Chicago Cubs: What is Ben Zobrist’s role moving forward?

 The times they are a-changin’

Zobrist is seeing less time at second base and more time in the outfield. That’s probably going to continue into 2018. Being even more of a utility player looks to be his role at this point. Baez has his flaws at the plate, but he’s young and may yet figure things out. But regardless, he looks to be the superior defender at second base.

One could argue Baez is just as reliable as Zobrist when playing second base. But Baez also has a certain expeditiousness to his game that Zobrist does not. He may well be the best tagger in all of baseball. The duo of Baez and Willson Contreras on throw-downs is absolutely lethal. The Cubs should justifiably want more of that.

Next: Grading Tommy La Stella

At least for this year, Zobrist probably isn’t going anywhere. But he may begin to see more of a diminished role. This means less starts at second base and more appearances in the outfield. Possibly even less starts overall. That will depend on whether or not he rebounds with the bat.