In light of the recent offensive woes of the entire team -- namely Mike Fontenot, though -- Cubs manager Lou Piniella admitted it's a possibility to move Alfonso Soriano to second base. He did say it was a "last resort," but possible. You might recall Soriano played the majority of his early career at second, however, he's only played there for two innings since his move to the National League in 2006. Moving Soriano to second base would give a huge boost to the Cubs' offense -- which just scored a meek two runs in a three-game series at St. Louis -- by enabling Micah Hoffpauir everyday at-bats in left field. Fontenot, along with Bobby Scales and Aaron Miles, would still be able to accrue at-bats at third base until Aramis Ramirez is healed.
The Cubs, who led the National League in nearly every offensive category last season, are 10th in runs scored and ninth in OPS this season.
When a team loses someone like Ramirez from the middle of their lineup, they need other players to pick up the slack. With the Cubs, you have Geovany Soto, Milton Bradley and Derrek Lee still hitting well below their capabilities -- though all three have shown some signs of awaking. Still, the offense needs a jolt, and Hoffpauir can rake. In only 78 at-bats this season, he is hitting .314/.372/.557 with 5 doubles, four home runs and 14 RBI.
Not only would Hoffpauir's bat help, but the trickle-down effect of having him in the lineup everyday would help everyone else. In this scenario, Ryan Freel would likely be used exclusively as a fifth outfielder. The trio of Miles, Scales and Fontenot (who is 2-for-32 in his last 10 starts) hardly scares anyone, and the Cubs have been using two of those three per game. Soriano taking over at second would enable the Cubs to only use one.
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