Chicago Cubs get a new right-fielder in David DeJesus – MLB News
The Chicago Cubs added a new right-fielder on Wednesday, November 30 in the form of David DeJesus. The Cubs signed a two year contract with DeJesus where the player will get $4.25 million every year, with a buyout of $1.5 million and the 2014 option of $6.5
million.
This was the first on-field transaction of the newly hired general manager Jed Hoyer. The Chicago Cubs have acquired a strong line-up after the arrival of Theo Epstein, the president of baseball operations.
While hiring the general manager, manager and other coaching staff was a responsibility Epstein gracefully discharged, acquiring right-fielder David DeJesus can be credited to Jed Hoyer.
Hoyer then shed some light on the new transaction. "We don't see him as a platoon player," Hoyer said of DeJesus. "Does that mean he won't get days off against tough lefties? I'm sure we'll try to provide that support and flexibility for [manager] Dale [Sveum],
but we're not signing [DeJesus] as a platoon player."
It was the right thumb injury last year this ended his career early. In the total of 131 games that he appeared in 2011, he had 442 at-bats scoring 60 runs with 46 RBIs and 10 homers, maintaining a .240 average, .323 OPB and .376 SLG.
Importantly, DeJesus had a wonderful average (which was also his best career average in any year) of .318 in the 2010. In 91 games, he had a .384 base percentage. But it was the injury that deprived him of a rarely-earned chance to exhibit his real talent.
DeJesus’ 2010 performance is what impressed Hoyer to acquire DeJesus for the club. "One thing you try to do whenever you acquire players is have a broader lens than just the previous year," Hoyer said.
With the coaching staff almost complete for the Chicago Cubs, the focus of attention on the players will surely determine the nature of the team’s performance in 2012 as the Chicago Cubs have failed to make their way into playoffs for quite a while now.
It will be interesting to see what impact DeJesus has on the Cubs.
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