Out of the box thought with Walker: Play him at 1st base?

[Adam2]

So, if the assumption is that moving Walker to RF - a position with which he was unfamiliar - contributed to his struggles with the bat, the solution is to move him to yet another position with which he is unfamiliar and has never played for a single moment in the minors or the majors?
Hmmm....

Would most likely cause issues again since the spin on the ball will be opposite from his 3rd base original spot (not to mention receiving throws, and picking low throws). But the transition hopefully wouldn't be as drastic as IF to OF which is a different world and approach. Still.....not ideal.....let us not add more difficulty onto an already mishandled situation

[renostl]

Obviously some of Walker’s struggles have to be between his ears. And remember, he only moved to the OF because Arenado and Goldie were here. He was a 3b in the minors his first few years.

I remember more than 30 years ago, the Cards moved Gregg Jefferies to 1b partly because he stressed out playing a more demanding position, which affected his hitting.

Could moving him to 1b increase his comfort level? Did having him in the OF do the opposite?

Might be worth asking him.

This roster is still pretty inner connected. Can one of the catchers play the outfield
better than they catch or play 1B?
I do prefer Burleson over Walker in the OF, Is the same true at 1B? maybe.

Is JW a big enough target for Gorman to hit? I think 1B while similar 3B, has a learning curve
that's bigger than either 3B or RF, those being more physical skills needed. 1B requires more
knowledge/experience based.

The hit tool has to improve, or he will need to following more closely his parents
careers. Which makes it slightly difficult to give him a new spot to occupy where
in the OF does he currently block anyone.

[Melville]

So, if the assumption is that moving Walker to RF - a position with which he was unfamiliar - contributed to his struggles with the bat, the solution is to move him to yet another position with which he is unfamiliar and has never played for a single moment in the minors or the majors?
Hmmm....

Would most likely cause issues again since the spin on the ball will be opposite from his 3rd base original spot (not to mention receiving throws, and picking low throws). But the transition hopefully wouldn't be as drastic as IF to OF which is a different world and approach. Still.....not ideal.....let us not add more difficulty onto an already mishandled situation

Nailed it.
Bottom line.
Mishandled.
If a move is the solution for Walker, the move should be to another organization and not to another position withing the same organization which is itself the cause of his struggles.

[Bomber1]

Obviously some of Walker’s struggles have to be between his ears. And remember, he only moved to the OF because Arenado and Goldie were here. He was a 3b in the minors his first few years.

I remember more than 30 years ago, the Cards moved Gregg Jefferies to 1b partly because he stressed out playing a more demanding position, which affected his hitting.

Could moving him to 1b increase his comfort level? Did having him in the OF do the opposite?

Might be worth asking him.

All my opinion - enough with “asking” players where they’re most comfortable or paying any attention to where a player “wants” to play. What’s next, asking them where they want to hit in the batting order?

Walker has had 3 years to learn to play RF. If the plan is for him to start on the 26-man then he needs to play RF, hit a lot better than he has, and play defense. If he can’t then move on from him. Burleson can play 1B.

Herrera has not been good defensively at catcher. Yet he “wants” to catch. Meanwhile there are actual, real other catchers on the roster, and we have zero RHH outfielders other than Walker. If I was Bloom I’d tell Ivan to leave the catching gear at home. The good news is “You’re playing LF because it serves the team better and you can play everyday”.

[RamFan08NY]

Walker should be in LF. Most MLB teams put weakest defender there. If the outfield remains unchanged, it should be Walker, Scott, Nootbaar.

Definitely should be LF, and it should have been from the start. LF see's the same angle off the bat as 3b. Would have been an easier transition.

[dugoutrex]

would that mean he gets another 3 years to figure it out?

[Basil Shabazz]

The proper move to be made if Herrera shows incapable of catching 80+ games would be moving Burly back to LF and playing Herrera at 1B.

This is also assuming Nado is still here and Gorman is DH.

Truth is that at least 3 players will probably see 40+ games at DH

[Zizzle1297]

Dont they want to trade Burly, Nado, and Donavan?

Walker is the one that needs to go

[Basil Shabazz]

Dont they want to trade Burly, Nado, and Donavan?

Walker is the one that needs to go

I don’t think they are clamoring to trade Burly unless they are blown away.

Walker is still just 23 years old. No need to sell low in my opinion. I’d rather gamble another season on him and see if he can figure it out.

[ClassicO]

We have a first baseman.
Burleson

If only Burly could play the position.
No range; only 600+ innings of experience. Tied with Arenado for the slowest guy on the team - a tad slower than Pages!

[ClassicO]

Dont they want to trade Burly, Nado, and Donavan?

Walker is the one that needs to go

I don’t think they are clamoring to trade Burly unless they are blown away.

Walker is still just 23 years old. No need to sell low in my opinion. I’d rather gamble another season on him and see if he can figure it out.

Agree on keeping Walker another season, and it's dumb that they think he can't go to Memphis until he earns the spot, since his career stats at AAA are not good.

[Melville]

Dont they want to trade Burly, Nado, and Donavan?

Walker is the one that needs to go

"Walker is the one that needs to go."
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

[Bomber1]

We have a first baseman.
Burleson

If only Burly could play the position.
No range; only 600+ innings of experience. Tied with Arenado for the slowest guy on the team - a tad slower than Pages!

Speed is inconsequential for 1B defense.

It’s much more important in the OF.

Burleson’s offense has improved each of his last two seasons. I would like to see him get a shot at 1B, at least against all RHP.

[ecleme22]

Obviously some of Walker’s struggles have to be between his ears. And remember, he only moved to the OF because Arenado and Goldie were here. He was a 3b in the minors his first few years.

I remember more than 30 years ago, the Cards moved Gregg Jefferies to 1b partly because he stressed out playing a more demanding position, which affected his hitting.

Could moving him to 1b increase his comfort level? Did having him in the OF do the opposite?

Might be worth asking him.

All my opinion - enough with “asking” players where they’re most comfortable or paying any attention to where a player “wants” to play. What’s next, asking them where they want to hit in the batting order?

Walker has had 3 years to learn to play RF. If the plan is for him to start on the 26-man then he needs to play RF, hit a lot better than he has, and play defense. If he can’t then move on from him. Burleson can play 1B.

Herrera has not been good defensively at catcher. Yet he “wants” to catch. Meanwhile there are actual, real other catchers on the roster, and we have zero RHH outfielders other than Walker. If I was Bloom I’d tell Ivan to leave the catching gear at home. The good news is “You’re playing LF because it serves the team better and you can play everyday”.

It’s not so much ‘asking’ as it is something for the coaches to consider.

It’s like him working out a little at 1b in spring training and maybe starting a few game is going to TOTALLY throw him off as an OFer.

[OldRed]

Obviously some of Walker’s struggles have to be between his ears. And remember, he only moved to the OF because Arenado and Goldie were here. He was a 3b in the minors his first few years.

I remember more than 30 years ago, the Cards moved Gregg Jefferies to 1b partly because he stressed out playing a more demanding position, which affected his hitting.

Could moving him to 1b increase his comfort level? Did having him in the OF do the opposite?

Might be worth asking him.

All my opinion - enough with “asking” players where they’re most comfortable or paying any attention to where a player “wants” to play. What’s next, asking them where they want to hit in the batting order?

Walker has had 3 years to learn to play RF. If the plan is for him to start on the 26-man then he needs to play RF, hit a lot better than he has, and play defense. If he can’t then move on from him. Burleson can play 1B.

Herrera has not been good defensively at catcher. Yet he “wants” to catch. Meanwhile there are actual, real other catchers on the roster, and we have zero RHH outfielders other than Walker. If I was Bloom I’d tell Ivan to leave the catching gear at home. The good news is “You’re playing LF because it serves the team better and you can play everyday”.

It’s not so much ‘asking’ as it is something for the coaches to consider.

It’s like him working out a little at 1b in spring training and maybe starting a few game is going to TOTALLY throw him off as an OFer.

NO!

[ecleme22]

Obviously some of Walker’s struggles have to be between his ears. And remember, he only moved to the OF because Arenado and Goldie were here. He was a 3b in the minors his first few years.

I remember more than 30 years ago, the Cards moved Gregg Jefferies to 1b partly because he stressed out playing a more demanding position, which affected his hitting.

Could moving him to 1b increase his comfort level? Did having him in the OF do the opposite?

Might be worth asking him.

All my opinion - enough with “asking” players where they’re most comfortable or paying any attention to where a player “wants” to play. What’s next, asking them where they want to hit in the batting order?

Walker has had 3 years to learn to play RF. If the plan is for him to start on the 26-man then he needs to play RF, hit a lot better than he has, and play defense. If he can’t then move on from him. Burleson can play 1B.

Herrera has not been good defensively at catcher. Yet he “wants” to catch. Meanwhile there are actual, real other catchers on the roster, and we have zero RHH outfielders other than Walker. If I was Bloom I’d tell Ivan to leave the catching gear at home. The good news is “You’re playing LF because it serves the team better and you can play everyday”.

It’s not so much ‘asking’ as it is something for the coaches to consider.

It’s like him working out a little at 1b in spring training and maybe starting a few game is going to TOTALLY throw him off as an OFer.

NO!

Maybe