Opening Series! Cubs vs Brew Crew

[CSF77]

"at that point it would be time to cut Hosmer and push Mancini to 1B."

Respectfully disagree. Hosmer should stay in 1st base.

Too early to judge by this years numbers.

Career wise.
Mancini .265/.329 .784 OPS
Hosmer .277/.336/.764 OPS

Most players hover near their career production. I see it as Hosmer is at the bottom of the list in 1B D. Career wise Hosmer holds a -20 on def runs saved. Major League Leaderboards » 2023 » First Basemen » Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball Which is counter productive to a plus D infield. We were spoiled with Rizzo. +69 Def runs saved.

Hosmer is a incomplete player. Don't walk much. D is poor but makes contact. Not for power but with the shift nixed his value should go up.

Say they did do the deal:

Hoerner 2B
Swanson SS
Happ LF
Ohtani DH
Suzuki RF
Bellinger CF
Wisdom 3B
Mancini/Hosmer 1B
Gomes/Barnhart C

It changes the line up dynamic for sure. Plus getting Suzuki back should be a boon.

If Nick Madrigal gets hot at the plate it might change the dynamic. Him batting #9 at 3B and Wisdom at 1B. Wisdom profiles as a better glove 1B with a huge jump in power.

But the season tends to sort out decisions. Player takes off or injury can change everything.

As an example. PCA at AA Tennessee Smokies makes the jump to Iowa and dominates. It forces Jed's hand. Say Bellinger is hitting better than Hosmer (not a reach) That outs Hosmer and pushes Bellinger to 1B. Thus improving IF D and potentially making him a extension candidate.

So there is a whole lot that can happen this year.