For the National League's Gold Glove finalists at shortstop, who would you eliminate and replace with [Javier Báez]? As much as my pro-Cubs bias cries out for Báez to be a finalist, they picked three solid nominees.
--@draznnl via Twitter

For those who may have missed it, Rawlings unveiled three 2019 Gold Glove Award finalists at each position last week. The winners will be unveiled on Sunday night. At shortstop in the NL, Paul DeJong of the Cardinals, Trevor Story of the Rockies and Nick Ahmed of the D-backs made the cut.

A lot of Cubs fans were upset that Báez was not a finalist and there was a strong argument to be made for including him after his first full season at shortstop. Unfortunately for Báez, missing most of September probably cost him a chance to make the final list of Gold Glove contenders.

Among that group of four NL shortstops, Báez ranked third in Defensive Runs Saved (15) and UZR/150, and second in Defensive Runs Above Average (15.7), per Fangraphs. Ahmed (18) and Story (17) had more DRS, Story (10.3) and DeJong (9.6) had a higher UZR/150, and DeJong (18.5) led the pack in the all-encompassing metric.

What hurt Báez was the fact that he ranked ninth in the NL in innings (1,116 2/3) at shortstop due to injuries. DeJong (1,372), Ahmed (1,381) and Story (1,257 1/3) were well ahead of Báez, who missed the bulk of the final month with a hairline fracture in his left thumb. That said, if you look at their respective DRS rates, here's what you get:

Innings per DRS
73.96: Story
74.44: Báez
76.7: Ahmed
98: DeJong

For the more traditional fans, Báez ranked fourth in that group in fielding percentage (.973). I'm not a big fan of leaning too hard on that statistic, though, as errors can be subjective and a player with greater range could wind up with more miscues.

But, back to your question...

In order to include Báez, who would I remove from the list? It's a tough call, as they are each deserving of the nomination. But, if I had to pick one, I'd replace Ahmed with Báez. Ahmed was well behind the other three in both Defensive Runs Above Average (9.0) and UZR/150 (2.3). In the end, his DRS and innings totals are probably what gave him the edge.

In his press conference at the end of the season, [president of baseball operations Theo Epstein] kept mentioning clubhouse, culture, identity, etc. Am I right to be getting the impression that there was trouble in the clubhouse? What is the dynamic in the clubhouse?
--Forrest K., Deadwood, S.D.

I would not necessarily classify the Cubs' clubhouse dynamic in '19 as troublesome, but there was a lack of a strong vocal leader in the room. While Chicago had no issues with Ben Zobrist tending to a family matter last season, his four-month absence left a void in the leadership aspect behind the scenes, too.

The Cubs have stars and leaders by performance and example. You could cite plenty of players for that -- Anthony Rizzo, Jason Heyward, Kris Bryant, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Cole Hamels, Kyle Schwarber, Pedro Strop, Willson Contreras and Báez all come to mind. Daniel Descalso was signed in part to help with vocal leadership -- and Epstein said the veteran was effective -- but injuries and a tough season overall surely presented a hurdle for the utility man.

When Epstein brought those things up at the end of the year, he was speaking in a general sense about what will be on the new manager's plate. Joe Maddon definitely created a culture and identity in his time leading the Cubs, and Epstein made a point to praise the former manager's work in that regard. But Epstein feels manager David Ross, along with some offseason moves, will enhance the clubhouse dynamic.

The Cubs have not announced which coaches are returning in 2020 under Ross, but do you have any insight into who might be returning? There has been so much turnover on the staff in recent seasons. Wouldn't it be smart to maintain some continuity?
--Jen S., Rockford, Ill.

While nothing is set in stone, it seems probable that pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and hitting coach Anthony Iapoce would be back in '20. Hottovy has played a big role in the evolution of the team's pitching infrastructure and Iapoce helped oversee some strong comeback performances (Schwarber, Bryant, Heyward, Contreras and Victor Caratini, among them) last year. And, I agree, continuity should be a priority for certain aspects of the leadership hierarchy.

At Ross' introductory press conference on Monday, Epstein said the new manager will have the final say on the makeup of his coaching staff. The group is expected to include some holdovers from last year, but Epstein noted that Ross had some outside candidates he's interested in adding to the mix, too. For example, as a first-year manager, Ross will probably want an experienced bench coach or former manager in the dugout to help his learning curve.

Will Ross play a role in which players the Cubs target this offseason?
--Josh G., Chicago

I'll let Ross handle that question. Here's what he said during his press conference on Monday:

"I want [to give] as much input as they want from me, as far as players I like around the league or the experience I've had. The great thing about being with ESPN [as an analyst the last few years] is that you get to watch a lot of different big leaguers perform, [you see] who you like and their game. You get to interact with them in the locker room and get to see their personality. So, I think the background stuff is important, but [the front office guys] are really good at their job and can put together a roster. So I’m going to leave that to them."