Cubs address balance in signing lefty hitter DeJesus
The Cubs’ never-ending search for a left-handed hitter spans the regimes.
Former manager Lou Piniella begged ex-GM Jim Hendry to get him a “left-hand” bat.
The new baseball brass of president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer made its first free-agent splash Wednesday with the signing of veteran outfielder David DeJesus to a two-year contract plus a club option for 2014.
The deal pays DeJesus $4.25 million in each of the next two seasons. The option year is worth $6.5 million. If the Cubs do not pick it up, they owe DeJesus a $1.5 million buyout, making the contract worth a guaranteed $10 million.
DeJesus, who turns 32 on Dec. 20, played the 2011 season for the Oakland Athletics after spending 2003-10 with the Kansas City Royals.
A left-handed batter and thrower, DeJesus figures to start in right field for the Cubs.
With the Athletics this year, DeJesus had a hitting line of .240/.323/.376 with 10 homers and 46 RBI during a down season for him. He has a lifetime average/on-base/slugging line of .284/.356/.421.
DeJesus, who lives in West suburban Wheaton, will meet the media Thursday at Wrigley Field.
“We feel that David is a player that does a lot of things very well,” Hoyer said. “He hits right-handed pitching very well. He’s a strong defender in right field. He runs the bases well. He doesn’t strike out.
“All of those are areas we’re looking to improve on the club. I think David helps to do that.”
Even though DeJesus hit only .174 against left-handed pitching this season, he batted .265 with 9 of his homers off righties.
“A priority this off-season is to balance the lineup a bit,” Hoyer said. “The Cubs hit left-handed pitching fairly well last year. Right-handed pitching gave the club a lot of trouble. It was a very right-handed-heavy lineup, and we need to balance it out.”
That said, Hoyer insisted it will be new manager Dale Sveum’s decision where DeJesus bats in the lineup.
“It’s early to say,” Hoyer said. “I think he has the ability to do a lot of things. He makes contact. He gets on base. He doesn’t have a lot of home run power. He has a lot of doubles power. I think he can hit all over the lineup. It’s good to have a player that versatile.”
As things stand now, the Cubs have an outfield of Alfonso Soriano in left field, Marlon Byrd in center and DeJesus in right.
It’s possible they could move Soriano if they can find a taker for at least part of the $54 million he has left over the next three years of his contract.
Byrd also could be on the trading block, especially if the Cubs want to give center-field prospect Brett Jackson a shot at winning the job in spring training.
Tony Campana and Tyler Colvin also are on the roster. Colvin had a dismal 2011 after hitting 20 homers as a rookie in 2010.
“He’s certainly not out of the picture,” Hoyer said. “Tyler struggled in 2011. He’s going to come to camp and look to bounce back. He needs a huge bounce-back. To say he’s out of our plans would be wrong.”
Even though DeJesus’ numbers were down in 2011, Hoyer said he was evaluating him over a number of years. The GM also said he was heartened by DeJesus’s second-half line this year of .270/.342/.438.
Free-agent talk, or not:Jed Hoyer reiterated his #147;no-comment#148; stance on whether the Cubs were #147;in on#148; big-name free agents Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.#147;We never talk about free-agent players,#148; Hoyer said. #147;We#146;re a major-market team, and we#146;re going to be involved across the spectrum.#147;I#146;m not going to address whether we#146;re on or off individual players. We#146;re in contact with a lot of teams, a lot of agents. We#146;re going to do everything we can to improve the team for next year and the future.#148;With regard to one of the Cubs#146; own free agents, Hoyer said he continues to talk with the agent for reliever Kerry Wood on bringing him back for 2012.#147;We#146;d really love to bring Kerry back,#148; Hoyer said. #147;He had a great year last year. He#146;s a great ambassador for the Cubs.#148;ŸFollow Bruce Miles on Twitter @BruceMiles2112.