The Chicago Cubs signed Jon Berti to a one-year, $2M deal yesterday. He is a utility man who played all around the diamond this season and was used as a pinch-runner in critical situations. The contract includes clauses for Berti to earn up to $1.3M in incentives. The move comes as news of Nico Hoerner’s rehab put his availability for Opening Day in doubt and forecasts an end to Chicago’s bidding for top infield free agents.
The Cubs’ acquisition of Berti comes after the team cleaned out its bench in the offseason and created some openings on the major league roster for prospects, other role players, and Berti. Once the deal is finalized, Chicago must designate somebody for assignment or make a different corresponding move to fit him on the 40-man roster. The veteran turned 35 years old yesterday.
Jon Berti Signs One-Year Deal with the Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs added to their 2025 team with the signing of Berti yesterday. Berti, 35, signed a one-year deal worth $2M with opportunities to earn up to $1.3M more in incentives. He has been a utility man who has bounced around the diamond in MLB after getting to the majors later in his career. Getting the call to the show in 2018 at 29, he has shown speed, solid glove work, and good bat-to-ball ability in his major league career.
For his career, Berti has hit .259 with a .337 OBP, .366 SLG, and .703 OPS. Most of his career has been in Miami, where he spent five seasons from 2019-2023. With the Marlins, he led the National League in steals with 41 in 2022. In 2023, his last fully healthy season, he hit .294 with a .344 OBP, .405 SLG, and .748 OPS, 7 HR, and 33 RBI in 133 games. He spent 2024 in New York with the Yankees but was sidelined for most of the year with a calf injury. In 25 games for the Bronx Bombers, Berti hit .273 with a .342 OBP, .318 SLG and .661 OPS.
Fitting Berti in with the Cubs
A move like this from the Chicago Cubs became predictable after their annual ‘Cubs Convention’ last weekend when the team’s GM Carter Hawkins said,
“We’ll just try to continue to bring in guys that can play multiple positions in the infield, give us that depth, guys that would have experience of being able to play a Major League season and just gives us different alternatives.”
Jon Berti definitely fits that description. He has played every position in the infield and outfield in his major league career. With his speed, he can become a versatile weapon for Craig Counsell to deploy in any number of situations late in games. Berti may get pressed into more service than the Cubs would like early in the season if top prospect Matt Shaw isn’t quite ready to take over third base or if Hoerner’s rehab from offseason flexor tendon surgery drags on longer than expected.
When he isn’t picking up playing time in those scenarios, Berti will replace roles held by recently departed players like Miles Mastobuoni, Nick Madrigal, Mike Tauchman, and Patrick Wisdom. Adding him to the major league roster comes at a cost for Chicago. Vidal Brujan, Gage Workman, Ben Cowles, and Luis Vasquez are the top candidates to be taken off the roster to make room for Berti. Whether it be the full 40-man roster or the 26-man major league roster, one of these players will have to be demoted, and the Cubs can either designate somebody for assignment or make a trade to get back under the limits.
Final Thoughts
The signing of Jon Berti is a relatively low-risk move. After slashing some of the previous bench players on the major league roster, there is an opportunity for him to pick up some playing time in multiple situations. But I still don’t understand the strategy from the Cubs front office. They had plenty of role players who could’ve come back this season and played the role of Berti, or they could clear space for some of their top prospects to get some experience at the big-league level.
Berti is a fine player, and aside from concerns over his 2024 calf injury, he is a safe move. The Chicago Cubs have shown in recent years that they are all too willing to make the safe move and not be aggressive. Suppose Berti comes in and is the primary option for Craig Counsell off the bench. That would be great. I don’t know how much value that adds to the club. The team needs to see what their minor league talent can do at the major league level since they aren’t contenders yet for anything of substance in the National League.
