Ostrowski: Chicago Cubs roster dilemma? Blame Happ
Joe Maddon is known for bringing the circus to the ballpark. Professional juggler will now be in his job description.
It's Ian Happ's fault. He has been with the big club for a week and earned his stay with a .333 average, .462 on-base percentage, and 1.176 on-base plus slugging. Happ already has played all three outfield positions and hit second and cleanup in Maddon's lineup.
Once Jason Heyward is officially activated from the disabled list, Tommy LaStella is expected to be sent back down to Triple A-Iowa. Sorry, Tommy, it's Happ's fault.
Five of the eight position players are locked in most days. Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Willson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber.
That leaves six Cubs for three positions: second base, center field and right field. Three guys in their young 20s who need playing time, a World Series MVP, a highly paid defensive stud and someone Maddon has said he wants to adopt.
Albert Almora, Javier Baez, Happ, Heyward, Jon Jay and Ben Zobrist. These six already have played a combined 15 positions this year. Two switch hitters, two right-handed hitters and two from the left side.
Almora: The 23-year-old has only played center field this season after roaming the entire outfield as a rookie. Almora's offensive numbers are just over a 100-game sample size, but the splits between right- and left-handed pitching is drastic.
While excelling against lefties with a .314 average, .368 OBP and .968 OPS, Almora's OPS drops 353 points against righties. The defense has struggled early on, compared to 2016. A candidate to be demoted if needed.
Baez: One of Maddon's favorites can be a very streaky player. Baez can win you games with his glove and bat. But he also can be frustrating when he doesn't make the routine play or chases pitches outside of the strike zone. The NLCS co-MVP is still only 24.
Happ: The 2015 draft pick is a switch hitter who might get action at the corner infield positions. If his bat cools off, he could be sent back to the minors. Maddon stacks the top of the batting order with his best hitters, and that's exactly where Happ has been.
Heyward: One of the best defensive players in Major League Baseball. His 9 defensive runs saved is the most of any outfielder, even though some have played over 100 more innings.
Heyward doesn't have much of a shot against southpaws, but he makes such an impact defensively, the Cubs don't really care.
Jay: After 3,131 plate appearances, matchups don't matter for Jay. His average and OBP are nearly identical.
Zobrist: There isn't a clear advantage against righties or lefties for this switch hitter either. The veteran has won back-to-back championships.
Good luck, Maddon. It's Happ's fault.
• Joe Ostrowski is a co-host of the "Hit & Run" baseball show from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on WSCR 670-AM The Score with Barry Rozner. Follow him on Twitter@JoeO670.