Good points, craig. The issue for me is how to get Almora more playing time without eating into the ABs for Happ or Baez. It will probably require fewer starts for Zobrist (he had almost 500 PAs last season). It would help a lot if Zobrist would rebound from his terrible season vs. LHP. That would give him plenty of time at corner OF vs. tough LH pitchers. Over half his ABs last year came at 2B, and I think that number needs to drop.
Yes, good points, I agree on all of them.
1. **Very** desirable that Zobrist rebounds vs LHP. Need that to lift starts from Heyward and Schwarber vs lefties. (*IF* both Zo and Happ well vs LHP, you could start Happ-Almora-Zo, and have Rizzo-only-lefty lineup. With La Stella, Heyward, and Schwarber on bench.)
2. Agree that Zobrist could cut way back at 2B. More for Baez, and perhaps also more for La Stella? (If Heyward is status quo or worse, I could see more starts for Tommy at 2B, with Baez at 3rd and Bryant in OF.)
3. I just think Zo should probably cut back altogether, unless his hitting picks up a lot. If he got "only" 350 PA, (which is still a lot for a bench guy), then taking 150 from him and 430 from Jay and you've got 580 extras to divvy up between Almora, Happ, and Baez. No worries about Almora or Happ getting blocked.