Cubs manager Dale Sveum suggested the club's defensive struggles could result in a demotion for multiple players, including young first baseman Anthony Rizzo, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Rizzo made one of the Cubs' three errors in the field Saturday against Milwaukee. He is considered the Cubs' first baseman of the future, and some figured he would be up for good this season even with some early struggles. Sveum disagrees.
"I don’t think anything is invincible if you’re not performing," Sveum said. "That’s still the one main ingredient that has to happen to win baseball games. It’s not about what we think can happen three or four years from now."
Still, it's difficult to imagine the Cubs pulling the trigger on such a move. Rizzo hit .285 with 15 home runs in his first 87 games with the Cubs last season and has five home runs despite a .190 average early on this season. Most likely, Sveum is using the club's early struggles as a motivational tactic, but continued issues, either defensively and offensively, would be unadvisable for Rizzo.