On Thursday, Rawlings announced Javy Baez was one of three Gold Glove finalists for second base in the National League (other Cubs’ finalists included past winners Anthony Rizzo and Jason Heyward). I was thrilled to see that Rawlings did not punish Baez for his multi-positional prowess, and recognized that his primary position this year was second base.
Of course, the business end of the Cubs’ front office may be less thrilled. This announcement likely added between $250,000-$500,000 to Baez’s 2019 arbitration salary. If all goes Baez’s way, it will almost certainly be the higher value.