Oct. 19--NEW YORK -- Since his promotion from Triple-A Iowa on Sept. 1, Cubs infielder Javier Baez is showing he no longer needs seasoning in the minors.
"He's definitely an everyday kind of player," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Sunday before Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.
But Baez -- who initially reached the majors in August 2014 before returning to Iowa in April to work on his offense -- faces a logjam with Addison Russell at shortstop and Starlin Castro playing well at second base after losing his job at short to Russell. Baez is starting at short in the NLCS with Russell out because of a strained left hamstring.
"You just have to wait your turn sometimes," said Maddon, whose expertise in player development dates to the 1980s in the Angels organization. "I remember when Sandy Alomar was coming up (in the Padres organization) and Benito Santiago was catching. You knew Alomar should be an everyday catcher, but Santiago was in the way. So sometimes you don't want to hold somebody back too long because at some point it can become a negative.
"But it's not bad to hold somebody back just long enough in regards to him really earning his spot. I'm making sure he's ready with all those kind of things that are attached to that. Alomar and Santiago were the classic examples when I was in development early on. My goodness, nobody was more ready than Sandy, and here's Santiago just killing it."
Santiago, the 1987 NL rookie of the year, stayed with the Padres, while Alomar, who had played in eight games with the Padres in 1988 and '89, was dealt to the Indians as part of a four-player trade involving outfielder Joe Carter.
Alomar was the American League rookie of the year and a Gold Glove Award winner in 1990, and he made six All-Star teams during a 20-year career.
Maddon acknowledges that Baez looked impressive in Game 1, from his quick footwork that produced a double play in the second inning to ranging toward the left-field foul line to catch a shallow fly in the sixth.
"He knows he's going to play right now, so there's a different method for him to get ready that's more comfortable," Maddon said.
Extra innings: Left-handed hitter Chris Coghlan, who hit a home run off Noah Syndergaard on May 12, got the start in right field over Jorge Soler. "I want to give a different look," said Maddon, acknowledging that Coghlan's homer played a role in his decision. ... Maddon said first baseman Anthony Rizzo's left hand was fine one day after getting struck by a throw from Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy. ... The Cubs released left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada.
