Who would you move to first base if Prince is dealt?

[The Truth]

I'd move Braun to 1B to make room for Nelson Cruz! oh.... whoooops (!)

 

I don't envision Hart as being very agile in getting after ground balls, although we are pretty used to a below average fielding Fielder at 1st base these last few year (and please don't quote me fielding stats, where is the fielding stat for "grounder that any major leaguuer should have that never touched the glove")

 

Casey & Gamel don't really have the power you'd want from a 1B.

 

I say we trade for Greinke, sign Cliff Lee, hire Bobby V, keep Fielder & Weeks and go for it in 2011 with Yovanni as arguably the best #3 starting pitcher in MLB

 

...and then the alarm clock goes off and I have to wake up and go to work, so I'd say:

 

if you don't keep Fielder, just sign a power hitting free agent like a Dunn. They are fairly easy to find

[Kelbysdaddy]

i've always kinda liked adam laroche. him on a 2 year deal until chris dennis or hunter morris is ready wouldnt be the worst idea. d-backs have an option for him next year but there is no way they are picking it up.

[Oldcity]

Them making up for their defensive deficiencies with offense has nothing to do with the quality of their defense.

 

That is true. It is also true that the Brewers don't have anyone who is so bad defensively that they should only be a DH.

McGehee simply doesn't hit well enough to justify moving him to 1B.

It depends on the accompanying moves. Casey's wOBA, for example, would have put him around 14th for qualifying 1B. His offense certainly wouldn't be a plus, but for a pre-arby player who should be around average defensively at 1B, he could provide decent value.

I was going to make the same point. McGehee wouldn't be a plus bat at first, but there are worse options. Lyle Overbay, for example, is no offensive upgrade over McGehee. McGehee is awful at third, so he's my choice to move if it's internal. Ideally, I'd trade McGehee, sign an outfielder, and move Hart to first.

[CheezWizHed]

McGehee simply doesn't hit well enough to justify moving him to 1B.

 

And considering the OP, all of Gamel, Hart, Braun, and McGehee are in the lineup and fielding 1B/3B/RF/LF. So whether he hits "well enough" to play there doesn't matter, it was more a question of defensive alignment.

 

If you open the question up to FA, trades, etc... then the question becomes much broader.

[GAME05]

McGehee simply doesn't hit well enough to justify moving him to 1B.

 

There's not really a reason to justify a defensive position based on a guy's offensive output--two different things.

[Baldkin]

McGehee simply doesn't hit well enough to justify moving him to 1B.

 

There's not really a reason to justify a defensive position based on a guy's offensive output--two different things.

There is, completely a reason to justify it. Supply and Demand. There is a much larger crop of guys who can play 1B than 3B at the MLB level and the majority of them will outhit McGehee. If he can't play 3B, then he's just not nearly as valuable a commodity.

[logan82]

McGehee simply doesn't hit well enough to justify moving him to 1B.

 

There's not really a reason to justify a defensive position based on a guy's offensive output--two different things.

There is, completely a reason to justify it. Supply and Demand. There is a much larger crop of guys who can play 1B than 3B at the MLB level and the majority of them will outhit McGehee. If he can't play 3B, then he's just not nearly as valuable a commodity.

It depends. If you are talking about signing a FA offense matters. In our situation where we will be starting Hart, Braun and 2 of McGehee/Fielder/Gamel offense doesn't matter. They all will be playing regardless. The best thing to do is move them around so we have the best defensive alignment possible. As a commodity, McGehee playing 1B for a season will not hurt his value as a 3B. His defense at 3B on the other hand...

[Beast Light]

McGehee simply doesn't hit well enough to justify moving him to 1B.

 

There's not really a reason to justify a defensive position based on a guy's offensive output--two different things.

There is, completely a reason to justify it. Supply and Demand. There is a much larger crop of guys who can play 1B than 3B at the MLB level and the majority of them will outhit McGehee. If he can't play 3B, then he's just not nearly as valuable a commodity.

I agree in a sense when making deals and signing FA's. However you do what you have to do to get the best guys in your organization in the lineup.

 

[GAME05]

McGehee simply doesn't hit well enough to justify moving him to 1B.

 

There's not really a reason to justify a defensive position based on a guy's offensive output--two different things.

There is, completely a reason to justify it. Supply and Demand. There is a much larger crop of guys who can play 1B than 3B at the MLB level and the majority of them will outhit McGehee. If he can't play 3B, then he's just not nearly as valuable a commodity.

i agree in that you're talking about it as a league average, but not based on what's available to us next season. all that's available in free agency are basically McGehee clones, so there is no supply of better people available.

[Ennder]

I think it makes a lot more sense to trade McGehee and sign a FA 1B than it does to move him to 1B. I think that is the major point to be made about his bat not playing at 1B. He has more value as trade bait at 3B than he would playing at 1B.

[Invader3K]

I think it makes a lot more sense to trade McGehee and sign a FA 1B than it does to move him to 1B. I think that is the major point to be made about his bat not playing at 1B. He has more value as trade bait at 3B than he would playing at 1B.

This might make sense. There's a glut of pretty good power hitting 1Bs on the market this winter. Of course, the team has to have confidence in playing Gamel at 3B then, and that doesn't seem to be the case.

[joepepsi]

i've always kinda liked adam laroche. him on a 2 year deal until chris dennis or hunter morris is ready wouldnt be the worst idea. d-backs have an option for him next year but there is no way they are picking it up.

La Roche is a nice placeholder type for 1B. 25homers, 85 ribbies a year, decent obp, slugging in the mid-high .400's every year. On the other hand, isn't about what we can expect out of a full season of Gamel? And isn't that about what McGehee has given the last 2 seasons?

 

If you could sign La Roche, then trade McGehee for something of value, then you could justify the move. Otherwise, you're just adding redundancy.