Chicago Cubs: Javier Baez could be a long-term piece

There’s no questioning that the Cubs have been banged up this year.

They’ve had key members of their team: Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, Kyle Hendricks and Addison Russell miss significant playing time.  While this may not be the best scenario for the team, Baez has been able to step up and showcase his versatility.

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There’s one player in particular whose absence has been a big part of Baez’s success: Addison Russell.  Now I don’t want to get into off-the-field issues, but Addison Russell has had a rough year thus far.

He has career lows in batting average (.230), OBP (.298), and  OPS+ (83).  The defensive metrics aren’t exactly up to Russell’s standards either.

Javier Baez also crushes Russell in the versatility column too.  Just to give you an idea, Javier Baez has played every position besides center, pitcher, and catcher.

As you probably know, Russell initially came up as a second baseman.  Since he and Starlin Castro flip-flopped positions in August of 2015, Russell hasn’t played anywhere else on the diamond.