For a while now, it has been clear the Cubs are getting little to no production from the second base position. Only David Bote owns a wRC+ above league average (104), with Addison Russell and Daniel Descalso ranging from 15% to 48% below that threshold.
After a quick start to the season, Descalso has fallen on hard times in year one of a two-year deal. Russell, on the other hand, never found his groove after spending the entirety of April suspended for a domestic violence violation. So with Bote splitting his time roughly evenly between second and third base and Ben Zobrist still absent, Russell and Descalso have formed something of a production black hole at the keystone in 2019.