Chicago Cubs: Theo Epstein’s to-do list for 2017

Where does Baez get most of his at-bats?

This is a situation complicated by a “good” problem. Schwarber. And hopefully another one in an improvement from Jason Heyward. The Cubs were able to shuffle Bryant and Ben Zobrist into the outfield to get Javier Baez his at-bats throughout the year. 450 of them, to be exact. For a guy who wasn’t an “everyday” player, it felt like he was on the field every day. But a healthy Schwarber and an improved Heyward would make these moves a little trickier.

But if there is a manager in the game of baseball that can find a way to do it, Joe Maddon is that man. This one falls on Maddon more than it does Epstein, but there isn’t a move that goes on in Chicago that Epstein doesn’t have his thumb on. This is the one place that the Cubs versatility sets them apart from the rest of baseball. The Cubs can shuffle around the talent to get a guy like Baez 400+ at-bats, and he doesn’t even have his “own” position. Not too bad for a player that could honestly compete for a Gold Glove at three different positions on the infield.