Chicago Cubs’ Craig Counsell settles Seiya Suzuki DH drama and PCA’s leadoff future

The Chicago Cubs hit a patch of uncharacteristic disharmony earlier this offseason when Seiya Suzuki, unhappy as a full-time designated hitter, was apparently being shopped around to a handful of teams.

The Japanese right-hander, who was displaced from his right field starting spot when Cody Bellinger was moved into the position last season, will be displaced again after the acquisition of Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros. The plan is to make the 30-year-old Suzuki the team’s full-time DH, making room for an outfield of Gold Glove-level talent with 2022 Gold Glove winner Tucker in right field, Pete Crow-Armstrong in center, and three-time Gold Glove-winning Ian Happ in left.

The decision caused some tension between Suzuki and the Cubs, to the point of Chicago reportedly asking the veteran, who has a no trade clause in his contract, to green light some teams with whom they could discuss a trade.

Suzuki’s Unhappiness At DH

“Seiya was a great defender in Japan, so it’s not a compliment to him being a DH,” commented Suzuki’s agent Joel Wolfe at the time. “I think that if he was being posted in Japan, and teams were presenting to him their opportunities, and they said, ‘You could come here and be our full-time DH,’ I don’t think he would have signed with that team.”

That tension, according to Cubs manager Craig Counsell, has apparently been eased.

Craig Counsell Weighs In

“Seiya’s gonna DH a lot,” Counsell said in a panel discussion at the Cubs Convention on Saturday. “That’s what’s gonna happen. Kyle’s gonna play right field, Pete [Crow-Armstrong]’s gonna play center and Ian [Happ]’s gonna play a lot of left field. We feel like we have another outfielder in Seiya if something happens to one of those guys.

“But we’ve talked to Seiya this week about that and he understands that and he’s on board with that. And things happen during a season. If it doesn’t happen, it’s been a really good season and if Ian and Kyle are healthy all year and Seiya’s healthy all year, man, that’s a good offense, I can promise you.”

“He understands; he’s on board,” Counsell added. “He wants to play the field but he understands that right now, this is where the team kinda sits.”

Suzuki was, arguably, the team’s top bat last season, posting a .283 batting average and hitting a career-high 21 home runs. Over his last three seasons with the Cubs, he’s been one of the team’s most consistent bats, delivering a .278 batting average with 55 home runs and 193 RBIs. Throughout his career, per Fangraphs, there’s been a slight uptick in average when batting as a DH. In 2024, his batting average was .298 when used as a designated hitter, versus .266 when playing right field.

The former Hiroshima Toyo Carp all-star has two more seasons left on his Cubs contract before being eligible for free agency.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, Leading Off?

Also hashed out at Saturday’s panel discussion, as reported by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, was Crow-Armstrong’s place in the Cubs’ lineup.

Per Rogers:

“Counsell is not considering the speedy Pete Crow-Armstrong for the lead off spot right now.”

The desire is there to wedge the 22-year-old sophomore spark plug into what would be the ideal leadoff spot for a player with such speed and base-stealing ability.

However, Crow-Armstrong is still very much a work in progress when it comes to his bat. It wouldn’t be a great fit right now to put a player with a .282 lifetime on base percentage into the very crucial top-of-lineup spot.

One assumes that, for the immediate future, the young talent will be slotted near the bottom of the lineup where he can develop his offensive game under significantly less pressure.

Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-counsell-suzuki-pca?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicago-cubs-counsell-suzuki-pca