It is pretty clear that the Cubs could look to upgrade every position on their roster.
In fact, most GMs take a critical view of their past season to determine where the critical areas that need an immediate upgrade and how to accomplish that task.
SECOND BASE: Darwin Barney is a fan favorite. He is a good defender, but a horrible bat.
Alternative: Logan Watkins was brought up for a long stretch of the season, but sat mostly on the bench, getting only 42 PA in 2013. He hit like Barney did, around .211. So this does not appear to be an internal upgrade.
THIRD BASE: Luis Valbuena became the default third baseman last season. But he has a poor batting average and average fielding skills.
Alternative: Donnie Murphy was taken off the waiver wire and suddenly found a power stroke, hitting 11 HR but only 23 RBI with a .255 BA. Some believe that a platoon at third base may be sufficient. The minors only have struggling Josh Vitters and Mike Olt at third base in AAA. Neither seems to be a likely candidate to upgrade the position next year.
LEFT FIELD: It would appear that Junior Lake became the default LF for the team, but tailed off in 64 games to hit only .284, 6 HR and 16 RBI.
Alternative: Brian Bogusevic, in 47 games, hit 6 HR, 16 RBI with a .272 BA. So, he is one in the same type player and not an upgrade.
CENTERFIELD: David DeJesus started the year in center, but it seems that Ryan Sweeney will be the starter next season. In 70 games, he hit .272 with 6 HR and 19 RBI.
Alternative: Bogusevic and Lake are the same reserve outfielder players in terms of production.The best minor league outfielders in Iowa were cut by the Cubs, Julio Borbon and Dave Sappelt.
FIRST BASE: Anthony Rizzo is a core player for the team, but he regressed poorly last season.
Alternative: The Cubs really have no depth at first base in the system. At AAA, Brad Nelson, 30, hit .271 with 20 HR, 71 RBI but he has been 4 years removed since a small stint in the majors with the Brewers in 2009. He is not a viable alternative to Rizzo.
CATCHER: Wellington Castillo has become the main catcher for the Cubs, but he may have started some injury issues.
Alternative: The Cubs have no major league caliber catcher ready in the system.
SHORTSTOP: Starlin Castro is another core player for the future, who regressed this season.
Alternative: The buzz is around Javier Baez, who tore up A and AA ball this past season. However, Baez is still a full year away from promotion to the majors. He still needs to work on his defense. But fans can see an offensive production upgrade from Baez over Castro.
RIGHT FIELD: Nate Schierholtz had a career year because for the first time in his career he was a starter. Well, mostly a starter as he played in 137 games and hit .251, 21 HR, 68 RBI. Those are not great power numbers from a power position.
Alternative: There are no minor league or AAAA alternatives in the system because the other main outfielders in Iowa, Darnell McDonald and Ty Wright, did not show much power or RBI production.
So it is pretty clear that the Cubs have no internal options to upgrade any position in 2014. And since Theo Epstein said that the team was not going to spend on any significant free agents this off season, none of these positions appear will be upgraded by management.
