Like many first-time visitors, Javy Baez nearly got lost Friday morning trying to navigate the Cubs’ new clubhouse.
Fresh off the 15-day disabled list and a stint at Class AAA Iowa, Baez hastily unpacked and began to settle into a new locker before the Cubs’ 6-1 loss to the Rockies. Manager Joe Maddon said he will look to get Baez in the lineup “relatively soon.”
“A young guy like that, you cannot sit too long,” Maddon said.
To make room, the Cubs optioned infielder Munenori Kawasaki back to Iowa.
In four games at Iowa, Baez played shortstop, second base, third base and left field. The 23-year-old said he’s up for all of it.
“I came here to have fun, to play and to help the team,” Baez said.
Baez went 4-for-15 with a home run at Iowa. He experienced a slight setback last week when he was hit in the head by a pitch. Baez didn’t suffer a concussion, but he was given a couple of days off before returning to the lineup this week.
Baez appeared in 28 games last season and hit .289. Maddon said Baez will play “all over the map,” giving second baseman Ben Zobrist and shortstop Addison Russell days off and, against left-handed pitchers, stepping in for right fielder Jason Heyward.
After a couple of seasons Baez characterized as “up and down,” he said he’s ready to take everything he has learned and put it all together.
How often he’ll get to do that is unknown.
“With the team that we have, we’re going to be platooning a lot,” Baez said. “But, yeah, for sure, I’m going to look to be on the field every day.
“We got a pretty nasty lineup. The other teams, they’re going to have to pick somebody to pitch [to]. Hopefully it’s me. I’ll be ready for it.”
