Manager David Ross confirmed today what I think many people suspected about the tentative plan at second base to open the season, with Jason Kipnis and Nico Hoerner in the mix to start.
Ross says Hoerner and Kipnis are his two main options for second base. He praises the flexibility of the list and how that will help him move other pieces.
– Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) July 18, 2020
Clearly, Ross and the Cubs still predominantly see David Bote in a more useful role than as an option to start at second base, though it’s not difficult to argue that he would actually be the group’s best role starter. We don’t know what Kipnis has left, and we recently reminded people of Hoerner’s lack of professional experience. Pot will have time this year, one way or another. (Daniel Descalso, also not mentioned, was never seriously in the mix to start out the door after his very depressed and very injured 2019 season.)
That said, perhaps Kipnis will be reinvigorated enough with his new digs, and some of the oddities in his production in the past three years will resolve on their own. It’s not hard to imagine her as an above-average overall option at second base, especially against right-handers.
For Hoerner, we know that long-term improvement is the best among this group. As long as the Cubs don’t lose sight of the need to help him develop this year, and as long as his extreme forays out of the strike zone don’t affect his performance too quickly from the start, then I say yes, of course. him in the mix and see what works out. We want the long-term second base job to win, but keep in mind that it could still be an up and down path.
Second baseman gets a lot of attention because it’s one of the few places on the list where the “starter” isn’t obvious, but the Cubs do have at least three options that could be very robust. Also, as they coordinate with each other and various injuries inevitably occur, this doesn’t necessarily have to become a situation where having multiple “possible” is worse than having a “just right” headline. Let things evolve, mix and match as needed, and then, if a guy takes off clearly, roll with him.
