Jon Berti DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

According to Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, Chicago Cubs infielder Jon Berti could be the team's primary backup first baseman during the 2025 season. The team signed Berti to a one-year contract worth $2 million earlier in the offseason. Last season, Berti logged just 25 starts with the Yankees as he battled a calf injury. During this small stint, he posted a .273/.342/.318 line with five stolen bases. During the 2023 season, Berti logged 133 games with the Miami Marlins and held a .294/.344/.405 slash line. He swiped 16 bags and added 16 doubles. Berti stole a career-high 41 bases during the 2022 season. With the Cubs trading Cody Bellinger to the Yankees, Berti could contend for the No. 2 role at first base behind Michael Busch. Fantasy managers in NL-only formats should monitor his progress during spring training as he could find a path to occasional starts in the infield.

Free-agent infielder Jon Berti and the Chicago Cubs agreed to one-year, $2 million deal on Wednesday, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. The deal includes $1.3 million in incentives. Berti will head to the National League Central and the north side of Chicago after spending last year with the New York Yankees, where he played in only 25 games due to a calf injury. In 74 trips to the plate, he hit .273 (18-for-66) with a homer, six RBI and five stolen bases in the Bronx. The 35-year-old could see decent playing time at third base for the Cubbies in 2025 after they traded Isaac Paredes to the Houston Astros this winter in exchange for All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker. Still, third base prospect Matt Shaw should be up in the big leagues sooner than later, and Berti doesn't have much fantasy outside of his positional versatility and speed -- he stole a league-high 41 bases just two seasons ago in Miami.

The New York Yankees non-tendered infielder Jon Berti and left-hander Tim Mayza on Friday, making them both free agents. Berti, 34, stole a league-high 41 bases just two years ago in 2022 with the Miami Marlins, but he was limited to 25 games at the big-league level in 2024 in his first year in the Bronx. In his 74 plate appearances, he hit .273 (18-for-66) with a homer, six RBI and five steals. Berti's speed, on-base abilities and defensive versatility should land him a job somewhere on the open market as a utility man in 2025. Mayza, 32, had a rough start to the year with the Toronto Blue Jays with an ERA over 8.00 in 35 relief appearances, but he was better (4.00 ERA) in 18 relief innings for New York in the second half of the season. He was a successful high-leverage arm for Toronto several years ago and will be looking to bounce back somewhere else in 2025.