Defensive Runs Saved
NL teams in 2014
| Cardinals | 76 |
| Reds | 71 |
| Padres | 43 |
| Pirates | 41 |
| Diamondbacks | 29 |
| Dodgers | 25 |
| Braves | 22 |
| Mets | 22 |
| Rockies | 17 |
| Nationals | 9 |
| Giants | 9 |
| Brewers | 0 |
| Marlins | -11 |
| Cubs | -20 |
| Phillies | -29 |
Some say pitching and defense wins championships. As the chart above shows, the Cubs were nearly dead last in defensive runs saved in 2014.
Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) is a defensive statistic calculated by The Fielding Bible, an organization run by John Dewan, that rates individual players as above or below average on defense. Much like UZR, players as measured in “runs” above or below average, and Baseball Info Solutions data is used as an input.
In simple terms, SI's baseball writer Joe Posanski wrote:
“…as I understand it, the numbers determines (using film study and computer comparisons) how many more or fewer successful plays a defensive player will make than league average. For instance, if a shortstop makes a play that only 24% of shortstops make, he will get .76 of a point (1 full point minus .24). If a shortstop BLOWS a play that 82% of shortstops make, then you subtract .82 of a point. And at the end, you add it all up and get a plus/minus.”It is really simple to why the Cubs were so far behind the rest of the NL on defense. You had a second baseman learning to play center field on the fly. You had various utility infielders starting positions at third and second. You had a platoon of below replacement level outfielders. You had a shortstop with concentration lapses. You had a catcher which most scouting and stat guys said was below average defensively (which I tend to disagree with; Castillo was on par with other NL catchers).
Have the Cubs upgraded anything defensively this off-season. Some say that Montero and Ross are better defensive catchers than Castillo, but Montero does not impress me as a better overall catching solution. The outfield is still in platoon hell, and Bryant's eventual call up to play third harks back to scouting reports saying the Cubs probably would move him to LF. But Bryant wants to play third and to avoid putting adding pressure of learning a new position, I would let him play third and hit.
