Friday, July 18, 2014

What Does Baez Move to 2b Mean Overall?

So Javier Baez has been moved to 2nd base.  So what does that mean?  Well it can mean a lot of things so lets run down the reasons.

·         The front office is simply seeing if he can handle 2b.

·         He is showcasing he can handle 2b to lessen the idea that the Chicago Cubs front office “has to” trade one of their stud infield prospects.

·         The front office could be showcasing that Baez can handle 2b which shows versatility and increases his trade value as well as his value to the Chicago Cubs.

·         Javier Baez is making the move to 2b because he is getting closer to being called up to the Majors.

·         Baez is being moved to 2nd base to eventually make room for recently required SS prospect Addison Russell.

·         Baez is being moved to 2nd base to decrease the Castro trade chatter.

·         The front office has decided this is his primary position that he will be playing in Chicago so he needs to get comfortable there in Iowa.

 

Truth is it could be a combination of all of these things but the underlying message is the Cubs front office is getting closer to making a move with Javier Baez.  Whether that be a promotion, trade, etc. But before I give you my final thoughts on this impactful decision we must take into consideration what Iowa Cubs manager Marty Pevey had to say about Javier Baez and 2nd base (special thanks to MiLB.com for getting these good quotes):

 

"Everything's backwards, but he's such a good athlete that he won't have any problem with the adjustment," Triple-A Iowa manager Marty Pevey said of moving Baez across the infield. "It's just footwork [that's different]."

 

"He looked like an All-Star shortstop playing second base. You can put an All-Star shortstop anywhere in the infield," Pevey said. "He had the most range of anybody I've seen at second base in a long time."

 

"I'm working with [Baez] there over the next several days," Pevey said. "We'll see him mainly at second base at least over the next several days."

 

So after those comments it seems more clear that this may turn into a permanent thing.

 

With everything I laid out above I believe that Javier Baez will be called up to the Chicago Cubs sometime in early August.  I believe this front office sees great strides in Baez plate approach and production from the dish recently to have him earn a Big League call up within a month.  For example; Arismendy Alcantara logged 11 games in CF before being called up and the front office always suggested positional movement would be in late stages of the minor league player development process for any prospect.  So Javi being moved to 2nd base tells me that he is in getting closer to being called up to the majors.  What it is also saying with the move to 2b is this front office believes his best value to the Chicago Cubs is at 2b because if his best value was at SS then he would remain there; same thing goes with 3b or OF.  I have always said that the only two places Javier Baez would play is 2nd or 3rd base for the Chicago Cubs because his bat plays well at both positions and Castro would remain at SS. I also am pretty confident that when Baez is moved to the parent club that Addison Russell will be moved to Iowa and start off playing SS (I think he ultimately ends up at 3b with Bryant in the OF). Now I feel we have a good snippet of what the Chicago Cubs front office is going to toward 2015 which is Javier Baez at 2b and Arismendy Alcantara in CF.  And for us patient fans waiting for this rebuild to materialize this is gold!

 

Until Next Time…

 

 

 

1 comment:

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