The Cubs traded for All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes at the end of July, hoping that the right-handed hitter would give the lineup a boost and while the team has been playing better Paredes has struggled in his return to the organization. Now, the 25-year-old is dealing with a shoulder issue that forced the Cubs to scratch him from the starting lineup in Sunday’s series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Patrick Wisdom will replace Paredes at third base and will slot into the eighth spot in the batting order.
Since joining the Cubs on July 30, Paredes has only put up a 61 wRC+, slashing .155/.254/.310, a .564 OPS in 67 plate appearances. The third baseman has homered a pair of times, while adding three doubles. Meanwhile, the defense at the hot corner has looked smoother, however Paredes has already been charged with four errors in 16 games with the Cubs.
It could be quite possible that Paredes has been playing through a shoulder injury for a while because if you take a closer look at his numbers, then you’ll discover that he’s been struggling at the plate since he was still with the Tampa Bay Rays. Prior to the trade, Paredes was barely hovering at league average production in the month of July, with an abysmal .123 batting average in 97 plate appearances. During that stretch Paredes’ slash line was helped out by a .340 OBP thanks to a 20.6 BB%, but things were already looking bad then.
You certainly hope that this isn’t a longterm shoulder injury for Paredes because there’s no good backup plan on the major league roster if he has to miss more time at third base. Could this possibly open the door for Matt Shaw?
Paredes wil have another day of rest tomorrow as the Cubs begin their next series until Tuesday at home against the Detroit Tigers.
