Cubs Sign Scott Hairston

In Commentary And Analysis, News And Rumors, Transactions by GW30 Comments

The Cubs have come to an agreement with outfielder Scott Hairston on a two year deal that could be worth up to six million dollars. The signing was originally reported by Ken Rosenthal and has since been confirmed by Bruce Levine.

2013 will be Hairston's 33 year old season. His career has consisted of mostly part-time work, first with Diamondbacks, followed by the Padres, then the A's, and most recently the Mets. He came up in 2004 as a second basemen, but has since spent most of his time in a corner outfield role.

There could be some upside to this deal. Hairston can hit lefties (119 career OPS+), has some power (95 career homers in 2200 PA), and doesn't seem to be terrible on defense. He has spent most of his career in pitchers' parks and could conceivably get a boost by moving to Wrigley. Also, he is the brother of former Cub Jerry Hairston Jr. Due to the fickle randomness inherent in birthing orders, Scott has not the honor of carrying on his father's name, and has spent his life seeking to find favor with the patriarch through the development of a swing capable of producing power unmatched by his older sibling. (I assume).

On the other hand, Hairston's career high in plate appearances is 464. His career OBP is .302. His desirability as a free agent is largely based on his surprising 2012, when hit 20 homers in 398 PA, and breakout years from old players are not to be trusted.

On the whole the signing falls under the category of "Is This It?", as has been typical of moves during the Epstein/Hoyer regime. The club has collected mediocre players on short term deals for low prices while they try to figure out what to do in the long term. I don't think it's an accident that this move comes on the heels of Buster Olney reporting that the Diamondbacks are weighing an offer to send Justin Upton to the Braves. The front office isn't willing to match that asking price at this stage of the game, so we will have to deal with platoon types like David DeJesus, Nate Schierholtz, and Hairston for the time being. If you squint hard, you can see a 2013 roster that could finish .500 if all the breaks fall their way, but will probably be closer to 70 wins than 80.

Hey, at least he is better than Dave Sappelt.

Share this Post

Comments

  1. Myles

    Man, Scott Hairston is not very good. He’s basically only allowed to play against LHP (career line against righties: .229/.288/.416). He’s going to be 34. He plays his worst baseball during day games. His CAREER OBP is .302.

    I guess the outfield is now Soriano – DeJesus/Sappelt – Schierholtz/Hairston. This makes really good sense, from a platoon standpoint: Sappelt and Hairston crush lefties and can’t hit righties, DeJesus crushes righties and can’t hit lefties (Schierholtz is just kinda meh against both, but slightly better against righties).

    If/when Sori is traded, DeJesus probably moves to the left, and (hopefully) Brett Jackson doesn’t embarrass himself in center. Optimally, Hairston also acquits himself well this season and we can just trade him.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  2. bubblesdachimp

    I like this move. If you cant get a single player that can hit 30 HR and drive in 100, get two who can do it and play them when it makes sense.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  3. dmick89

    @ Mish:
    I don’t know. I assumed he’d have a chance to earn the job in ST and based on how optimistic Sveum sounded I thought the chances were better than average. For a team likely going nowhere why not see what you have with Jackson rather than playing a bunch of mediocre guys like Schierholtz and Hairston?

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  4. Mish

    @ dmick89:
    I don’t disagree with this; I just thought I overheard something to that affect. Trust, me the difference between 70 and 67 wins (assuming that a platoon can be worth 3 more wins that BJax would be, which IDK if it could) makes zero difference to me.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  5. dmick89

    @ Mish:
    That’s a big question too. How often are platoons worth 3 wins? On paper it seems to happen a lot. Combine this guy and this guy and they’ll be worth 3.5 WAR. I’ve done this a dozen times and it rarely works out.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  6. dmick89

    If the Cubs had gone out and acquired Justin Upton I wouldn’t give a shit about Brett Jackson. Upton would be the best player on the team and it would be exciting to watch this offense.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  7. Rice Cube

    @ dmick89:
    I wonder how much of it is psychological (i.e. “Gee, I’m not playing all the time, this sucks”) and how much is physical (i.e. “Gee, I’m not playing all the time, I’m gonna get rusty”)…

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  8. bubblesdachimp

    Source: Braves get Justin Upton and Chris Johnson from D-backs for Prado, Delgado, Ahmed and Spruill.

    jeez.. Seems like they got him for 5 cents on the dollar

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  9. dmick89

    @ Rice Cube:
    I think a big part of it is that players perform worse in part-time play. I also think a large part of it is that if you have a .330 wOBA projection for a guy against left handers, it’s not likely you’ll see .330 from him over 150-200 PA. The variance in expected wOBA over 150-200 PA is huge.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  10. bubblesdachimp

    Bubbs has come to the conclusion that Justin Upton had sex with someone he should not have. Only thing that makes sense.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  11. Edwin

    @ dmick89:

    Didn’t the Brewers have a good CF platoon with Carlos Gomez and that Morgan guy? I don’t know if it was planned, but I thought they combined for over 3 WAR.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  12. dmick89

    @ Edwin:
    It definitely happens. I’m not saying it doesn’t, but it seems to me most platoons end up failing. Maybe that’s because I’ve watched the Cubs for so many years and everything they do fails. (dying laughing)

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  13. Edwin

    @ dmick89:

    True. Like you said, in small sample sizes for platoons, a lot can happen. Plus injuries/trades can break up a platoon, as well as the fact that it’s hard for teams to keep one roster spot just one position platoon.

    With the Cubs, if you’re platooning Josh Vitters with Louis Valbuena, I don’t think anything can go right in that situation.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0

Leave a Comment