From would-be starting second baseman to clubhouse leader emeritus, Daniel William Descalso’s Cubs tenure will be memorable only in that he got the largest free-agent contract they signed during either of the past two winters — probably three the way things are looking — and quite literally stumbled to -0.8 fWAR in just 194 plate appearances. The two-year, $5 million deal Descalso signed prior to the 2019 season is actually richer than the other three guaranteed deals the Cubs agreed to that offseason and last, though that ignores Craig Kimbrel’s $43 million off-cycle deal.
The Cubs had the opportunity to bring Descalso back for $3.