Today, let's review shortstop in general.
2009:
Shortstop was the most stable spot on the field in 2009. It began and ended with Ryan Theriot. As usual, Theriot started the season out well, and even showed a little bit of power early in the year. Theriot maintained a near .300 average up until September when, as usual, he slumped. He finished the season with a line of .284/7/54, right in line with his career averages. He stole 21 bases, his lowest total in his 3 complete seasons at shortstop...but, like 2008 was caught in 1/3 of his attempts. He hasn't been able to regain that edge on the bases that he had in 2007 when he stole 27 bases while only being caught 4 times.
Theriot: "See, I'm not that short." Soto: "Dude, your on a step!"
Theriot's strikeouts where up last year, though. This is a bit disturbing as it seemed that he was trying to hit for the fences a bit more, something he really isn't equipped to do. His career slugging percentage is .369...which is kinda sad.
You should've stayed on first! (we saw a lot of this in 2009!)
Defensively...well...he fields the position. Had his career average in errors...but that's on balls he could actually get to.
But he played almost every day and was healthy all season. That's a big positive for this team.
2010: What's likely to happen
Expect Theriot to start the season at shortstop. But the Cubs are very excited about Starlin Castro in the minors who is considered the system's top prospect. Depending on Castro's progress after spring training this year, expect the Cubs to start working Theriot out at second base a little more, or possibly even trade him. It's not a given that the Cubs are settled at second base right now. If they go out and get an every day player at second before the season starts, Theriot would likely be offered up as trade bait. The Jeff Baker/Mike Fontenot platoon is one that doesn't really excite a lot of people right now.
Hey Cub fans, this is your future at shortstop.
With that being said, though, Castro is likely still at least a year away. A trade or move for Theriot might be a year off. He won't be a free agent until 2013 but is arbitration eligible this year. Theriot will start the season at shortstop and will likely end it there. He's been fairly consistent throughout his career, so you can expect him to bat between .280 and .290 with about 5 homers and 50 rbi. And he'll probably continue to be a bit careless on the base pads with 20 stolen bases while being caught about 10 times.
Doc's Comments
If you want to know what I think about Theriot, look at yesterday's post. He should be moved to second base. We can put Fontenot or Baker at shortstop (or some third guy) while the organization waits for Starlin Castro. Many other teams are coveting Castro right now, and if Jim Hendry is crazy enough to make a blockbuster trade, Castro might be involved. But right now, the Cubs have said that they are not willing to part with the kid.
But as far as Theriot...he plays everyday, he's relatively consistent and tries hard. Every team needs a player like him. Unfortunately, the Cubs have about 5 players like him...and that's a bit of a problem. But Theriot is the best of them.
We'll see what happens.
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