Both Ian Stewart and Josh Vitters have gone down with lateral strains. Both are expected to be out at least two weeks. Vitters had been slated to start the season in AAA Iowa. Stewart was signed to win the third base job.
As the Cubs website reported:
Cubs manager Dale Sveum said injured third baseman Ian
Stewart should have enough time to prepare for the regular season but
that the team now will get a look at the other options on the roster.
Both Stewart and third baseman Josh Vitters are sidelined 10 to 14
days with strained left quads. Luis Valbuena, Junior Lake and Christian
Villanueva will get most of the playing time at third now.
"It sounds like both [Stewart] and Vitters, at the earliest, will be
on the field in two weeks, but realistically three weeks," Sveum said.
"It's unfortunate for them. There will still be a fair enough amount of
games left after that to get enough at-bats and evaluate."
The Cubs do face some decisions regarding Stewart. His $2 million
contract is non-guaranteed, which is not unusual for an
arbitration-level player, but there is a March 16 deadline. If the Cubs
decide at that date that Stewart isn't ready, they can release him and
will be obligated to pay one-sixth of his salary ($333,333). If he's
released after that date and before the regular season opener, the Cubs
would owe Stewart $500,000.
"The fact of the matter is, three weeks from now puts you basically
at March 14, which puts you three weeks before Opening Day," Sveum said.
"If he's capable and the leg is fine, it'll be a cram session, that's
for sure."
Valbuena, 27, already has secured a spot on the 25-man roster and
impressed Sveum with his defensive play. On Saturday, he hit a solo home
run in the second inning, his second in as many days if you count
Friday's intrasquad game. He batted .306 in Venezuela this winter,
taking a more aggressive approach at the plate.
What if he was the Cubs' Opening Day starter at third?
"It's not my decision," Valbuena said. "I'd be so happy if I won that job. That's what I'm trying to do."
Lake, 22, who batted .279 at Double-A Tennessee last season, would be next in the pecking order.
"In the intrasquad games, he's done fine," Sveum said of Lake. "He
hasn't been tested. There's some mechanical things. He's very tall and
playing tall. He's got to play the position smaller. What I mean by
that, he wants to stand straight up after he fields a ground ball, so
there's some things we have to tweak.
"He's such a good athlete," Sveum said. "He's going to be one of
those third basemen who's not going to look like Scott Rolen but the
athleticism will allow him to do a lot of things at that position."
Villanueva, 21, played at Class A Daytona last year. There are no
plans to move top prospect Javier Baez from short to third, Sveum said.
Right now, it's wait and see.
"We really don't have a whole lot of other third basemen," Sveum said. "They both just went down."
In the last post, we commented on the Cubs lack of depth problem, especially at third base. The problem is now a full blown crisis. Valbuena is now the default starter. He brings little offense to the power position. Vitters stock is falling more than Apple. The idea of "rushing" Lake up the depth chart is a dangerous risk. First, he has only reached AA. Second, he is a shortstop. You would be coverting him to another position on short notice.
As odd as it sounds, the final decision may come down to money. The Cubs may want to cut their losses on Stewart and pay him the $333,333 for him to leave. That would open up a roster spot for a utility player like Brent Lillibridge, who would probably sign for the league veteran minimum.
