Nate Schierholtz might be baseball’s top value signing of the last off-season, considering the outfielder’s power, run production and .850-plus OPS all season.
Making $2.25 million on a one-year deal, Schierholtz is under club control for one more season as an arbitration-eligible player. And the Cubs might have an interesting decision to make in the winter about whether to try to sell high and trade him, or possibly give him even more at-bats next year, depending on what the rest of their outfield landscape looks like.
“He’s been our most consistent hitter,” said Sveum, who has platooned Schierholtz against right-handers all season despite decent career numbers against left-handers (.274).
Sveum said he could see using Schierholtz as an everyday player.
“Obviously, we had [right-handed] Scott Hairston in the beginning [of the season], and then you just lost all those at-bats and experience off lefties, and then it gets even tougher to face them,” he said. “He’ll give you an at-bat anyway. … I think he probably could [play every day] if you didn’t have any platoon situations.”
