Chicago Cubs Sign Xavier Nady: Bench Now Set?

As promised by Jim Hendry at the Cubs Convention, the Chicago Cubs are set to add another position player with a pending deal in place for outfielder Xavier Nady.

While the team is still expected to sign at least one more pitcher before spring training starts, as far as position players go, all the pieces could now be in place.

Pending passing a physical—which is significant because he underwent the second Tommy John surgery of his career last season—Nady will sign a reported one-year, $3.3 million deal, with an additional $2 million available in performance incentives.

Provided he is healthy—and all reports seem to indicate that he is—Nady is a fantastic addition to what was a very weak Cubs bench. He will more than likely serve in a righty/lefty platoon role with Kosuke Fukudome in right field to open the season, but he can also back up left field, as well as first base. And he will certainly be the team's top pinch hitter.

In his last full season in 2008, Nady posted a .305 BA, 25 HR, 97 RBI season with a stellar .867 OPS. Assuming he can return to form at the plate, the Cubs seemingly got a starter-caliber player for fourth outfielder money.

Considering he has a .308 career batting average against left-handers, compared with .270 against right-handers, he seems to be a perfect fit for a platoon role—while at the same time, he is good enough to start against right-handers as well, if need be.

If he can stay healthy and get about 400 at bats, Nady could very well produce a .280 BA, 15 HR, 60 RBI season with room for more across the board.

With Nady in place, we can now better see how the Cubs bench could shape up come Opening Day.

Assuming the Cubs choose to carry 12 pitchers—as they generally do—that would leave five bench spots to be filled. Nady, Koyie Hill, and Mike Fontenot have three of those five spots locked up, but that leaves the Cubs with decisions to make on the remaining two.

While there is still a chance the Cubs could add a middle infielder to the mix, if they don't, Andres Blanco will probably fill one of those two spots, as he represents the only backup at shortstop.

The final spot then will more than likely go to someone who impresses with the bat in spring training, much like Micah Hoffpauir did last season. Granted, it could in fact be Hoffpauir who gets the job, but after his terrible second half last year, guys like Brad Snyder, Bryan LaHair, and Sam Fuld will get every opportunity to fill that last spot this spring.

The Nady signing marks a significant improvement of the bench, but there is still work to be done with the pitching staff. We shall see what other moves Hendry has up his sleeve in the coming weeks before the Cubs report to camp.