Daniel Descalso

38-Year-Old Second Baseman2B

Free Agent

2024 Stats

AVG

.000

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2024 Fantasy Outlook

There was no outlook written for Daniel Descalso in 2024. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.

Bats L

Throws R

40 Man No

Height 5'10"

Weight 190

DOB 10/19/1986

Drafted 3rd Rd 2007

Opts out of minor-league contract

2BFree Agent

June 22, 2021

Descalso opted out of his Triple-A St. Paul contract Tuesday, Brandon Warne of Access Twins reports.

ANALYSIS
Any hopes of being called up by the Twins this season were squashed by a .093 batting average and .444 OPS in 75 at-bats with St. Paul since being signed May 13. Descalso, now 34 years old, hasn't been remotely impactful at the major-league level since 2018, so it's possible this stint with the Twins' organization was his last with an MLB club.

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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Daniel Descalso See More

Dream11 Fantasy Baseball: Cardinals at Cubs

September 6, 2020

Juan Pablo Aravena breaks down Sunday's Cardinals at Cubs game for Dream11 contests.

Dream11 Fantasy Baseball: Cubs at Pirates

September 3, 2020

Juan Pablo Aravena breaks down Thursday's Cubs at Pirates game for Dream11 contests.

Dream11 Fantasy Baseball: Cardinals at Cubs

August 17, 2020

Juan Pablo Aravena breaks down Monday's Cardinals at Cubs game for Dream11 contests.

Bernie on the Scene: 10 Players to Avoid

July 20, 2020

Bernie Pleskoff analyzes 10 players he's staying away from this season, including Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier.

NL FAAB Factor: Father's Day Edition

June 21, 2020

Jan Levine profiles undervalued players who could pay off in NL leagues this year, including Alex Wood, who focused on improving his mechanics this offseason.

Past Fantasy Outlooks

2020

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2013

2012

2011

Descalso picked a good time to have a career year. If he'd had the kind of season he had in 2019 in 2018, he might not have even gotten a major-league contract in free agency, let alone a two-year, $5 million deal. In his first season with the Cubs, Descalso struck out nearly 30% of the time while slugging .250, the fourth-lowest SLG among 411 players with at least 150 PA. That was down from .436 in 2018, his final season with the Diamondbacks. Statcast says he was a bit unlucky, but it was a bad year no matter how you slice it. The one good thing: while his walk rate fell, it was still close to 12%, so well above average. That skill and the fact that he can provide a left-handed bat off the bench may be enough to keep him around to start the year, but if Descalso struggles out of the gates, the Cubs could label him a sunk cost and designate the 33-year-old for assignment.

Descalso surpassed 400 plate appearances for the second time in his career and for the first time since 2012. He was thrust into regular duty at third base after Jake Lamb went down with an injury in the fifth game of the season, and Descalso built up enough good will during that stretch to maintain semi-regular at-bats after the Diamondbacks acquired Eduardo Escobar. With more sporadic playing time, Descalso's offense cooled, but with 13 homers and a .353 OBP for the season (boosted by a 15.1% walk rate), he graded out as roughly 11% better than league average at the plate. He sacrificed contact for his uptick in power and 2018 figures to go down as the best year of Descalso's career, but he landed a two-year deal with the Cubs in the offseason and should fill a semi-regular role, keeping him very much in the deep-league discussion.

During his first season in Arizona, Descalso was thrust into a sizable role due to the team's injury woes, and he proved useful, posting career highs in home runs (10), RBI (51), runs (47), walk rate (12.1 percent), flyballs (43.2 percent) and hard contact (37.0 percent, per Fangraphs). He leaned heavily on hitter-friendly Chase Field (.357 wOBA, .274 elsewhere) and matchups with righties (.332, .267 lefties), especially since he tilted toward more power with a career-high 22.4 strikeout rate. The useful .264 average he notched in 2016 dipped 31 points with his new approach. Descalso must have done just enough, however, as Arizona picked up his 2018 option, seemingly confident they could use him if similar circumstances arise. Most of his value figures to come from his versatility and his presence as a veteran in the clubhouse.

Descalso's role didn't change much from the 2015 season, but he managed to produce more in the final year of his contract with Colorado than he had for quite some time. The 29-year-old began the year as a reserve utility infielder (and even got seven starts in left field), but somehow was sporting a batting average above .300 into mid-August. This helped him garner the starting shortstop job once Trevor Story went down with a thumb injury, although his production did taper off a bit toward the end of the season. He did post his best walk rate ever (11.8 percent) and decreased his strikeout rate to bring it below 20 percent. Descalso will likely remain in a reserve utility role after signing with the Diamondbacks on a one-year pact over the offseason despite the uptick in production last year.

Descalso continued his role as a bench utility infielder with the Rockies in 2015, doing little more than giving starters the day off and filling in for injured players. He didn't help his cause by batting a mere .205 in 185 plate appearances. There was a small bright spot for Descalso at the plate, as he did show good patience, producing a solid 9.6% walk rate. The 29-year-old has some real life value due to his ability to play all over the infield, but his playing time will still be underwhelming, especially now that the Rockies have viable starting options across the infield, and prospect Trevor Story forcing the issue at Triple-A.

Descalso saw his playing time drop for the third consecutive season, serving another year as the Cardinals' utility man, logging innings at all four infield positions while hitting .242 in 161 at-bats. With a .243/.313/.341 career line across 1,223 at bats, there is little get excited about beyond Descalso's versatility. He may have a clearer path to playing time after signing with the Rockies in December, especially with the organization's revolving door at second base. Even if that materializes, Descalso is unlikely to become more than a player to stream when he gets a prolonged stretch of playing time at Coors Field.

Descalso took on a larger role in 2013 after Pete Kozma struggled mightily, and he delivered 43 RBI and 43 runs across 358 plate appearances. The 27-year-old was also able to lower his strikeout rate (15.6%) last season, but he'll be blocked at shortstop by the Cardinals' addition of Jhonny Peralta. Descalso figures to see a significant drop in playing time serving mostly as organizational depth. If Kolten Wong struggles at second base, Descalso may get enough playing time to match his 2013 production.

Descalso is one of those guys that managers love: he can play all over the infield, can play almost every day and he'll come off the bench if he has to. Managers love guys like him, but fantasy owners don't have to. If a fantasy owner paid a few bucks for the guy sharing the second-base job with Tyler Greene, he got 374 at-bats. Congratulations. We hope he enjoyed the six stolen bases, 26 RBI and .227 batting average, because those were the highlights. He qualifies at three positions in 2013, so that could give him a little value, but we've probably already seen his upside and it's not pretty.

Descalso spent all year on the St. Louis roster, playing the role that Nick Punto was often too injured to play. He started 61 games at the hot corner and started several other games at second and short. He only qualifies at third base, however, but barring another injury to David Freese he'll instead spend more time at second base this year, where the Cardinals have said he'll get first shot over Skip Schumaker.

Descalso isn't going to hit .300. He's not going to hit 20 home runs. He's not going to steal 20 bases. What he *can* do is carve out a nice role as a utilityman for the Cardinals. The 24-year-old will probably back up Skip Schumaker and Ryan Theriot in 2011, and he could see some time at the hot corner as well.

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Signs minor-league deal

2BMinnesota Twins

May 13, 2021

Descalso signed a minor-league contract with the Twins on Thursday, Brandon Warne of Access Twins reports.

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Club option declined

2BFree Agent

Ankle

October 31, 2020

Descalso's (ankle) $3.5 million team option was declined by the Cubs on Saturday.

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Shut down with ankle sprain

2BChicago Cubs

Ankle

July 23, 2020

The Cubs placed Descalso on the 45-day injured list Wednesday with a left ankle sprain, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

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Added to 60-man pool

2BChicago Cubs

July 1, 2020

Descalso will be a part of the Cubs' 60-man player pool this season and will head to Wrigley Field for summer camp.

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Likely to fill bench role

2BChicago Cubs

March 24, 2020

Descalso is likely to serve as a reserve infielder for the Cubs this year rather than being in the mix to start at second base, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

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