It would seem like 28-year old righty swinging Jeff Baker and 29-year old lefty swinging Mike Fontenot would be perfect platoon players. But, Baker is a better hitter and defender so he should start most of the time at 2B for the Cubs in 2010. Baker played in 69 games for the Cubs last season and he was 62 for 203 (.305 avg, .810 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 4 homers and 21 RBIs. He played in 81 games overall with the Rockies and Cubs last season and he was 65 for 226 (.288 avg, .768 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 4 homers and 24 RBIs. Baker has the potential to put up big numbers if he were to get 500 at bats this season and the Cubs should give him that shot. Baker only made 2 errors in 52 games at 2B last season while showing good range.

Mike Fontenot played in 135 games for the Cubs last season and he was 89 for 377 (.236 avg, .678 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 9 homers, 43 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Fontenot was really good for the Cubs in 2008 and they hope he can rebound from a poor 2009. Fontenot made 3 errors in 70 games at 2B last season while showing poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: C

The Cubs have signed 38-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Kevin Millar to a minor league deal. Millar played in 78 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 56 for 251 (.223 avg, .674 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 7 homers and 29 RBIs. He has now played in 1,427 games in his major league career and he is 1,284 for 4,688 (.274 avg, .810 OPS) with 648 runs scored, 170 homers and 699 RBIs. Millar will have a chance to win a spot on the bench for the Cubs in 2010.

The Cubs were pretty poor when righty starter Fergie Jenkins pitched for them but that didn’t stop him from winning his fair share of games. Jenkins pitched in 401 games (347 starts) in his 10 years for the Cubs and he was 167-132 with 6 saves, a 3.20 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He won the Cy Young Award in the N.L. in 1971 with the Cubbies. In that year he pitched in 39 games (all starts) in which he was 24-13 with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He pitched an amazing 30 complete games in 1971 working 325 innings in which he allowed 304 hits and whiffed 263 batters. Jenkins is the Cubs’ all-time leader in games started (347) and strikeouts (2,038). He also is #5 all-time in games pitched (401), #5 in wins (167), #9 in WHIP (1.12), #4 in shutouts (29) and he is #3 in innings pitched (2,673 2/3). Jenkins was one of the best players in Cubs’ history and he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.

34-year old Derek Lee is still one of the best overall 1B in all of baseball. He played in 141 games for the Cubs last season and he was 163 for 532 (.306 avg, .972 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 35 homers and 111 RBIs. Lee will continue to rake for the Cubs as it seems like the perfect kind of team for him to be on. He also is still solid in the field as he made 6 errors in 139 games at 1B last season. He is always a threat to win the Gold Glove as he makes the rest of the Cubs’ infielders better defenders.

29-year old lefty swinging Chad Tracy will back-up Lee in 2010. He played in 98 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 61 for 257 (.237 avg, .695 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 8 homers and 39 RBIs. Tracy has a career batting average of .280 with a .792 OPS so the thinking is that he just had a off season with the bat in 2009. Tracy only made 2 errors in 66 games for the D-Backs last season and he is an average defender.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: A

The Cubs have signed 29-year old lefty swinging 1B Chad Tracy to a minor league deal. Tracy played in 98 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 61 for 257 (.237 avg, .695 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 8 homers and 39 RBIs. He has now played in 704 games in his major league career and he is 654 for 2,338 (.280 avg, .792 OPS) with 293 runs scored, 78 homers and 318 RBIs. I like this signing for the Cubs as Tracy could give them a nice lefty power bat off the bench in 2010.