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Forward-thinking Cubs move LaHair to right field

The Cubs moved one step closer Monday to calling up first-base phenom Anthony Rizzo.

For the opener of their interleague series against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, they moved current first baseman Bryan LaHair to right field and right fielder David DeJesus from right to center.

Tony Campana played left field for Alfonso Soriano, who served as the designated hitter, with backup catcher Steve Clevenger going to first base.

Things were an immediate success as LaHair homered and made a nice catch in the Cubs’ 12-3 victory.

The highly touted Rizzo hit his 23rd home run of the season Sunday for Class AAA Iowa, and he took an overall hitting line of .364/.426/.745 for an OPS of 1.170 into Monday.

It appears to be only a matter of time before Rizzo comes up.

“I think you have to look what happened last year,” said team president Theo Epstein, referring to Rizzo struggling after the San Diego Padres called him up during the season. The Cubs traded for Rizzo in the off-season.

“Great numbers and then was rushed a little bit,” Epstein continued. “He came up and struggled. It’s important that we always put players in position to succeed. You always put your major-league club in position to succeed. You see with the lineup tonight that we might be taking a look at players in different positions to allow the team to be in a position to succeed when we do potentially make a move. Those things, you don’t necessarily want to rush into them. It’s more the development than numbers.”

With the Cubs playing by American League rules for three games this week, they have the luxury of experimenting.

“When you get to an American League lineup like this, you can do a few more things with the lineup,” said manager Dale Sveum. “Obviously, LaHair playing right field might eventually happen. We all know that there’s a day when Rizzo’s going to be here. So it’s kind of getting him acclimated to the outfield, too.”

LaHair looked like a natural in the first inning, when he ran back to the wall to snag Gordon Beckham’s drive. In the third, he cranked a 404-foot home run to right-center, his 13th of the season.

“I was kind of ready for it,” LaHair said of the catch. “The ball was hit, I got a pretty good read on it, took a good angle. I’m ready for whatever they want me to do, however I can help the team win.”

Since he has only 10 big-league games of experience in right field, LaHair got a call Monday morning from Sveum to give him the news.

“I’m not too worried that,” LaHair said. “I’m going to put in the work now. I’ve played in the outfield quite a bit in my life. It should be a pretty minor adjustment.”

Like Rizzo, LaHair had a monster year at Iowa last season, and he seemed to know a change might be coming.

“I think in the back of my mind there was always the thought of moving to the outfield at some point,” he said. “It’s not like a complete surprise.

“This will be a new challenge. I’ll be working defensively in a new spot. It’s a lot of fun.”

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