I’m surprised the Cubs didn’t wait until after the deadline to do this as there are other maneuvers to come. But I think the Cubs really wanted to bring new utility man Zach McKinstry in the door to work with the team as much as possible this year.
McKinstry, who was acquired from the Dodgers for Chris Martin yesterday, moves to the Cubs today, with Alfonso Rivas selected for Triple-A Iowa to make room:
Cubs option Alfonso Rivas to Triple-A. Newcomer Zach McKinstry got in touch.
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) July 31, 2022
Rivas, 25, has only achieved .232/.313/.316/79 wRC+ at the big league level this year and will return to Iowa, where Matt Mervis has likely become the main starter at first base. It’s hard to say what’s next for Rivas, whose glove is really good at first base and whose stick is almost certainly too good for triple-A. Will he remain in the 40-man team for the off-season and get another chance to land a bank job in the spring? As the offseason begins, will the Cubs see if there are other interested teams? Will the Cubs try to sneak him through waivers in November? All questions for later, I suppose.
McKinstry, 27, expects to be inside lane at a bench job next year, but the Cubs will focus for now on getting him some more big league playing time than he got with the Dodgers. They want to know how well you think the slugger – who’s always scored at Triple-A – can translate in the big leagues with more semi-regular time. The glove will play just about anywhere, so the parquet greatly increases its value from the bench.
For more information on McKinstry, click here if you didn’t see the updates yesterday.