Farewell, Mike Tauchman

The Palatine Pounder, Mike Tauchman, is non-tendered by the Chicago Cubs

There was some talk ahead of the non-tender deadline that the Chicago Cubs could non-tender outfielder Mike Tauchman. I genuinely didn’t think they would. He’s cost-effective, performs well in part-time capacities, and provides stable depth as a reserve outfielder as the Cubs ascertain what they have in Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcantara, or Alexander Canario. Add in the Cody Bellinger trade rumors and a straight non-tender felt even more unlikely.

The Cubs ultimately decided that Tauchman wasn’t valuable enough to warrant his estimated $2.9 million salary and non-tendered him as we discussed earlier. Had they chosen to keep Tauchman, combined with the other marginal player subtractions this week—Patrick Wisdom, Nick Madrigal—it would have felt like the Cubs were not just improving around the margins, but getting players into their proper role when trying to imagine a World Series contender. Instead, the Cubs now have another hole to fill. It might simply be a means to get at-bats for Caissie or another prospect, but it’s hard to look at the Cubs roster and say Mike Tauchman was a problem that needed fixing.

Mike Tauchman: Role player

When a player like Mike Tauchman is your starting right fielder, it feels vulnerable and underwhelming. You can point at the high OBP (.360 with the Cubs), the good contact, and the solid defense and maybe see a starting outfielder, but I think that only works if you have some serious offensive firepower elsewhere around the diamond.

The Cubs, as has been discussed a lot over the last few seasons, just don’t have the high-end star power to justify another solid, if not spectacular player getting loads of at-bats. If Mike Tauchman is flanked by Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, then I don’t think the same alarm bells go off. In that case, “solid” is perfectly fine.

But as a fourth or fifth outfielder, Mike Tauchman is exactly the sort of player that rounds out a World Series roster. I think about the 2015-16 Cubs, and the Tommy La Stellas and Chris Coghlans of the world, maybe even the Matt Szczurs.

They all have one thing in common: Reliable production in minimal roles—though Coghlan was basically a starting outfielder back in 2015 prior to the wave of prospect arrivals. If those Cubs teams had room for those players, even in light of the cascade of top prospects knocking on, and entering, the door, then surely the 2025 Cubs can find room for Tauchman in a crowded outfield picture.

The problem the last few seasons in Cubs land is that Tauchman has been asked to be a more significant piece of the offense rather than one who rounds out the bench. We saw this start to change across the latter parts of last season as Pete Crow-Armstrong started coming into his own, and Tauchman’s role became more of a pinch hitter and spot-outfield starter.

Generally, I think this is what you want to see if the Cubs are going to be sniffing contention. Of course, the Cubs need to find a way to add at the top of the roster to make all this work, something they have shown a frustrating reluctance to do. And now, they need to replace a part-time player who had that .360 OBP on top of it.

Stuck in the middle with you

The Cubs have half a dozen players who could comfortably sit in the 3^rd to 5^th best hitters on a contending team, but none who really classify as 1^st or 2^nd.  On the other end, the bottom of the roster has had far too many fringe players to be considered playoff ready. If you have Patrick Wisdom, or Miles Mastrobouni, or Nick Madrigal, then fine, But all of them? You’re begging to go 83-79.

Which is exactly what has happened the last two seasons. But had we started to see that area of the roster turn into Mike Tauchman alongside a prospect like Owen Caissie, the roster starts to look more, I don’t know, orderly?

Instead, we’re staring at an 83-win team that isn’t going after Soto, has Bellinger on the trade block, isn’t playing in the top-tier of pitching free agency, and continues to project a level of frugality that is, ultimately, infuriating. All the while the Cubs meander in a division ripe for the taking.

So long, Mike. Thanks for the memories. Especially this one.