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.
從去年季後轉隊到奧克蘭運動家隊,到今年731交易大限轉戰堪薩斯皇家隊,一直都有交易流
言圍繞在Ben Zobrist身邊.雖然沒發生,但傳聞小熊的Joe Maddon可能能和他的前工具人再
續光芒緣.不過現在看來,Maddon可能正著手將自己陣中的一名球員改造成新的Ben Zobrist
,而那位球員正是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已經在聯盟待了一段時間.在進入芝加哥小熊隊之前,這位2009年國聯最佳新秀一直
在佛羅里達馬林魚隊和其所屬小聯盟球隊中載浮載沉.在小熊隊,Coghlan成功使自己的生涯
起死回生,為目標2015WS冠軍的新東家提供穩定貢獻.
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員,生涯主要守左外野,偶爾遊走在中外野
以及右外野之間.然而在今年,我們可以看到Coghlan出現在小熊隊內野.最一開始只發生在季
初三壘手受傷的情況,直到最近Coghlan連續兩天以先發二壘手之姿出賽又再度發生.
Which has ignited quite a bit of excitement this weekend on the North Side,
and a regular mention of the name “Zobrist”.
這令小熊隊感到興奮,讓他們常常提到"Zobrist"這個名字.
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.
這裡有個很小的先例.Coghlan曾在2009年以先發二壘手身分出賽一場並在2013年再次鎮守
二壘(也不過0.2局),同時他也為馬林魚先發出賽三壘手八場.這個先例,在Maddon為小熊掌
舵的情況下,可能變成Coghlan長期的守位.
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說他不再是球隊的先發游擊手,同時Addison Russell會接掌
游擊大關.這使得小熊隊的二壘出現空缺(Russell原先是先發二壘手),而Coghlan能填補上
去.上禮拜六的出賽使得Coghlan本季在二壘的出賽來到五次,而三壘則是兩次.因為樣本數
太少,我們還沒辦法實際上去衡量Coghlan在二壘的防守,但他目前還沒發生過失誤.(其他內
野位置也一樣)
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.
讓Coghlan以內野手身分出賽的動機很明顯是想讓他留在小熊打線裡面.Coghlan以11%保送
率跟.338上壘率展現了他持續上壘的能力.他有很棒的強擊球能力(30.8%),同時能持續打出
平飛球(20.4%).雖然Coghlan的BAbip只有.277,他仍然能持續的碰到球並站上壘包.上壘能
力已經成為他巨大的優勢.
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.
當Kyle Schwarber開始以左外野手身分出賽(他真猛),同時Miguel Montero傷癒歸隊,外野
並沒有太多空間容納Coghlan.就算Starlin Castro能回到先發打線中,Chris Coghlan多重
守位的能力能讓他一週固定出賽幾場.如果Coghlan能展現他在內野的防守能力(就算只是
平均),並持續在外野有著進步的防守,那他會是Maddon手上可使用的"Zobrist"型球員.
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.
就算今年運氣不太好,Coghlan的打擊能力讓人想盡量將他留在先發打線中.這和Maddon在光
芒使用Ben Zobrist的方法並無二致.無論讓Coghlan防守多奇怪的位置,都想讓他能夠出賽,
在打擊端做出貢獻.作為一個能在外野,三壘,二壘甚至是一點點一壘出賽的球員,Coghlan在
芝加哥小熊隊往後的冠軍之路會有很高的價值.