The consensus belief is that the Cubs won't offer shortstop Nomar Garciaparra another contract in the offseason, unable to risk the chance that he can return in 2006 as the player he used to be after physical problems held him back the last two seasons. The Cubs aren't prepared to say that directly with Garciaparra still playing for them, but manager Dusty Baker and general manager Jim Hendry agreed Sunday that rookie Ronny Cedeno could be on the verge of developing into the starting shortstop next year. Hendry emphasized that Cedeno also can play second base, but the team's offseason plan likely will be to re-sign veteran infielder Neifi Perez and pair him at shortstop next season with Cedeno, who would get most of the starts as long as he fulfills his promise. Asked if Cedeno was close to being the full-time starter, Baker indicated that it could happen. "He's pretty close to me,'' Baker said. "Yeah, he's real close. He can run. He can hit-and-run. He works hard and is respectful -- confident but not arrogant. He has to work on getting his throw truer. His throw now kind of runs into the runner. Those are things we have to work on and correct. "I have always wanted to have a Rookie of the Year. I know how much it means to the organization and the person because I could have been Rookie of the Year and wasn't. He's going to be a fine player. It's a matter of when we have to clear a spot for him, and do we hold somebody in reserve in case he doesn't do it?''