good baseball athlete," said Jay Johnson, Rivas' coach at the University of Arizona. "He's got a good feel for the game and has the skills."

And an impressive amount of patience, considering his lack of playing time despite a .388 on-base percentage in 49 plate appearances to go with a .318 batting average in 2021 after being promoted from Triple-A Iowa, where he batted .284 with a .405 on-base percentage. He started with the Cubs this season, appeared in two games, and was optioned to Iowa Saturday.

Ironically, Rivas wasn't known for patience early in life.

When Rivas' mother Sandra went into labor, her husband Alfonso Jr. sped northbound on Interstate 805 in San Diego County to the hospital for the delivery.

But it was too late. They had to pull over on the side of the highway, where Alfonso III was born on Sept. 13, 1996.

"When I go home during the offseason, I'll sit down with my parents after dinner and talk about how the trajectory of my life has gone," Rivas said in a deeply reflective tone. "They always bring up how it all started and how crazy it was.

"I'm just very blessed to have the life I've had, the people who have come in and put a stamp on me. I'm just very grateful for every moment, for sure."

At 25, it's too soon to pigeonhole Rivas as a left-handed hitting specialist. But Frank Schwindel provides more power at first base, and left fielder Ian Happ was 7-for-10 and didn't strike out in his first 12 plate appearances until Wednesday.

In the meantime, the 6-foot, 188-pound Rivas will try to continue to take advantage of every situation presented to him.

That started during his sophomore year at La Jolla Country Day School. Johnson, now the coach at LSU, was evaluating another player while serving as an assistant at the University of San Diego when Rivas caught his eye.

One month later, Johnson became the head coach at the University of Nevada but couldn't entice Rivas to commit to the Wolfpack despite a full scholarship offer.

"I guess he didn't want to move to Reno," Johnson chuckled.

It became moot when Johnson was hired at Arizona before the 2016 season and saw that Rivas was an incoming freshman.

Rivas had no trouble subscribing to Johnson's hitting slogan of "It's A Ball Or It's A Line Drive," which was inscribed on T-shirts.

"I would say that's where my approach came from, separating each pitch in an at-bat, focusing on that pitch, that moment, right there," Rivas said.

"Just being in the present. (Johnson) really preached that when I was at Arizona, and I try to carry over throughout my career.

"He knows what he's talking about. He puts a lot of work in. It's no mistake he's had great hitters throughout his career. It's awesome to see what he's doing now at LSU."

One of Johnson's current pupils is switch-hitting corner infielder Jacob Berry, who could be available when the Cubs make the seventh overall selection in the 2022 draft.

Berry possesses more power than Rivas, who was selected by the Athletics in the fourth round of the 2018 draft.

"It's been hard for sure, seeing what the game has evolved to," Rivas said of the launch angle phenomenon. "But if I stick to who I am, everything is going to work out."

Johnson believes Rivas' vision, balance, bat speed, bat path and poise make him a polished hitter. Rivas smacked a single and opposite-field double off Dylan Cease of the White Sox in his first two major league at-bats Aug. 29.

"He's one of my favorites who has the potential to stay in the majors for a while," Johnson said.

When the Cubs acquired Rivas from the Athletics for infielder Tony Kemp after the 2019 season, Johnson was thrilled despite the presence of Anthony Rizzo.

"I always said when the Cubs trade Anthony Rizzo, they have their next first baseman," Johnson said with conviction.