Craig Counsell reveals Seiya Suzuki's 2025 role
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The Chicago Cubs are in the midst of an offseason that is designed to get them back to the National League playoffs for the first time since the 2020 season. One of the big moves they have made during the offseason was trading for slugging outfielder Kyle Tucker of the Houston Astros. That move is likely to have a huge impact on Seiya Suzuki and his ability to play in the field for the Cubs.
"Seiya is going to DH a lot. That's what's going to happen."
Craig Counsell on Seiya Suzuki in 2025. pic.twitter.com/1Vmlmuw68S
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) January 18, 2025
Tucker is clearly an every-day player who can impact any game with his power bat and his ability to cover ground in the outfield. Suzuki’s value to the Cubs is with his bat. He has not been a plus defender in the outfield and that is likely to turn him into a designated hitter for the North Siders.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell was speaking about his team to the fans and assembled media at the Cubs Convention. He was fairly direct on the team’s plans for Suzuki in the upcoming season.
“Seiya is going to DH a lot,” Counsell said. “That’s what’s going to happen. Kyle (Tucker) is going to play right field, Pete (Crow-Armstrong) will play center and Ian (Happ) will play left field. That’s how it will go most of the time but things happen in the season. We have talked with Seiya about this plan and he is on board with it.”
Cubs are hoping for more offense in 2025
The Cubs went into the 2024 season as the favorites to win the National League Central — in part because they added Counsell as their manager — but they were forced to look up at the Milwaukee Brewers throughout the season. The Cubs ended up tied for second place with the St. Louis Cardinals. They had an 83-79 record and they finished 10 games behind the Brewers.
The Cubs had multiple areas of concern last year, and clutch hitting was one of them. They are hoping Tucker can give them quite a bit of pop in that area, but they won’t have Cody Bellinger. He was traded to the Yankees in the offseason.
The 30-year-old Suzuki is entering his fourth season with the Cubs, and he slashed .283/.366/.482 last season with 21 home runs and 73 runs batted in. Counsell is hoping that Suzuki can cut down on his strikeouts as he fanned 160 times last season.
The 28-year-old Tucker has been an American League All-Star each of the last three seasons. He had his best season in 2023 when he hammered 29 home runs and drove in an AL-best 112 runs.
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