February 19, 2009
A Man for All Positions
The Indians are thinking of playing Ryan Garko in the outfield:
Ryan Garko stepped on the scale Monday for his physical and weighed 226 pounds. That's 10 pounds lighter than he was last year.
It's a good thing because Garko is going to have to be as streamlined as possible if manager Eric Wedge actually plays him in the outfield during the regular season.
Garko, built like the catcher he once was, made the transition to first base when he reached the big leagues. After driving in 90 runs last year, Garko has a lot of bench time staring him in the eye if Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner can stay healthy and reclaim their spots in the middle of the Indians lineup.
Martinez is going to be bouncing between first and catcher. If Hafner rediscovers his swing following October surgery on his right shoulder, he'll take the majority of the at-bats at DH.
So the outfield might be a welcome refuge for Garko.
Offensively, Garko would be an improvement over the 2008 Cleveland rightfielders. The Indians showed good range collectively in right, in 2008, however, so they may be trading offense for defense at that position.
They're planning on playing him in left, however, where the offense was closer to Garko's and defensively they were one of the best teams in the majors. That doesn't seem like such a good idea.
Posted by David Pinto at
10:33 AM
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This is just a fallback if Barfield makes the team as a utility guy. They are also trying out Barfield in the OF too, but Wedge wants as much flexibility as possible. If Garko sees the OF, it'll only be at most 5 full games in '09. Don't think that it's permanent, especially with a trio of OF's in AAA that will be ready if needed by midseason.
This is just a fallback if Barfield makes the team as a utility guy. They are also trying out Barfield in the OF too, but Wedge wants as much flexibility as possible. If Garko sees the OF, it'll only be at most 5 full games in '09. Don't think that it's permanent, especially with a trio of OF's in AAA that will be ready if needed by midseason.
Your numbers certainly don't make sense to somebody (me) who attended over 35 Tribe games last season and saw nearly all the rest on TV. Right field last year for the Tribe was played mostly by Franklin Gutierrez (now playing center for Seattle) and Shin Soo Choo, both of whom have well above average range and arms (by my observation, anyway). Left field, on the other hand, was mostly played by Jason Michaels, before he was dumped, David Dilluci and Ben Francisco...none of whom will ever see a Gold Glove up close unless Grady Sizemore lets them hold one of his!!
Choo will man right field and do so at a better then league average rate (both offensively and defensively). Garko is a better hitter then Shoppach and I can't see the defensive upgrade meaning enough to drop Garko from the lineup. Shoppach is the oddman out.