The Cubs are interested in Jason Kipnis

Just when you thought the Cubs were going to go through the entire offseason without bringing a significant free agent on board, up pops this rumor:

Yeah, I’m not sure Cubs fans have any fond memories of that Jason Kipnis home run, nor the foul ball that he hit in the ninth inning of Game 7 off Aroldis Chapman.

Kipnis has had injuries ruin two of his last three seasons, most recently a wrist injury last September that ended his season a couple of weeks early, and perhaps has been responsible for him being unsigned just a couple of weeks prior to spring training.

He has had several very good seasons, including years of 4.5 bWAR (2015) and 3.8 bWAR (2016). Kipnis is a Chicago-area native who played his high school ball at Glenbrook North. He’ll turn 33 just after Opening Day, and with the injury concerns he’s not likely to command a lot of money. Primarily a second baseman, he’s also played a bit of center field in the last couple of years and could probably handle left field as well.

I didn’t mention him in my earlier piece today on under-the-radar minor-league signings, but it seems that he fits in that group pretty well.

On a minor-league contract? Sure, why not?