The Cubs' bench unit is a disaster and needs to be upgraded before it's too late

The Chicago Cubs are expected to heavily pursue starting pitching upgrades at the trade deadline, but they have another important priority to address.

Chicago’s bench unit is sad.

The Cubs brought veteran corner infielder Justin Turner in to platoon with Michael Busch at first base but he hasn’t contributed. Jon Berti and Vidal Brujan pinch-run and occasionally start at third base, but both haven’t done anything offensively.

The best piece on the bench currently is catcher Reese McGuire. McGuire has actually played pretty well in Miguel Amaya’s absence and will probably stick around as a third catcher when Amaya returns from injury.

Outside of McGuire, the rest of the bench has abysmal offensive numbers that need to be addressed by next month.

Who the Cubs will target is a mystery, but if they don’t do something about this problem, they will regret it by the end of the season.

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According to The Wrigley Wire, Berti is slashing .202/.256/.226 with a 40 wRC+, Brujan is slashing .161/.188/.226 with an even worse 13 wRC+ and Turner is slashing .202/.289/.262 with a 61 wRC+.

Each player has a negative Wins Above Replacement, and none of them play good enough defense to warrant keeping.

Turner is a great clubhouse guy, but he plays way too much and takes valuable plate appearances away from Busch.

The Cubs enter July with a 49-35 record and a two-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the National League Central.

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