Chicago Cubs prospect Javier Baez will be 23 years of age when grounds thaw out and Spring Training once more rejuvenates the landscapes of ball parks around Arizona and Florida in 2016. For the time being, the bygone trade deadline offered a glimpse into the short-term future of the Cubs’ infield predicament.
Chicago currently occupies one of the two Wild Card spots in the National League. As such, they were actively buying experienced big league talent before the July 31 deadline, but Baez remained un-moved in the typical fashion of contending clubs giving away prospects for said experience.
With the young infield prospect still in the system and Starlin Castro also still a member of the Cubs’ 25-man roster, where will a door open for Baez in the future? Aside for an extensive injury, a change of Major League team or a position change, the roadblocks are heavy.
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Baez is currently doing his part to show MLB teams that he belongs in a lineup. He boasts a lifetime .284/.354/.547 slash line in the minors and as it stands now, has upped his batting average from a year ago in Triple-A 58 whole points. That .318 average is the same as it was for Addison Russell with the Iowa Cubs before he earned his promotion back in late April and only three points lower than Kris Bryant‘s batting average before his call-up at around the same time.
A .959 OPS at the moment by Baez certainly dwarfs Russell’s 2015 .803 mark in Triple-A or his .939 from a year ago in Double-A, as well. Baez’ two primary defensive positions played are shortstop and second base. He has logged 23 starts at SS and 15 at 2B. Castro and Russell hold down those two spots and are controlled through 2019 and all of pre-arbitration and arbitration years, respectively. The same can be said for Bryant in terms of him being in his rookie season, so even if the Cubs looked to move Baez to third base, it would make little sense. Lastly, Anthony Rizzo is as sure a thing at first base for the Cubs as Jon Lester is on their payroll, and he is controlled through 2019.
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In summary, Chicago has a lot of very controllable talented infielders. Bad news for Baez, who has not started a single game in the outfield for Iowa all season long. The Cubbies certainly have some depth with their position players right now. A wealth of talent is never a bad thing, but the clock is ticking on Baez. It would take an extremely poor spring next year from him for Chicago to justify starting his year off in the minors and keep in mind, he’s already had an MLB audition over 52 games in 2014.
Finding playing time for prospect Kyle Schwarber right now is something else manager Joe Maddon is juggling with to a degree. Arismendy Alcantara is another up and coming infield prospect in the system.
When rosters expand, you can bet Baez and his .393 OBP will be in Chicago. But that won’t be a fix for April through August of 2016. Smart money has Theo Epstein and the Chicago Cubs making some sort of move this offseason to eliminate the chance of using big league talent in the minors well into next year in order to maximize productivity elsewhere on the diamond.
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