In many old movies, a platoon was a bunch of soldiers trapped in a WWI trench, a foxhole or a tangled jungle, facing adversity of combat.
In baseball, the concept of a platoon is two players "sharing" a position. It is like using two part time employees at the fast food register instead of hiring one full timer.
The reasons for platooning players are plentiful. One, managers may adopt the idea that a left handed bat is better against right handed pitching and vice-versa. The team may think it can have a hitting advantage with a lefty and righty hitter sharing one position on the field. Two, no matter the batting stance, a manager may have two similar talent level players who do not have the skill set to start every day. By sharing the position, a manager may attempt to minimize a player's deficiencies (such as defense). Three, a manager may platoon in order to build up morale in the clubhouse. This harks back to Little League where "everybody plays" rule. Four, the general manager may have decided that it is cheaper to have a bunch of utility players sharing spots on the roster than spending premium money for actual starters.
With all those factors in play, the Cubs seem to be falling toward the latter.
The Cubs payroll continues to decline. The front office is not trying to win 83 games (as Ricketts said they could do in their sleep) because the club wants either to win big or lose big (to get high, guaranteed draft picks). One way to repress winning is to have a major platoon system because players will not get into a comfortable rhythm or routine. This is readily available with the Cubs currently averaging between 42 to 48 percent strike out rate during their early games. A platoon player wants to "make the best" of his playing time, and usually overcompensates toward failure.
The Cubs have many platoons:
CF: Bonifacio and Sweeney
LF: Lake and Kalish
RF: Ruggiano and Schierholtz
3B: Olt and Valbuena
2B: Bonifacio and Barney
The Cubs line up is 62.5% platoon which has to lead the majors.
You could probably add a platoon situation, or closer by committee in the bullpen with Veras struggling and Strop doing okay.
A platoon also indicates which players the front office believes are keepers. Those players are the ones not currently in a platoon situation: Castro, Castillo and Rizzo. These three players have to have above average performance to off-set the platoons. This is not basketball where three star players can carry a team to victory or the playoffs. You need probably seven good starters to be competitive.
So the Cubs continue to be a long way off on the competitive road.
