Dexter Fowler was nearly an Oriole… before he wasn’t. In the always interesting offseason of the Orioles this was yet another odd, twisting path taken. In the end Fowler went back to the Cubs agreeing to a 1-year deal for $8 million. The deal includes a mutual option for $9 million in 2017 or a $5 million buyout. Look at the money that Fowler turned down before eventually settling with the Cubs before you go thinking this was some money grab by the outfielder It wasn’t. He certainly lost cashola going back to the Windy City. It’s obvious where he wanted to be and it wasn’t in Baltimore (his representative had some harsh words for the Orioles). Seems like Fowler started to get cold feet and asked the Orioles for the ability to get an opt out so he could leave after one year if he wanted. From Brittany Ghiroli - GM Dan Duquette said this about Fowler: "We made a very competitive offer. There was not an agreement to terms because they kept insisting on an opt out." That led to the Orioles losing a man they thought they had while the Cubs added a player they thought they lost.

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Let’s take a look at the presumptive Cubs batting order after the signing of Fowler (the Cubs dealt Chris Coghlan to the Athletics for RHP Aaron Brooks to open up a roster spot for Fowler).

According to The Chicago-Sun Times Gordon Wittenmyer:

CF Dexter Fowler (S)
2B Ben Zobrist (S)
1B Anthony Rizzo (L)
3B Kris Bryant (R)
RF Jason Heyward (L)
LF Kyle Schwarber / Jorge Soler (L/R)
C Miguel Montero (L)
SS Addison Russell (R)
SP Jake Arrieta

I don’t have a huge issue with any of that. Let’s go guy by guy.

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Fowler should bat leadoff… when he plays. Manager Joe Maddon said that the lineup is now “more confusing in a good way.” Umm… Fowler went 17/20 last season with 102 runs scored, and though he had a .346 OBP last season his career mark is a strong .363 marking him as a rather impressive leadoff option. He has failed to play 120 games in 2-of-3 seasons, but should be very productive at all times when on the field. A switch hitter, Fowler excels against lefties (career: .303/.392/.438) while being a solid but unspectacular option against righties (career: .252/.351/.410). Would he sit against some tough righties? Maddon’s comments suggest he just might (no one loves to play the numbers/splits more than Maddon).

Zobrist will play daily, and like Fowler, is excellent at getting on base with a .355 OBP for his career.

Rizzo has back-to-back 30 homer seasons with OBP marks of .386 and .387 the last two years.

Bryant is coming off one of the most successful rookie seasons ever by a rookie third baseman (.275-26-99-87-13). Strikeouts are a concern (199 last season).

Heyward could see time hitting second, but this is a nice spot for him. The addition of Fowler to play center will assure that Heyward plays right given the Cubs great defense in the two spots. Heyward owns a .353 OBP for his career and has stolen 20 bags each of the last two seasons. He’s also failed to hit 15 homers in 3-straight season, hasn’t had 61 RBI in any of those campaigns and has hit under .272 in 5-of-6 big league seasons. Solid for sure, but taking that next step? Maybe not.

Left field is now a disaster – for fantasy purposes. A platoon of Schwarber and Soler seems like a nice pairing on paper. Soler is right-handed and has been effective against lefties to this point: .250/.351/.375. That’s nothing to get excited about, though his overall game to this point hasn’t impressed that much either (.268/.325/.433 over 125 games). Schwarber, he of the mammoth power bat, socked 16 homers, had a .355 OBP and a .487 SLG over just 69 games last season, his first in the big leagues (PLAYER PROFILE). He crushed righties with a .278/.396/.557 line but looked totally lost against lefties (.143/.213/.268). Again, just from a numbers perspective, it looks like a nice platoon situation for the Cubs. But the fact is that both Soler and Schwarber need to be playing on a daily basis. It makes little sense to signifciantly curtail the workload of either player. It doesn’t sound like there will be any future trades though which means Soler’s value tanks. Hard to envision, with everyone healthy, that he does anything other than fill in for Heyward if he needs a rest, and in left field when a lefty is on the bump. This is because Schwarber has to play every day, or at least most of them. He could catch some of course to open up work for Soler in the outfield, but the Cubs have a better defense option in Montero, and he’s a pretty fair hitter too.

Montero has hit 11 or more homers in each of the past five seasons. In four of those campaigns he’s drive in at least 53 runs. Moreover, the last five seasons Montero has hit 72 homers, 6th most or a catcher, while his 341 RBI total is third. Not an elite option, but plenty productive.

Russell went .242-13-54-60-4 in 523 plate appearances as a rookie. Hitting 8th stinks, but he could still surpass all five of those marks in 2016 and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least.

So there it is. The move to add Fowler makes the Cubs better, period. His addition also muddles the fantasy outlook of multiple players, and that means that Soler/Schwarber/Fowler all lose value with the signing of Dexter in this scribes opinion. Fowler and Schwarber lose a bit, while Soler goes from a 4/5 outfielder in mixed leagues to barely draftable at this point.

LISTEN TO KYLE AND I BREAKING DOWN THE DEAL ON SIRIUSXMFANTASY SPORTS RADIO.

For more on their rankings check out our Draft Guide Rankings page.

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 6 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).