Jed Hoyer: Javy Baez Experiment In Outfield Will Get Long Look

(CBS) As it stands now, Jason Heyward will be the Cubs' primary center fielder when the new season gets underway, but he won't be the only new face in Chicago's outfield.

After coming up through the minor leagues as an infielder, Javy Baez will also get his fair share of looks in the outfield, general manager Jed Hoyer said in an interview on the Spiegel and Goff Show on Friday morning.

Baez, 23, routinely took practice reps in the outfield at Triple-A Iowa last season and then slotted into center field on several occasions in winter ball in Puerto Rico more recently.

"Javy looked really good in Puerto Rico playing center field -- obviously a small sample size and obviously he has things to work on," Hoyer said. "But we'll be experimenting with him in the outfield quite a bit. The more he can move around the diamond, the more he can help us."

A vision of the front office is to provide manager Joe Maddon as many versatile players as possible, and the ability to play the outfield means Baez can get more at-bats, with Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell and Kris Bryant penciled in as the starting infield.

Baez could be super-utilityman of sorts, which would be a "great value" to the Cubs, Hoeyer said. Baez hit .289 with one homer and four RBIs in 80 plate appearances for the Cubs in 2015, when he spent most of the season at Triple-A.

"I see Heyward playing center field if we started the season right now, but certainly he's going to get time in right field as we move guys around," Hoyer said.

"If there's one thing we know from last year, it's that Joe's going to work with a lot of different combinations."

As for whether the Cubs could make another notable move this offseason, Hoyer said the team's keeping an open mind.

"We're definitely OK with where we are," Hoyer said. "We were obviously aggressive early in the offseason. We had a handful of guys we really wanted to target, and we did target and get those guys. Luckily, those deals came together. Now we're at the point where we're certainly having conversations on a daily basis. If something comes together to make us better, that's wonderful and we'll move on it. But we're happy if we take this group to Mesa. If Feb. 19 this is the group we have, I think that's great. I think it's a good position to be in, a good feeling to have. We like our roster."

Listen to Hoyer's full interview below.