Birch: What does the future hold for Javier Baez?

Javier Baez is ready for a return to the Chicago Cubs.

But are the Cubs ready for Baez to return to Chicago?

As Baez's bat gets hotter, the question has turned to when the young hard-hitting infielder will get his second shot at the big leagues.

Baez is hitting .311 with five home runs this season. He's shown signs of what made him one of the most coveted and most talked about young players in the game two seasons ago.

But, here's the problem: the Cubs don't appear to have a spot for him. Right now, Baez could be the only one without a chair when the music stops. Kris Bryant has a chair at third, Starlin Castro has one at short and Addison Russell is sitting at second.

But, Baez?

He appears to be the one on the outside looking in. Cubs director of player development Jaron Madison has said lately that there are no plans for Baez to play anywhere besides second or short.

So, where does he fit into things? There are tons of pieces to the puzzle as rummors have been tossed around.

Bryant could end up in the outfield, Russell could move to short and Castro could play second, third, or be the one on his way out. And while we're on it, is trading Castro really an option? Do you really want to get rid of him? The Cubs know what they have in Castro, an MLB All-Star infielder. The verdict is still out on Baez.

There could be other options, too.

When it comes to changing positions, you wonder if something new on defense can disrupt what they're doing on offense. And do the Cubs really want to move that many pieces around to get one to fit into place?

If you're the Cubs, you want Baez playing everyday, not coming off the bench and in and out of the lineup.

He's an everyday player, not a role player. So, do you trade him?

The talk among scouts around Des Moines this season has been that Baez is still a player valued by other teams and could be a prized possession on the trade market. If the Cubs are fishing for some starting pitchers, Baez could be the perfect bait.

The hotter Baez's bat gets, the more and more you wonder just how good he could be. You wonder if last season's .169 batting average and 95 strikeout performance in 52 games with Chicago was just a hiccup in the road.

The Cubs probably aren't worried that Baez won't reach his potential with them. They're probably worried that he will be with someone else. And that potential could be 30-plus homers and 100-plus RBI at the plate. While he's struggled at times defensively this season, by all accounts, he should offer a good glove.

"I don't want to get traded but if anything happens for a reason, we've just got to keep moving," Baez said.

One way or another, a decision is going to have to be made. Baez can't stay in the minors forever, at least not while he's hitting this well.

So, what will Theo Epstein, the Cubs' president of baseball operations and Jed Hoyer, the team's executive vce president/general manager do?

"I'm sure at some point, they're going to have to try to figure out where he fits and how all those pieces fit together," Madison said. "It's a great problem to have too many infielders that are good."

Baez believes his future is with the Cubs.

"They're going to figure it out soon and I'm pretty sure they're going to find a spot," Baez said.

If they don't, someone else certainly will.