The San Diego Padres have some competition that may push Wil Myers to a new position. Will the Padres have a new third baseman?
The San Diego Padres have a new third baseman and his name is Wil Myers.
Wil Myers went on the disabled list on August 4 when he fouled a ball off his foot. It was the third time this year he had been placed on the DL. Myers has been limited to just forty-four games this year.
This injury, however, isn’t one that will keep him out very long at all. In fact Padres manager, Andy Green, said that Myers will start a rehab game in Lake Elsinore on Saturday. This is good news for Padres fans because the 27 year old was hitting very well before being placed on the DL.
Wil Myers is going to play third base in Lake Elsinore tomorrow, Andy Green said.
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) August 11, 2018
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In the last few days while Myers was rehabbing his foot injury he was seen before games taking ground balls at third base. At first people thought that was just Wil being Wil and him just having fun. Then the next day infield coordinator and assistant hitting coach, Josh Johnson was seen instructing Wil while he was taking grounders and throwing across the diamond.
This is when followers of the Padres began to wonder. Could the Padres actually convert Wil Myers to a third baseman? This isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds.
The North Carolina native has played all over the diamond in his baseball career. In his professional career Myers has 332 games at first base, 324 games in right field, 151 games in center field, 86 games at catcher, 48 games in left field, 1 game at second base, and yes, 16 games at third base. It’s safe to say Myers has moved around during his career.
The outfield has been performing very well since Myers went on the disabled list. Manuel Margot, Franmil Reyes, and Hunter Renfroe are all hot. The Padres do not want to bench one of those guys so they thought the best option was to move Wil Myers to third base.
In a losing season why not try out something new and different. Who knows, maybe third base will be the perfect place for Myers. He wasn’t very good in the outfield so why not try him out at third?
Christian Villanueva is the Padres current third baseman and lately he has been under performing to say the least. Padres manager, Andy Green, has even started giving Cory Spangenberg more time over at the hot corner. Perhaps it’s time for a new everyday third baseman in Wil Myers.
It will definitely be interesting to see Wil Myers at third base and to see if the San Diego Padres see him staying there long-term. Only time will tell if this is a serious transition or if the Padres just want to see all their options.