Manager Joe Maddon loves having versatile players on his roster. Kris Bryant has been one of those guys for the Chicago Cubs. He has played all three outfield positions this year (in addition to third base) after starting in right field yesterday.
Maddon's decision to put Bryant in the outfield this late in the season has spurred rumors regarding prospect Javier Baez. He's expected to be a September call-up next week due to his consistent performance in the minors, but is the team relying on him to be an impact player?
"Occasionally shifting Bryant to the outfield makes sense if the Cubs believe Javier Baez will strengthen their infield defense once he's called up from Triple-A Iowa," writes Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago.
Dexter Fowler was out with an injury and Jorge Soler's absence was another reason Bryant saw some action in right. Nonetheless, Maddon said he is 'very comfortable' with Bryant in the outfield, so it's possible the move becomes a regularity at some point, if needed.
"The point is the Cubs aren't planning for anything except their guys getting healthy but if a new addition or even bench player starts hitting, they are prepared for movement around the diamond," adds Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com. "Baez has played second, short and third this year for Triple-A Iowa so he's also ready for anything."
Maddon said earlier in the week that Baez was "definitely on the radar screen" due to his improvement this season. After struggling with the Cubs in 2014 and enduring a tumultuous offseason, Baez is batting .316/.380/.530 with 46 runs scored, 13 home runs, 60 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 67 games.
Baez showed initial promise when the Cubs called him up last season and hit a game-winning home run in his MLB debut. However, his struggles outweighed his success (he batted just .169 and struck out 95 times in 213 at-bats). That continued into the offseason and he failed to make the Cubs' Opening Day roster.
But now the 22-year-old has been making the right adjustments and could be an impact September call-up for Chicago. Maddon has been a fan of Baez ever since he became manager. He may finally get to insert Baez into the hot Cubs' lineup as soon as next week.
