Slugger Shavings 2045.07 - Spring Training Decisions - 3B

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Slugger Shavings 2045.07 - Spring Training Decisions - 3B

Post by sjshaw » Mon Nov 23, 2020 5:54 pm

3B could either be a position of strength or a complete black box. We got used to plugging 3B Rafael 'Big Time' Gutiérrez in and just rolling along (except for his inevitable injuries). Now that he's gone, we have uncertainty and hope in equal measure.

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2B/3B Luis Mendoza - Here he is again. I don't want to duplicate players in these previews, but this one is obvious. In a perfect world, MORAN plays 2B and Mendoza plays 3B for us the next 10 seasons. But if 2020 has taught us nothing else, there is no perfect world, or even a moderately tolerable one. The following guys will be called upon to battle it out for platoon roles at 3B in case Mendoza needs to play 2B.


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INF Miguel Rodríguez - It's unlikely that MG starts at 3B, but that doesn't minimize his value. I released OF White partially to get room to sign MG outright. He'll be a crucial reserve at every INF spot, allowing us more spots for platoons. Could he start at 3B for us? Well, he ain't' chopped liver. In his eight full seasons (not counting 50 games that 1st year), he's never put up less than 1.6 WAR. Admittedly, most is defensive value, but he is incredibly versatile. If he has to play full-time, it's not a catastrophe.


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3B José 'Black Lightning' Toledo - A 26-year-old non-roster invitee to ST, Toledo is no stranger to touching the face of stardom, being only two seasons removed from a 5.9 WAR with CCJ. Last year? -0.8 WAR. Wow. That's a kick in the nuts if you're Charm City. We're hoping it was a bad BABIP roll, because while he's lost 1 point of CON, he's no different now than he was in 2043. We really don't know what to believe, but we're hoping ST gives us some clarity, especially because he'll cost $3m to deploy in the bigs. If he could play 1B or 3B at even a 3 WAR clip, that would give us immense flexibility both roster-wise and trade-wise.


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3B Phil Logan - Another non-roster invitee to ST, Logan is a pure "break glass in case shit happens" platoon option. Going 8/9/6/5/8 vs RHP, playing adequate defense, and only costing $500K, he's pretty much what you want in a long-side guy. Sure, more OBP or SLG would be nice, but our park will give him a boost to both. He probably sits in AAA until he decides whether to stay or go back into FA, but stranger things have happened.


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3B Héctor Ojeda - Yes, another non-roster invitee to ST from Charm City. I feast off these types of guys every preseason. Ojeda checks a lot of boxes as fas as short-side corner INF go, but he's never produced in the bigs. Granted, he's never really gotten a chance. Also granted, he's not that great. But he plays excellent defense and goes 7/8/10/4/5 vs LHP, and while that has to be viewed in light of the ratings conversion, it's a no-brainer to at least stash him in AAA for a month.

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3B Steve Herbert - Steve "the Herb" isn't ready yet, but we're bringing him to ST because the former 32nd overall pick has been developing and performing well so far.
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