One move they should consider for next year...

[AceKeptic]

...proviso they keep him on board, of course:

Make Seager a DH

He's good with a bat, sure, but his defense is crap! Twenty errors in a season may not be the worst we've ever seen in an infielder, but it could have looked so much better.

 

[dude82]

They're not gonna make Seager a DH for lots of reasons. For one thing, they're paying him a lot of money to both hit well and play third base. He won a Gold Glove two years ago, so he has a recent example of playing really good defense, and he has a history of working on his deficiencies from the previous season in the offseason and correcting them for the following season.

Also, if you do move him to DH, who do you replace him with at third base? Is there someone in AAA right now that can match his offensive production and is a better fielder? Is there going to be a third baseman on the free agent market with those attributes? Is there going to be a third baseman who hits like he does and fields better than he has this year on the trade market that won't cost the M's an arm and both legs to acquire? If you move Seager to DH, where do you put Cruz? You can't put him in right field everyday if you want your outfield defense to be really good and for Cruz's legs not to fall off, and if the M's have to platoon at first base again next year, the logical spot for the other platoon player is DH when Nellie does play right field.

I'm chalking this year up to a fluke and I honestly don't see them moving him to DH anytime soon.

 

[unlvmariners]

I agree with dude82... I don't think it makes much sense to move Seager to DH, for a lot of reasons. I really don't have a problem with his defense, yeah there have been some pretty ugly errors in there but he has more than made up for them with really good plays that most other third basemen wouldn't have made. Plus a lot of his value as a player is in his ability to be out there playing third more than anyone else in the league. I would say down the road as he ages then yeah DH would be a good fit for him, but at this point it doesn't makes sense from an organization stand point.

 

[PolarVortex]

They're not gonna make Seager a DH for lots of reasons. For one thing, they're paying him a lot of money to both hit well and play third base. He won a Gold Glove two years ago, so he has a recent example of playing really good defense, and he has a history of working on his deficiencies from the previous season in the offseason and correcting them for the following season.

Also, if you do move him to DH, who do you replace him with at third base? Is there someone in AAA right now that can match his offensive production and is a better fielder? Is there going to be a third baseman on the free agent market with those attributes? Is there going to be a third baseman who hits like he does and fields better than he has this year on the trade market that won't cost the M's an arm and both legs to acquire? If you move Seager to DH, where do you put Cruz? You can't put him in right field everyday if you want your outfield defense to be really good and for Cruz's legs not to fall off, and if the M's have to platoon at first base again next year, the logical spot for the other platoon player is DH when Nellie does play right field.

I'm chalking this year up to a fluke and I honestly don't see them moving him to DH anytime soon.

Yeah. The next two years Cruz is going to be 37 and 38 years old. I can't imagine a scenario where Cruz is the better option playing a position than Seager. So I'm going to say that Cruz will be our primary DH in 2017 and 2018. And 2019 is too far away to plan for a position like DH.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

This team has FAR more issues than moving Seager to DH....

Seattle has one of the worst farm systems in the MLB... who would even fill in for him? lol.

 

[wazzu31]

Can't really move Seager, Cano will either be a 1B or DH going into the end of Seager's contract and they did trade for that prospect who will be a DH at the major league level.

 

[gohusk]

Huh? He has a strong glove and arm. What exactly is this based on?

 

[dude82]

Huh? He has a strong glove and arm. What exactly is this based on?

He has 21 errors this year. Not that I agree with the idea to move him to DH even if they had the ability to do it, but that's what it's based on. I see his error total as a fluke and I believe that his defense will be the thing that he looks back on from this year and addresses in the off-season like he does with any deficiency in his game after a season.

 

[PolarVortex]

He has 21 errors this year. Not that I agree with the idea to move him to DH even if they had the ability to do it, but that's what it's based on. I see his error total as a fluke and I believe that his defense will be the thing that he looks back on from this year and addresses in the off-season like he does with any deficiency in his game after a season.

I'd like to see the home/road splits on his fielding if anyone has it.

 

[blstoker]

I'd like to see the home/road splits on his fielding if anyone has it.

Home -

68 G 628 IN 53 PO 155 A 11 E 219 TC 21 DP .950 F%

Away -

66 G 573.2 IN 41 PO 165 A 10 E 216 TC 18 DP .954 F%

 

[Banned 10x]

#1 priority for this team next year is a shortstop

 

[AceKeptic]

He has 21 errors this year. Not that I agree with the idea to move him to DH even if they had the ability to do it, but that's what it's based on. I see his error total as a fluke and I believe that his defense will be the thing that he looks back on from this year and addresses in the off-season like he does with any deficiency in his game after a season.

23 now. Some fluke.

 

[dude82]

23 now. Some fluke.

We'll see how he does next year. Regardless of what any of us thinks, though, they aren't moving him off third base. It's not happening.

 

[wazzu31]

He's actually done very well playing third in his career for A. His defensive skill set and B. He was a 2nd basemen that was converted to third in season so he could play because they didn't want to demote Ackley. The organization would be in a better position IMO had they just let Ackley develop as a LF instead of 2B.