Dec. 09--One of the more remarkable achievements of the Chicago Cubs' off-season is that they've been able to make moves without surrendering any of their major prospects.
That includes 23-year-old Javier Baez, who may not get a true shot at starting on a daily basis in 2016 unless he's traded.
Nevertheless, Baez remains a Cub as newly acquired Ben Zobrist, 34, is expected to start at second base most of the time. There could be playing time for Baez at second on days in which Zobrist starts at other positions, such as left field in place of Kyle Schwarber if the Cubs are facing a tough left-handed pitcher.
"And then going forward, long-term, this will give more opportunity for Javier Baez as well with Zobrist's flexibility and ability to play all over the field," President Theo Epstein said Tuesday night. "I think you look at the corner outfield and a lot of days we'll have Kyle Schwarber out there, who is just learning the position, and (right fielder) Jorge Soler, who hasn't quite managed to play the 162 games (but will be spelled on occasion by Chris Coghlan). So I think Zobrist protects us all over the infield as well as the outfield."
Before the Cubs acquired Zobrist and traded second baseman Starlin Castro for pitcher Adam Warren and a player to be named later (believed to be infielder Brendan Ryan), Epstein acknowledged the attention that Baez and Soler attract from other teams.
"We value those guys tremendously," Epstein said. "There's tremendous value holding onto the Baezs and Solers of the world and letting their talent manifest over a full major league season. They're guys who have the opportunity to play a major league season over six months.
"We're invested in both guys. We're listening. If the right deal were to come along, we'd pay a little closer attention. But certainly both guys are important parts of our future, and we look forward to them continuing to establish themselves."
