28-year old righty reliever Angel Guzman has a significant ligament tear in the front bottom part of his right shoulder. Whether he needs surgery or rehab he is likely going to miss a big chunk of the 2010 season for the Cubs. Guzman pitched in 55 games (0 starts) for the Cubs last season and he was 3-3 with 1 save, a 2.95 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Guzman only allowed 41 hits in 61 innings last season for the Cubs as it all finally seemed to come together for him in 2009. This is a bad break for both Guzman and the Cubs.

Right field is looking like a platoon position for the Cubs in 2010 between lefty swinging Kosuke Fukudome and righty swinging Xavier Nady. 32-year old lefty swinging Fukudome played in 146 games for the Cubs last season and he was 129 of 499 (.259 avg, .796 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 11 homers, 54 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Fukudome was helpless against lefty pitchers hitting only .164 with a .532 OPS. But, against righties, Fukudome hit .270 with a .828 OPS. Fukudome was a terrible center fielder last season for the Cubs but he is solid in RF which is his natural position. Fukudome didn’t make any errors in 44 games in RF for the Cubs last season and he showed outstanding range. His arm is a little short for RF as he only had 1 assist from RF. Look for Fukudome to be more productive in 2010 playing in RF and likely only against righty pitchers.

31-year old righty swinging Xavier Nady’s 2009 season was cut short by Tommy John Surgery. The Cubs need him healthy enough to platoon with Fukudome this season. Nady played in 7 games for the Yankees last season and he was 8 for 28 (.286 avg, .739 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs. In his career (679 games) in the majors, Nady has a .280 batting average with a .792 OPS. Nady has scored a run every 7.8 at bats, whacked a homer every 25.9 ABs and he has knocked in a run every 6.9 ABs in his major league career. Nady will be productive for the Cubs as long as he can stay healthy. Nady didn’t make any errors in 6 games in RF for the Yanks last season while showing below average range.

29-year old lefty swinging Micah Hoffpauir could also get some P.T. in RF for the Cubs this season. He played in 25 games in RF for the Cubs last season and he made 1 error while showing slightly above average range. Hoffpauir only had 1 assist from RF so he doesn’t have a big time arm.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2010: B-

32-year old righty swinging Marlon Byrd will be the starting CF in 2010 for the Cubs. He will give the Cubs improved defensive play and hitting from the position in 2010. Byrd played in 146 games for the Rangers last season and he was 155 of 547 (.283 avg, .808 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 20 homers, 89 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Byrd played in 104 games in CF last season for the Rangers and he made 5 errors while showing below average range. He only had 3 assists so he doesn’t have a big arm out there but he is a much better defensive player in CF than Kosuke Fukudome.

28-year old lefty swinging Sam Fuld will try to make the Cubs as Byrd’s backup in 2010. Fuld played in 65 games for the Cubs last season and he was 29 of 97 (.299 avg, .821 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 1 homer, 2 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Fuld also played in 84 games in AAA-ball in which he was 93 of 328 (.284 avg, .772 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 2 homers, 33 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Fuld didn’t make any errors in 26 games in CF for the Cubs last season but he didn’t have any assists and showed poor range there. If Fuld improves his range a little bit in the field he could be a nice asset off the bench for the Cubs in 2010.

24-year old lefty swinging Tyler Colvin is a player on the rise in the Cubs’ system and he will battle with Fuld for a roster spot. Colvin played in 6 games for the Cubs last season and he was 3 of 17 (.176 avg, .426 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. He also played in 116 games in A+AA ball last season and he was 120 of 419 (.286 avg, .812 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 15 homers, 60 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Colvin didn’t make any errors in 6 games in CF for the Cubs last season and he showed outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2010: B

The bottom line for the Cubs is that they need 34-year old righty swinging LF Alfonso Soriano to give them 150 or more games in 2010. He played in only 117 games for the Cubs last season and he was 115 of 477 (.241 avg, .726 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 20 homers, 55 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Soriano has only averaged 120.3 games played, 79 runs scored, 27.3 homers, 66.7 RBIs and 15.7 stolen bases per season in his three years with the Cubs. The good thing about Soriano’s numbers with the Cubs is that he would project out to scoring 99 runs, whacking 34 homers, knocking in 83 runs and stealing 20 bases if the played in 150 games based on his averages with the team. The Cubs would gladly take those kind of numbers out of Soriano in 2010. Soriano has to hit the ball well because he is not a good defensive left fielder. Soriano played in 116 games in LF last season for the Cubs and he made 11 errors while showing slightly below average range. He did have 7 assists last season as his arm is still strong but that is about his only asset defensively.

31-year old Xavier Nady will be Soriano’s top backup in LF in 2010. But, most of his time will be spent in RF probably platooning with Kosuke Fukudome.

29-year old lefty swinging Micah Hoffpauir will have a decent chance of making the Cubs this season as a backup OF/1B. He played in 105 games for the Cubs last season and he was 56 for 234 (.239 avg, .727 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 10 homers and 35 RBIs. Hoffpauir didn’t make any errors in 11 games in LF for the Cubs last season but he showed poor range there.

24-year old lefty swinging Tyler Colvin is a long shot to make the Cubs. He is a natural CF but he could play left if the Cubs need him to.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LF IN 2010: B-

The Cubs need 31-year old righty swinging Aramis Ramirez to stay healthy in 2010. Ramirez played in 82 games for the Cubs last season and he was 97 for 306 (.317 avg, .905 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 15 homers and 65 RBIs. The Cubs are expecting the Ramirez of 2004-2008 that averaged 86.6 runs scored, 31.6 homers and 105.2 RBIs to show up in 2010 for them. Ramirez played in 79 games for the Cubs last season at 3B and he made 10 errors while showing below average range.

29-year old lefty swinging Mike Fontenot and 28-year old righty swinging Jeff Baker will get most of their P.T. at 2B but either of them can handle 3B if Ramirez gets hurt. Fontenot played in 50 games at 3B for the Cubs last season and he made 4 errors while showing slightly below average range. Baker played in 20 games at 3B for the Cubs last season and he only made 1 error while also showing below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: A-