Let’s be honest, though. It’s a least a little bit about Szczur.

I think Soler has the ability to handle the role he’s been given and be productive. But I think he needs time to adjust and develop first, and I’m not sure he’s going to get that playing part time. And if he doesn’t, that won’t make him any good in his current role.

Again I think all of these guys belong up here (and that’s where we may slightly disagree) there’s just only so much playing time available, and for now the guys who still aren’t automatic locks in the lineup are Soler, Szczur, Schwarber and La Stella but could see them also getting a day or two in place of Heyward/Fowler to let them get a day of rest. In the meantime they’ll continue to get ABs when the situation calls for it.

So to your point, I do agree with you in the sense that Soler could use some extra work, I think though if we make that argument we could then make the case for Schwarber as well (to work on his fielding and catching) although I think Soler could use it more, which is the problem here, because he’s the one being squeezed in this instance. I just don’t think it would be the right thing to do. We are here to win now and every guy on the roster plays a key role in this team going forward.

I do think La Stella being left-handed and the splits against De La Rosa played a role in him coming into the game, but I don’t think it tells the entire story. That’s why I mentioned that it was, at least in a small way, a commentary on Maddon’s trust of Soler. If the trust was fully there and the LHH really was truly that important, why was Bryant starting? We all know it would be silly not to start him.

To your final point, I don’t think Soler would jump anyone on the depth chart by getting some time in Triple-A and figuring out some of his issues. But that’s not what this is about. He’s far more valuable to the team if he can hit and be trusted in left field on defense. Without further development, through repetitions, I’m not so sure we’ll be able to say that about him. Doing all the things I wrote about might make him better prepared for the part-time role he’s currently looking at in the big leagues right now.

Thank you for reading and again for the thoughtful comment.

In regards to your point about Maddon inserting La Stella last night instead of Soler and that being a concern, I think was again based off of Maddons preference of having a lefty in the lineup to face De la Rosa who had a career .304 OBP to RHB but a .369 OBP to LHB. He wanted to stick with the lefty in that situation.

With this team having so much depth and versatility I suspect Maddon to continue playing the numbers and or the hot hand. However with this injury now to Kyle Schwarber this will be a great opportunity for Soler, Szczur and La Stella to see an increased role in playing time.

I believe this is one of the reasons the team has elected to keep Soler rather than trading him for a starter. Injuries happen and are a big part of the game. With this much depth we won’t really miss a beat with Schwarber out. However we’re obviously better with him than without him.

Lastly, if this were about development my question to you would be, do you think Soler would jump any player in the lineup today if he had say 300 more at bats and 75 more games under his belt in Triple A? My answer would be no. He wouldn’t be playing over Fowler with the way he’s started the season and not over Heyward who they just committed 180 million dollars to so it kind of is what it is at the moment and that is why I think it’s more about this teams enormous amount of depth rather than Soler’s development. It’s a good problem to have especially when injuries to key players happen like the one we saw last night.

Love talking baseball with bright minds of the game so again I respect the article and your opinion and just wanted to share why I look at it just a bit deifferently.