Trade pays dividends as Busch’s clutch hit leads Cubs to series win over Dodgers
Technically, Michael Busch has nothing to prove. The Cubs decided during the winter he was a player they wanted in the lineup.
But the former Dodgers first-round pick is also a 26-year-old rookie still trying to prove he belongs in the majors. Busch had his best moment of the season Sunday, hitting a bases-clearing double in the first inning, setting the stage for the Cubs' 8-1 victory at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs took two of three from the heavily-hyped Los Angeles Dodgers and went 5-1 on their first home stand. After the game, the team flew to San Diego to begin a nine-game road trip, which also stops in Seattle and Arizona.
“Probably the most positive for me is just having different players kind of be the guy every night,” manager Craig Counsell said. “That's hopefully what leads to a consistent offense … we're getting contributions from different places in the lineup and that's important.”
A day earlier, the Cubs loaded the bases in each of the first two innings, couldn't score and ended up losing. The bases were jammed again in Sunday's first inning and this time, with two outs and two strikes, Busch lined an opposite-field double to left that gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead.
“I just tried to stick to my approach, no matter if there was somebody on or nobody on,” Busch said. “(Gavin) Stone's a very good pitcher, he's got really good stuff. Just got to two strikes and tried to put a barrel on a pitch and happy to hit the gap.”
From there, the Cubs kept tacking on runs, got another solid start from Shota Imanaga, waited through a rain delay and cruised to victory. Cody Bellinger added his second home run of the season in the sixth.
Acquiring Busch from the Dodgers was the Cubs' one significant trade during the offseason. It's not a make or break situation, but president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is clearly counting on Busch to deliver.
To get Busch and reliever Yency Almonte from Los Angeles, the Cubs traded two of their coveted under-slot draft picks, including 2022 second-round pitcher Jackson Ferris.
Ferris was essentially a package deal with first-rounder Cade Horton in that year's draft. The Cubs chose Horton earlier than expected, No. 7 overall, saved some money on his signing bonus and used it to make Ferris an offer he couldn't refuse. The left-handed Ferris was a Mississippi commit at IMG Academy.
The other player sent to the Dodgers was 2023 11th-round pick Zyhir Hope, whom the Cubs convinced to turn pro rather than play in college at North Carolina.
So the Busch acquisition wasn't a case of the Cubs taking a low-risk flyer on a former first-round pick. It was the first time they moved younger prospects since the rebuild began in 2021.
“It means a lot,” Busch said. “I try not to take it for granted. You get caught up in the season sometimes, but you still get to put a major league baseball uniform on every day and that's an honor I don't take very lightly. I try to show up and play hard every day for them and that's something I'll do for the rest of my career.”
Looking ahead, Bellinger returned to the Cubs this year, but he can opt out of his deal after the season. If Bellinger leaves, Busch has a chance to become the Cubs' long-term first baseman. Bellinger is currently playing center field, but that spot will likely be given to top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong before long. Matt Mervis is also back at Triple A Iowa.
Earlier this week, veteran Garrett Cooper got a start at first and collected three extra-base hits against Colorado. But Counsell kept Busch in the starting lineup in every game since then. The Cubs made the trade and now are showing faith in their new player, who had just 27 games of major-league experience heading into this season.
“Michael's going to be our first baseman,” Counsell said Sunday. “He's earned that. We made a significant trade to acquire him, so you're going to see Michael out there quite a bit.”
Busch and Mervis have quite a bit in common. The two left-handed hitting first basemen played in the ACC — Busch at North Carolina and Mervis for Duke — both had monster minor-league seasons in 2022, then brief, unsuccessful major-league debuts last summer.
One difference is Busch, a Minnesota native, was a first-round pick of the Dodgers, while Mervis signed as a free agent after the COVID-shortened 2020 draft. Another is Mervis began college as a pitcher, so he may still have room to grow as a hitter.
For now, though, the Cubs have made their choice.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports