Jose Miranda is leading off for the Saints to night and...

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

starting in left field! He's appeared at first, second, and third base, but this will be the first outfield appearance during his minor league career.

[LA VIkes Fan]

Sounds like we're getting him ready to audition for a super utility role on the big club. Very interesting. He'll need that flexibility if we keep Donaldson and that looks likely.  

[yeahyabetcha]

11 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

Sounds like we're getting him ready to audition for a super utility role on the big club. Very interesting. He'll need that flexibility if we keep Donaldson and that looks likely.  

That would be great role for him next year.  Chances are he plays LF better than Rooker already.

[LA VIkes Fan]

You're probably right there. It looks to me like we have about 9 and as many as 12 guys for 8 spots next year - LF, RF, 1B, 3B, DH and then 3 4th OF/UTl/Backup INF spots, one of whom has to be able to play SS if Polanco moves there. The guys are Donaldson, Arraez, Kepler, Sano, Larnach, Kirilloff, Rooker, Refsnyder and Gordon for sure. Bring back Cruz and we're up to 10. Add in Astudillo  and Miranda and we're up to 12, I don't count Cave but others might. Move Polanco to SS and you now have an everyday spot for Arraez at 2B and maybe a spot for Gordon as one of the UTLs. Will Martin be ready next year? That's 12 or 13. How about Contreras? That's 13 or 14.

I think the only way to figure this out is to play as many of these guys every day at as many spots as they can play. Playing Miranda in LF is a great idea. Sending Gordon to AAA with instructions to play a lot at 3B and SS also makes sense. Playing Refsnyder in CF until Buxton is ready and not playing Cave makes sense. Is Refsnyder for real? We need to find out because right now he's one of our top 3 hitters. Let's see if Larnach can improve against LH pitching so play him in games like last night against quality LH starters. Play Sano and see if he can get back to .240 BA/.820 OPS form and cut his SOs to 25-28%. Let's find out if  Arraez can cover 3B when Donaldson is hurt or DHing next year (like half the games). Give Rooker lots of ABs and see if his bat forces him into a spot. There's probably less need to play Kepler and Astudillo since they are what they are at this point, although maybe Kepler has another jump up in him. 

Bottom line is that this is what using the rest of the year to evaluate looks like. It ain't pretty but it is necessary. 

[Unwinder]

They had him on DH not too long ago too, it seems like they're exploring just how to get him as many MLB at-bats as they can.