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 I'm working my way around the infield (SS and 3B) and now move onto second base and the man who has seemingly played his entire career without a position, Mark DeRosa.
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 Mark DeRosa is the Cubs version of a vagabond. It's not because he's poor, because he's in the second year of a 3-year/$14 million dollar contract, but because he'll travel the country (Wrigley Field) looking to play any position possible in order to help out the Cubs. Normally players will be put into these roles because they aren't good enough to start at any single position and that's kind of how it started out for DeRosa when he was with the Atlanta Braves.
Then, he signed with the Texas Rangers, learned how to hit and produce consistently went on to sign with the Cubs and became a key player for them and bam....still no set position. What's a guy have to do to be named a full-time starter these days? No worries though, as it looks like DeRosa will start out this season as the Cubs second baseman.....(barring a trade for Brian Roberts)
Offensively: Just as it's hard to pin DeRosa down to one position, it's hard to pin down what type of hitter he is. He doesn't hit for much power (10 homers) or a high average (.293 BA), but he gets on base a lot (.371 ob%) and seemingly starts tons of rallies at the bottom of the Cubs batting order. It seems like whenever the Cubs need a run driven in from first base, up comes DeRosa with a screaming double down the left field line. How that output is graded, I don't know.
DeRosa shows good bat control (58 K's) and an ability to work the count. If he were a little faster (average speed), he'd probably be a prototypical #2 hitter, but for the Cubs he's probably looking at hitting either seventh or eighth. DeRosa has been around the NL and AL, so he adds a lot of experience to the lineup, along with a diploma from Penn that screams intelligence. He will head into the 2008 Season as a 33 year old, so his stats may fall a bit but I think a line of .290/.350/.775 would be doable. Look for 10 homers and 65-70 RBI's as long as he gets 500+ at-bats.
Defensively: Well, DeRosa is no Roberto Alomar, but he will make all the routine plays. DeRosa came up through the Braves organization as a shortstop, so he has good hands and a good arm, but he struggles with his range up the his right and left as he's probably league average in those categories. He charges the ball hard on bunts or 'squib hits' but at times has trouble getting the ball out of his glove. He has good footwork around second base on the double play, but, again, at times, will have difficulty getting rid of the ball. He's willing to stand there and take punishment from a sliding runner and has a strong arm, so he, at times, relies on those skills to make up for a lack of quickness during the transition.
Depth Chart: It's Ronny Cedeno time again, so I'll just copy and paste most of this.....Most Cubs fans hate to hear the name Ronny Cedeno, but this is where he
must be talked about since he will be the back-up for Theriot. Cedeno
was put on the Cubs major league roster as their 23-year old starting
shortstop in 2006 and struggled at just about every facet of the game.
To give Cedeno some credit, he went back down to the minor leagues and
absolutely tore things up as he hit .359 and was one of the top players
in the Pacific Coast League. Cedeno did spend some time with the Cubs
in 2007 and struggled as he did in 2006.
Although Cedeno has spent some time playing second, he is a back-up option at best. To rely on him to play second base for more than a day or two at a time would be foolish. Also, Mike Fontenot could see some time at second base if he makes the Cubs out of Spring Training or if injuries cause DeRosa to play other positions.
Overall: DeRosa is the definition of not only a vagabond, but also a professional. He knows how to play the game right and he plays it well. He should be just fine playing second for the Cubs in a full-time role this season, but don't be surprised if the Cubs look for another second baseman around the trade deadline and attempt to move DeRosa back into the 'super utility' role.
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2008 Cubs Preview
I'm a fan of Derosa at 2nd base over Roberts, especially if it means getting rid of Pie and his glove. I like how Derosa will shorten up his swing and drive the ball into right center field. He seems to be a good clubhouse/team guy and you rarely if ever hear about him complaining (I think maybe he said something about the whole roberts thing but who can blame him) about his role.