Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Cubs Spring Training Storylines Part 1

How will the Cubs work Schwarber into the mix at catcher?

It's important for the Cubs to continue working Schwarber behind the plate. It won't be his everyday spot going forward I don't believe and I'm also not sure they want him catching 120 games a year either. However his bat at the catcher spot is hard to find. If they can continue to work with him back there so he has the ability to be a part-time serviceable catcher it could pay dividends for years to come. I envision Schwarber getting 20-30 starts behind the plate this year. Let's face it, he isn't that good of a LF and the more starts he gets behind the plate the more starts Soler can get in the OF.  It is important with all of the flexibility on this Cubs roster that they don't have one or two players with the inability to move around the diamond outside of Rizzo. Here are some other outside the box ways of getting Schwarber some C time. 

-Personal catcher for Hendricks/5th starter
-Late inning substitution in blowouts 
-Starts w/Ross or Montero as late inning def replacement

Finally, without knowing if Contreras is ready to play big league ball Schwarber needs the experience in case of injury to Montero.