As the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan notes, with the acquisitions of Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Jeromy Burnitz, Jason Dubois has gone from the right-handed part of a left field platoon to having to fight to make the team. Dubois hit .316/.389/.630 for Iowa last year.

If Jim Hendry has his way, it appears that Dubois will not only make the team, he will be getting plenty of playing time. The Tribune quotes him as saying, "What else does the kid have to do in the minor leagues. He hit 30-plus homers every year, was MVP in the Arizona Fall League, had a quality year in Mexico. You saw glimpses of him on the last weekend of the year, leaving the ballpark. I mean, somebody's got to be Rookie of the Year. Nobody ever heard of [San Diego shortstop] Khalil Greene two years ago, or Jason Bay in Pittsburgh. That's the kind of guy you've got [in Dubois]. He was very similar in the minor leagues to what Jason Bay was. It's very unfair to him to just dismiss him as 'Thanks for putting in five good years in the minor leagues and doing everything well on the way up the ladder,' and every story is 'Who's going to play left field instead of that guy?'"

Baker's comments--unsurprisingly, given Dubois' rookie status--were more tempered, though he did say that Dubois "has a pretty good shot" to make the team.

In my mind, Dubois has to make the team. Without him, the Cubs don't have a righthanded outfielder with power. David Kelton could provide that, and Kelton is out of options. But Kelton regressed in his second season at Iowa last year (755 OPS in 2004 v. 784 in 2003). Dubois has simply been the more impressive performer.

Dubois will be 26 in March. It's his time, and it's what will be most beneficial for the Cubs.

Of course, if the Cubs only carry 11 pitchers, it's quite possible that both Kelton and Dubois will make the team. But that would mean that non-roster invitee Dave Hansen would have failed to make the team, and I think he could really help the Cubs' bench.