July 22--The more Kyle Schwarber produces, the more eager Cubs manager Joe Maddon is to find his prized rookie more playing time.
Maddon tempered some of the expectations for Schwarber for this season and next spring less than 12 hours after he hit two home runs in his 11th major league game.
But it's evident that Maddon will closely monitor how Schwarber works behind the plate as well as if David Ross continues to mesh well with Jake Arrieta as Miguel Montero recovers from a left thumb sprain that might sideline him through August.
But when Montero returns, there could be a way to make the Cubs' three-catcher alignment work with Schwarber in the lineup.
"We're going to work with him in the outfield," Maddon said. "I have ideas, like game in progress, different ideas, So we'll see how it goes."
Maddon acknowledged he was familiar with Schwarber when he and agent Alan Nero were negotiating with the Cubs following his departure with the Rays last October. Schwarber was the fourth overall selection in the 2014 draft, 16 picks ahead of the Rays, who took first baseman Casey Gillaspie of Wichita State, the younger brother of former White Sox third baseman Conor Gillaspie.
"The Rays wanted to draft him badly," Maddon recalled. "I had heard about what kind of player, what kind of hitter he was coming out of college. I heard his name was prominent."
Maddon compared the Schwarber situation somewhat to what he encountered with the Rays with left-handed hitting catchers Stephen Vogt and John Jaso.
"Vogt made the All-Star team (with Oakland)," Maddon said. "Had Jaso not been hurt a couple times, who knows where he'd be at right now."
