Chicago Cubs seeking a third baseman – MLB News
As the Winter Meetings kicked off on Monday, December 3, almost every club seemed to be making most out of the free agent market. The Chicago Cubs, all the same, are looking for a third baseman. Reports suggest they will be considering the option of having a platoon at third base.
Be that as it may, one experienced and dependable third baseman is what remains the central focus at the moment. Choices available are manifold – albeit not immensely irresistible, so it seems. The Cubs, therefore, may once again be weighing the option of offering a contract to Ian Stewart.
Cubs’ president of baseball operations Theo Epstein is a meticulous handler. With years of experience embellishing his credentials, he is all for being creative at this point in time.
Questions were posed to him on Monday about the strategy the Cubs have laid down. Knowing well the constraints when it comes to the availability of the third baseman, Epstein said on Monday:
"[We might have to] rely on players who haven't held down that position over 150 games in the big leagues or rely on a platoon or rely on someone who is more of a middle-of-the-field player who can provide plus defense over at third. There are not a lot of obvious fits of everyday third basemen in trade or free agents available right now. When that happens, you don't throw in the white towel but try to be creative to piece it together."
It was wrist surgery that rendered Ian Stewart unable to have a regular fixture the past season. Instead, Luis Valbuena came to fill the position and batted .219. Stewart, on the other hand, had batting average of .201 in 55 games that he features, hitting five home-runs coupled with 17 RBIs.
Epstein, nonetheless, is confident that things will go his club’s way largely because the free agents know well the positive direction the Cubs are moving at the moment. Manager Dale Sveum has put things in order despite all the odds confronting him and the club. It is the recent developments, positive as they are, that the Cubs hope will help them.
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