Yet he has still been better than Bradley, Fontenot and Soto, and will be better this year than Fox or Hoffpauir would be on the field full-time. Lee might not be "that good" anymore, but why isn't he getting the benefit of the doubt when guys like Fontenot (who wasn't a highly regarded prospect and has never performed in a full-time role) and Soto (who had a mediocre minor league career until he blew up in AAA and last year in the majors) are? Because those guys are making close to the league minimum? Also, the fact he is taking up $13.25 million in payroll this year might have something to do with it. and that's a sunk cost. you don't bench a guy just because he's not performing up to the amount of money that he's making. That wasn't the argument. The question asked why Lee wasn't getting the benefit of the doubt. That's a piss-poor argument then. Production is ultimately production, and right now the Cubs have to work with what they have.