Chris Coghlan demonstrating newfound versatility for Cubs
by Randy Holt 1w ago
Through last winter’s offseason until he ended up with the Oakland Athletics
and again until he ended up a member of the Kansas City Royals prior to this
year’s trade deadline, there was plenty of buzz surrounding Ben Zobrist, as
folks wondered if Joe Maddon would be able to reign in his former utilityman
and add him to the squad on the North Side. That, of course, didn’t end up
happening. As a result, Maddon could instead be looking to transform one of
his current players into a new Ben Zobrist. That player is Chris Coghlan.
从去年季后转队到奥克兰运动家队,到今年731交易大限转战堪萨斯皇家队,一直都有交易流
言围绕在Ben Zobrist身边.虽然没发生,但传闻小熊的Joe Maddon可能能和他的前工具人再
续光芒缘.不过现在看来,Maddon可能正着手将自己阵中的一名球员改造成新的Ben Zobrist
,而那位球员正是Chris Coghlan.
Coghlan’s been around the game for some time. A former NL Rookie of the Year 1
with the then-Florida Marlins back in 2009, Coghlan spent many of the
following years bouncing back and forth between the minor leagues and the big
leagues, before managing to catch on with the Chicago Cubs, where he’s
managed to revive his career to the point where he’s a regular contributor
on a now-contending Cubs team.
Coghlan已经在联盟待了一段时间.在进入芝加哥小熊队之前,这位2009年国联最佳新秀一直
在佛罗里达马林鱼队和其所属小联盟球队中载浮载沉.在小熊队,Coghlan成功使自己的生涯
起死回生,为目标2015WS冠军的新东家提供稳定贡献.
Obviously, Coghlan’s always been a guy that has made his bones as an
outfielder. He’s played primarily left field throughout his career, bouncing
over to center and right sparingly. This season with the Cubs, though, we’ve
seen Coghlan work his way to the infield. This happened very early in the
season when the Cubs were short on depth at third base due to injury, but it
has become a more common occurrence recently, as Coghlan started back-to-back
games at second base heading into the weekend.
Coghlan一直都是以外野手身分建立自己成就的球员,生涯主要守左外野,偶尔游走在中外野
以及右外野之间.然而在今年,我们可以看到Coghlan出现在小熊队内野.最一开始只发生在季
初三垒手受伤的情况,直到最近Coghlan连续两天以先发二垒手之姿出赛又再度发生.
Which has ignited quite a bit of excitement this weekend on the North Side,
and a regular mention of the name “Zobrist”.
这令小熊队感到兴奋,让他们常常提到"Zobrist"这个名字.
There is a tiny, minuscule bit of precedent here. Coghlan started a game at
second in 2009 and played there again in 2013 for the Marlins, with eight
starts at third base in 2013 as well. With Joe Maddon at the helm of this
Cubs team, though, this looks like something that could be more of a
permanent situation.
这里有个很小的先例.Coghlan曾在2009年以先发二垒手身分出赛一场并在2013年再次镇守
二垒(也不过0.2局),同时他也为马林鱼先发出赛三垒手八场.这个先例,在Maddon为小熊掌
舵的情况下,可能变成Coghlan长期的守位.
Maddon informed Starlin Castro that he’d no longer be the team’s starting
shortstop, with Addison Russell flipping over to short in the interim. That
has allowed Coghlan to slide into a spot at second base. His start there on
Saturday ran his number of appearances there on the season up to five, with
an additional pair of appearances coming at third base as well. There’s
obviously far too small of a sample size to actually evaluate his play at
second, but he hasn’t made an error to this point (or at any other infield
position).
Maddon最近跟Starlin Castro说他不再是球队的先发游击手,同时Addison Russell会接掌
游击大关.这使得小熊队的二垒出现空缺(Russell原先是先发二垒手),而Coghlan能填补上
去.上礼拜六的出赛使得Coghlan本季在二垒的出赛来到五次,而三垒则是两次.因为样本数
太少,我们还没办法实际上去衡量Coghlan在二垒的防守,但他目前还没发生过失误.(其他内
野位置也一样)
The motivation behind getting Coghlan on the infield is obviously to keep his
bat in the lineup. Coghlan’s demonstrated a consistent ability to reach
base, with a walk rate over 11% and an on-base percentage of .338 for the
year. He has a very nice 30.8% Hard hit rate, with a line drive percentage of
20.4 for the year. Even at a low .277 BABIP, he’s managed to make regular,
solid contact while maintaining that ability to get on base. He’s a
tremendous asset in that respect.
让Coghlan以内野手身分出赛的动机很明显是想让他留在小熊打线里面.Coghlan以11%保送
率跟.338上垒率展现了他持续上垒的能力.他有很棒的强击球能力(30.8%),同时能持续打出
平飞球(20.4%).虽然Coghlan的BAbip只有.277,他仍然能持续的碰到球并站上垒包.上垒能
力已经成为他巨大的优势.
And with Kyle Schwarber now occupying some of the time in left field, with
the return of Miguel Montero, there isn’t a lot of room for Coghlan to work
his way into the outfield picture. Even if Starlin Castro can work his way
back into the lineup with any sort of regularity, Chris Coghlan could work
his way into the lineup several times a week in that super utility role. If
he could demonstrate an ability to play even average defense at second and
third, while continuing to play improved defense in the outfield, then he’s
a viable option for Maddon as that Zobrist type of player.
当Kyle Schwarber开始以左外野手身分出赛(他真猛),同时Miguel Montero伤愈归队,外野
并没有太多空间容纳Coghlan.就算Starlin Castro能回到先发打线中,Chris Coghlan多重
守位的能力能让他一周固定出赛几场.如果Coghlan能展现他在内野的防守能力(就算只是
平均),并持续在外野有着进步的防守,那他会是Maddon手上可使用的"Zobrist"型球员.
With a bat like Coghlan has brought to the mix this year, even if he’s run
into quite a bit of bad luck, the goal is to get him into the lineup as much
as possible. This is not unlike the situation that Maddon ran into in Tampa
Bay with Ben Zobrist. He’ll seek to get him into the lineup as much as
possible, regardless of how unorthodox his position might seem. But a guy
that has seem time in the outfield, at third, and at second, as well as even
a couple of very brief stints at first, should be able to provide top notch
value to the Cubs down the stretch.
就算今年运气不太好,Coghlan的打击能力让人想尽量将他留在先发打线中.这和Maddon在光
芒使用Ben Zobrist的方法并无二致.无论让Coghlan防守多奇怪的位置,都想让他能够出赛,
在打击端做出贡献.作为一个能在外野,三垒,二垒甚至是一点点一垒出赛的球员,Coghlan在
芝加哥小熊队往后的冠军之路会有很高的价值.