Baez Praise, Theo Shame

Just a little Javier Baez praise after I just learned yesterday that the Cubs had tried to trade Javier Baez in 2017. Let's think about that. With the 2018 and 2019 seasons, the Cubs would have fallen on the Cubs' collective face if not for Baez. Theo believed the sole core or the Cubs is Rizzo and Bryant.

Currently, as of Aug 5th, 2019 - Javier leads the Cubs in every offensive stat except Runs and he is second. I'm not sure who was dumber; the Cubs for trying to remove much of the Cubs Offense or the Tigers for not seeing the possibilities.

Yes, in 2017 Baez was not keeping up with Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, but in 2018 and 2019 he performed much better than both.

So far, compared to the two players the Cubs said were the sole back bone:

        Year    R    H  2B  3B  HR  XBH  RBI  SB    BA   OBP 
Baez    2017   75  128  24   2  23   49   75  10  .273  .317
Rizzo   2017   99  156  32   3  32   67  109  10  .273  .392 
Bryant  2017  111  162  38   4  29   71   73   7  .295  .409

Baez    2018  101  176  40   9  34   83  111  21  .290  .326
Rizzo   2018   74  160  29   1  25   55  101   6  .283  .376
Bryant  2018   59  106  28   3  13   44   52   2  .272  .374

Baez    2019   79  130  30   4  28   62   76   9  .290  .323
Rizzo   2019   68  113  24   2  21   47   71   5  .285  .390
Bryant  2019   81  113  30   1  21   52   51   2  .284  .385

In 2018, Javier beat Rizzo and Bryant in every number but On Base Percentage. In 2019, Baez leads in most stats.