Bruce Levine, Len Kasper and Matt Spiegel joined Cole Wright on Cubs 360 to debate the following question: Could Ed Howard replace Javier Báez as the shortstop of the future for the Cubs?

Spiegel believes that Howard will move to shortstop and Báez will migrate to a different position in around three to four years.

“I think it’s a decent bet for a couple of reasons,” Spiegel said. “I think Javy’s going to be the one to sign an extension if there is only one of the group. The other thing is is that history is littered with shortstops moving to third base to save their legs a little bit while they remain offensive stars…Even if they kept Javy and Bryant, I could see Javy going to third, Bryant going to the outfield and Ed Howard staying at short.”

Levine, on the other hand, says that Howard will move to third base while Báez stays at shortstop.

“I think Ed Howard is your third baseman down the road,” Levine said. “The reason for that is at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds already at 18 years of age, you can tell the young man is going to grow even bigger. That doesn’t mean that at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds he can’t play shortstop, but I see a power hitter here in the future. I see the possibility of him moving into that corner there.”