Speed Kills: Billy Hamilton signs with Cubs before playoff push

Rick Scuteri - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 4 hours ago

Talk about a blast from the past.

Whatever has gotten into Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins when it comes to these late-season deals, a lot of them are intriguing, as you can see the fit. The latest move could be the most fascinating of them all, as the Cubs and speedster outfielder Billy Hamilton have agreed on a Minor League deal that became official today, but is listed as a pickup on August 31.

You know what that means: he was signed before the roster cutoff as the Cubs have a brand new weapon to play with come the postseason. For those who may or may not remember Hamilton, he had a brief stint with the Cubs during the 2020 MLB season, playing in a total of 14 games.

Apart from that, most of his success came with the Cincinnati Reds before he bounced around the league toward the back end of his career and landed in Mexico this season. The now 34-year-old comes with plenty of experience, can be used as a defensive replacement, and his biggest asset is being a late-game basestealer, which every team loves to have.

We have seen the Cubs go this route before as they added Terrance Gore to their roster during the 2018 season with the sole purpose of using him as a basestealer. Then came the infamous moment when all Gore had to do was not swing, but he chose to swing, which ultimately ended his baseball career.

While Hamilton isn't going to be the 100-plus steal guy he was in the minors at this point in his career, it's hard to imagine the Cubs not calling him up at some point in September to see what he can bring to the table. As long as the speed is still there, the Cubs know what he brings to the table, and with neither Jon Berti nor Vidal Brujan on the bench, the Cubs are lacking some speed off the bench.

Hamilton not only brings speed, but brings elite speed, and if you put him and Pete Crow-Armstrong on the bases at the same time, that could be fun. Hamilton last played in the MLB during the 2023 season with the White Sox and was never known as an offensive threat. Sure, he clubbed leadoff homers from time to time, but with 24 career bombs and 189 RBIs, power was never part of his game.

Speed, on the other hand, was the biggest part of his game as Hamilton swiped 328 career MLB bases after nabbing 410 in the Minors. That included a 100 stolen base season with the Louisville Bats, as that season alone put Hamilton on the map and made him the most significant topic of conversation around Reds camp for Years.

Since his MLB days came to an end, Hamilton wasn't quite ready to hang up the spikes just yet, as he bounced around the Mexican League the past few seasons, hoping to land one last opportunity. Even with a slight increase in his average to .244, his power numbers still weren't there, as Hamilton has connected for four homers over the past few seasons, but has still found a way to get on base enough to make things happen, and now has more than 100 career steals in the Mexican League.

Speed kills at any level, and his overall speed certainly still plays, which is why the Cubs pounced on the opportunity to add him to their organization for the stretch run. While I don't expect him to reach the Majors in the coming days, as he will need some late-season seasoning in AAA, you don't sign Hamilton this late in the season if you don't plan to use him.

There are a lot of things you can teach in baseball, but you can't teach speed. You either have it or you don't, and Hamilton still has it even if he has lost a step or two. Still, expect to see Hamilton remain with Iowa for the duration of their season before getting the call to Chicago for the final week leading into the playoffs.

Should that happen, you can bet that the first guy off the bench in a base-stealing situation late will be Hamilton, as the Cubs need to find more ways to manufacture runs. Kudos to Hoyer for making this deal and another one no one saw coming.