Whither Andres Blanco.
The Chicago Cubs have been experimenting with Mike Fontenot quite a bit at shortstop this Spring, even as Fontenot was trying to nail down the starting second base gig. Apparently the experiment has proved successful, as it looks more and more clear that Fontenot will open the season as the backup at shortstop.
[Alan Trammell] expressed confidence that second baseman Mike Fontenot could handle a backup role at short.
“I’m confident to say that he could do it,” Trammell said. “We’ve played him a few games there, and I’m glad we got him in just recently back-to-back games at short because so often in spring training, you can play a game and get taken out in the middle of the game and then not play there for while. Then you go back out there, and my point is, you don’t get any action. When you play him there two games in a row, at whatever position, you usually get tested.” Daily Herald.
Sounds to me that Fontenot is the guy to back up short, which means that Andres Blanco will not be making the Chicago Cubs. Blanco is out of options, so one has to wonder if he’ll be traded before Spring Training ends.
As for Fontenot, odds are, he’ll only play shortstop on the very, very rare occasion that Ryan Theriot is healthy, but needs a day off. If Theriot is ever injured for more than a day or two, it’s likely that the Cubs will make the call to bring up Starlin Castro or Darwin Barney to replace Theriot.