OAKLAND, Calif. _ After not starting behind the plate for three consecutive games, Willson Contreras is expected to return to the catching position with more regularity.
"I'm going to get him back there more consistently," said manager Joe Maddon, alluding to the fact the Cubs were off Thursday and will have another day off on Monday as he tries to find playing time for everyone.
"Through that entire month (of August), I think we'll be OK. Hopefully the weather cools like this. I want to get him more involved as we continue along. The other part is not get him too involved yet. The guy hasn't played that long into a season and definitely don't want to burn him out. You've seen some resurgence in his offense after we rested him a little bit. We want to be mindful of all that stuff."
Maddon believes that Contreras, 24, could be a very good left fielder or right fielder. But the return of Jorge Soler gives the Cubs a more bonafide outfielder and gives Maddon another reason to start Contreras behind the plate more frequently.
At the same time, Maddon hasn't given up on veteran left-handed hitter Miguel Montero despite his .194 batting average entering Saturday's game.
"The last week or so the bat has started to come on," Maddon said of Montero, who starts when Jake Arrieta is on the mound. "The pop is in there. You don't want to give up on anybody. People get hurt. Things don't work out as planned sometimes. You want to keep people engaged. And we've been able to do that to this point."
