They originally thought Baez would be moved to 3rd, but discovered that his fielding/throwing skills were better than first thought. But Baez does not have the range Castro has. He moves slower, but is more consistent with the balls he gets to. Lake is highly thought of defensively, but they are not sure Junior will hit enough. 3 Shortstops at this point with no clear vision as to which one will eventually take the position long term. I just really like the way Barney plays the game. He's outstanding defensively, has pretty good speed (though he should really work on stealing bases more effectively if he wants to hold onto 2B) and has the ability to hit to all fields. Plus, he showed a bit more power last season and hopefully that trend continues. Rizzo at 1st, Barney at 2nd, and Castro/Baez on the left side. Almora, Soler/Jackson in OF, Wellington Castillo at C. Could be real good. It's likely not all of them pan out as we might hope, but things are looking up.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Barney needs to step it up on offense to be a keeper. Obviously he is solid defensively, but he lacks speed and power so hopefully he takes a step this year at the plate.

I didnt think much of Barney at first but he's got a chance to be a nice player.

If he can develop some more discipline and just a little bit of power (even doubles power) he'll be a good piece on a winning team.

Agreed, they should be getting big league at bats...

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Barney is nl Gordon Beckham, he better start to hit or move him.

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