David Bote has primarily been a second baseman and third baseman in the minor leagues, though he’s capably played in the outfield, and then started picking up starts at shortstop this year with Iowa.
That seems like it was a good move, because the Cubs use him later today to give Javy Baez a breather at shortstop, per Joe Maddon. We figured this was coming soon, what with so many games in so many days for the Cubs, and no one else in a great spot – in terms of the roster – to sub in for Baez. So Bote it is.
Bote’s range there at short won’t be like Baez or Addison Russell, and his smoothness around the bag will probably be muted by the fact that he’s probably a little more used to playing on the other side of second base, but from what we’ve seen, there’s no reason to believe he can’t be capable out there.
Separately, did you see his great play at third last night? This could have been a seriously dangerous inning, but Bote helped gum it up for the Mets by making this fantastic bare-handed play:
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I look forward to Bote dropping some highlights on us later today when he’s diving all over the place at shortstop, including for the final out of the game probably.