Chicago Cubs: Javier Baez injury proves how valuable team’s depth is

Willson Contreras is the man – but who assumes the load after?

Last season, Willson Contreras could’ve garnered MVP consideration if not for his late-season injury. He still finished the year with an .855 OPS, setting career-highs in runs, hits, home runs, RBI and WAR.

This year, he’s the clear-cut starter behind the plate. Chris Gimenez, one of Chicago’s offseason pick-ups, will likely back him up. But do you really want someone like Gimenez, a career .218 hitter, going out there 4-5 times a week as your main starter? Probably not.

Still, he’s insurance policy number one. Especially given his past experience working with Yu Darvish. Thankfully, the Cubs have several homegrown backstop options in the minors who could assume big roles should Contreras fall to injury.

The most obvious? Victor Caratini, who put up a .400 on-base percentage in nine games with the Cubs last year. Prior to the Cubs’ signing of Gimenez, it appeared the team’s eighth overall prospect would finally have a clear path to the Majors.

Behind the plate, Chicago has plenty of young options. But if they lost Contreras long-term, no one would be surprised to see a Rene Rivera-type signing as we did last season, either.

Cubs’ outfield might be its strongest group

The emergence of Ian Happ this spring has easily been the biggest storyline surrounding this team. He’s absolutely mashed out of the leadoff spot (1.568 OPS), forcing his way into a discussion about a much larger role in 2018.

When the spring opened, Albert Almora seemed like the guy in center field. Now, with Jason Heyward struggling again with the bat (.143 AVG) and Happ playing well, platoon matchups seem likelier than ever before for Joe Maddon.

What makes this Cubs’ core so different is their multi-positional abilities. Happ can play second and all three outfield positions. Ben Zobrist can play pretty much anywhere you want to pencil his name in on a lineup card. Even the face of the franchise, Kris Bryant, can handle both corner infield and outfield positions if needed.

As we saw two years ago with the injury to Schwarber, this group’s versatility can be a make-or-break. The club didn’t miss a beat and went on to win 103 games and, of course, a World Series title.

The key in all this? Ian Happ’s continued development. If he can prove he’s an everyday player in his first full Major League season, an already deep outfield corps grows exponentially this year.

Baez-Russell combination could be lethal – if healthy

I’ll admit. Cubs fans are way higher on Addison Russell and Javier Baez than fans outside the Windy City.

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Once a 40-homer projected slugger, Baez continues to struggle with plate discipline at the big league level. Russell, meanwhile, just two years ago mentioned with the likes of Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor, has fallen out of favor with national writers and pundits alike. His off-field domestic issues last year also hurt his stock in more ways than one.

But when they’re both on the field together, they form one of the best middle infield combinations in all of Major League Baseball. Baez set multiple career-highs offensively last year. Russell needs to show he can hit at a steady clip to take that next step.

But what happens when one of these guys tweaks something? The Cubs have a few options in-mind. First, and foremost, Ben Zobrist. The veteran utilityman seems to be the insurance policy at darn-near every position and after a tenacious offseason in which he focused on being ready for the year, he’s a safe one at that.

Tommy La Stella slots into the picture, as well. But this is where the insurance drops off in a monumental way. David Bote or Mike Freeman won’t cut it on a team with World Series aspirations. So, for now, you hope Baez and Russell stay healthy – and for a resurgent Ben Zobrist in 2018.

Darvish, Lester, Hendricks, Quintana, Chatwood – you could do worse

That headline says it all. After bolstering the starting rotation with Yu Darvish, the Cubs are set up for the long-haul in almost every regard. At least for the next few years.

And as dreamy and wonderful as this group seems now, the very real question of where Chicago turns if they lose one (or God forbid two) of these arms lingers over everything. Mike Montgomery is the obvious choice in the interim. He split time between the rotation and bullpen last season and expressed the desire to start in 2018 this offseason.

After that? There are a lot of options that don’t make me feel all that great inside.

Jen-Ho Tseng, perhaps. Eddie Butler might get the ball here and there. Simply put, as good as the Cubs’ rotation is, they lack substantive insurance past Montgomery. And while I wouldn’t consider it likely to lose more than one starter for any real length of time, if it were to happen, things could go sideways in a hurry.

Next: Early spring performances cause for optimism in Chicago

At the end of the day, Chicago still boasts more positional depth than the overwhelming majority of Major League clubs. But if the right combinations of players fell to injury, the talents of Theo, Jed and Joe could be put to the test this year.