Have to think lake will be sent down after the break..
Coghlin looks like he securing LF, with Alcantara in CF, and Schierholtz and Ruggiano in RF
Bonifacio beginning rehab assignment
CHICAGO -- Emilio Bonifacio will begin his rehab assignment on Friday with the Arizona League Cubs, the organization's Rookie-level affiliate.
Bonifacio has been on the disabled list with a right oblique strain since June 13. He sustained the injury the previous day against the Pirates. In his first at-bat, he took a swing that caused him to fall to the ground, and he limped off the field with the support of head athletic trainer PJ Mainville.
Bonifacio is hitting .261/.307/.340 in 61 games this season.
Barney returns, but Alcantara staying for now
CHICAGO -- The Cubs will keep Arismendy Alcantara on the roster through Sunday, but it's unclear if he'll still be with the club following the All-Star break.
Filling in at second base for Darwin Barney, Alcantara made quite a splash in his second Major League game Friday at Cincinnati, when he not only picked up his first Major League hit and RBI, but went 4-for-5 with a double, triple and three RBIs.
Barney was activated from the paternity list on Friday, but the Cubs decided to keep Alcantara around longer than originally planned, in part because they don't need as many pitchers with the All-Star break around the corner. The Cubs have starters Edwin Jackson and Travis Wood lined up for the final two games of the first half, so they optioned right-handers Kyle Hendricks and Blake Parker to Triple-A Iowa and recalled lefty Zac Rosscup from Iowa before Friday's game.
Cubs manager Rick Renteria said the organization will determine after this weekend what it will do with Alcantara. The 22-year-old hit .307/.353/.537 with 21 stolen bases and 11 triples in 89 games for Iowa this season, and he is considered the superior offensive player to Barney, who has posted a .224/.261/.316 line in 70 games for the Cubs.
"[Alcantara has] done a lot of things that obviously have put him in a position where we had at that particular time a need, and so he was the appropriate fit," Renteria said. "So far right now, it would be impossible for somebody to do exactly what he did for the last two days every single day. That's not going to happen, but it's been a nice addition."
Renteria plans to move Alcantara -- who played 70 games at second base, six at shortstop and 11 in center field at Triple-A this year -- around the diamond so that he plays on a consistent basis. Renteria said Alcantara has the athleticism to play multiple positions, and he will try him out in center field starting Saturday.
"I think that any time you bring up a young prospect ... they have to play. We have to see them," Renteria said. "I'm going to see what I'm going to do in terms of keeping him in there and balancing out the lineup a little bit. I know you [will] see him in there at second base.
"We'll probably work with him in center field a little bit tomorrow. We'll see how that goes. That way, you're still trying to keep the balance with everyone that's here."