Chicago Cubs: Who will handle second base this season?

With less than two months until Opening Day, second base is the one spot on the infield for the Chicago Cubs that will likely feature a position battle.

The Chicago Cubs 2020 infield is almost set.

When Opening Day rolls around in late March, Anthony Rizzo will man first base, Javier Baez will handle shortstop duties and barring a blockbuster trade Kris Bryant will hang out at the hot corner.

However, there’s one position that still sports a big question mark in regards to who plays there: second base.

In 2019, injuries and inconsistency, Ben Zobrist missing significant time due to personal matters and Addison Russell’s suspension opened up opportunities for eight players to spend at least one game playing second base. Russell ended up playing second a team-high 63 games followed by David Bote (50), Daniel Descalso (45), Ben Zobrist (32) and Robel Garcia (18) respectively.

Three of the eight players who played second base for the Cubs last season are no longer on the roster.

The position is wide open in 2020. Who takes it?

Chicago Cubs: Here are some of the favorites for the job

On Sept. 9, a fresh-faced 22-year-old Nico Hoerner made his big league debut for the Cubs.

Playing mostly shortstop in the place of the injured Baez, Hoerner exploded onto the scene as an everyday guy in the lineup slashing .317/.364/.512 in his first 10 games with the Cubs. Nico-mania peaked Sept. 13 and Sept. 14 when he piled up seven RBI and a pair of home runs in a two-game stretch.

Like most prospects that get off to hot starts, Hoerner came back down to earth once he had compiled enough plate appearances for teams to gather a thorough scouting report on him. Like most young players, he struck out too much and didn’t walk enough in his early days with the Cubs as he adjusted to pitching at the MLB level. What didn’t regress was his fielding. He tallied just two errors in 168 1/3 innings while showing a knack for making highlight-level plays with the glove.

With the defensive chops to handle shortstop, defensively the transition to second would be fairly seamless.

If Vegas had odds for Opening Day starters at each position (they probably do somewhere, right?), Bote would probably have the second-highest odds at second base out of all Cubs players.

Last summer, he signed a team-friendly contract that will keep him in Chicago through 2024. He’s only 26 years old and has been in the Majors for just two seasons. He spent six years in the minors before finally breaking into the league.

Bote is the team’s Swiss Army knife in the infield. He’s been solid as a professional at multiple positions, is solid but certainly not spectacular with the bat, and probably doesn’t have Hoerner’s ceiling. But if Bote winds up as the Cubs’ Opening Day second baseman, it wouldn’t be an egregious move.

Chicago Cubs: The ‘longer’ shots who could be in the mix

Chicago area native Jason Kipnis has drawn interest from the Chicago Cubs.

The 32-year-old free agent is regressing. In each of the last three seasons, he hasn’t posted a wRC+ above 90. However, he’s an accomplished, high-character veteran guy who maybe you can platoon with Hoerner and Bote who both bat from the right side of the plate (Kipnis is a lefty).

However, the counter argument to that line of thinking is that Kipnis’ numbers against right-handed pitching aren’t great at this point of his career and in terms of wRC+ they were worse than both Bote and Hoerner last season.

Finally, Ben Zobrist is a free agent right now. Off the field matters derailed most of his 2019 season and when he did return it was tough for him to get traction.

He’s contemplated retirement, but he’s just two years removed from a 2018 where he posted a career-high .308 batting average. If the Cubs do sign him, you’d think David Ross would at least consider giving him consideration for some starts at second base.

It’s a long shot, but maybe we haven’t seen the last of Zobrist in Chicago.

Chicago Cubs: Here’s my verdict for second base

Do it by committee.

Conveniently, Hoerner is a lot better facing lefties and Bote is significantly better facing righties.

Hoerner earned a second look at second base in 2020 with his production in 2019. He looked like a plus fielder at shortstop last season so he should be able to carry that over to second base. He has a higher ceiling than the alternatives, but at 22 years old he isn’t ready to be a 182 game second baseman quite yet.

Enter Bote: suitably reliable both with the bat and the glove and able to give you some production especially against right-handed pitching.

Ideally, this position will one day belong to Hoerner. Until then, break him in slowly with a platoon arrangement with Bote. This should give Chicago a much stronger showing from second base this year than we saw last season.