As things stand, Darwin Barney is slated to be the Cubs’ primary middle infield backup, other than Jeff Baker (who’s more of a 2B/3B guy). But the Cubs may not be content to stand pat, and instead may seek to add a veteran who can play shortstop to back up Starlin Castro.
In his weekly chat, Bruce Levine offered two tidbits on the shortstop back up situation:
You’ve been talking about Orlando Cabrera quite a bit in the chats lately, is this wishful thinking or do you have a lead?
Bruce Levine: Well if you read my stuff, you know I don’t make things up. Read between the blogs.
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Look for the Cubs to look at Orlando Cabrera, Christian Guzman, or Julio Lugo. In my opinion, the first two make the most sense.
In other words, the Cubs are in discussions with Cabrera, but are probably holding out hope that they can get him on a minor league deal. Of the three, only Cabrera is worth a roster spot. Lugo is, attitudinally, an unattractive option. He was also brutally bad last year for the Orioles.
Guzman was likewise terrible last year, splitting time between Washington and Texas. He was also pretty bad in 2009, and he has a career OPS under .700. He doesn’t bring much to the table other than a decent glove, something Darwin Barney could certainly duplicate.