Which defensive experiments are working through the first month of the 2025 season?
The season is only a month old, but already fans of positional changes (or downright odd defensive alignments) are feasting. The past week alone saw the Athletics introduce Tyler Soderstrom to left field, marking the first time in his big-league career he roamed onto the grass, as well as the Chicago White Sox deploy Bobby Dalbec, primarily a first baseman, at shortstop.
To think, those are just two nascent developments. Some experiments have been ongoing across the league since spring, albeit to varying results. While a month here or there isn’t that much time in the grand scheme of things, it does provide a sensible opportunity to check in on how some of the most notable positional swappers are taking to their new homes in the early going.
Below, then, you’ll find analysis on four particular players making changes.
You have to tip your cap to Altuve. A lot of players with his standing and career earnings would have rejected a positional switch out of hand. His willingness to move from the keystone to left field for the betterment of the team (and, particularly, the Astros’ infield defense) is admirable.
At the same time, Altuve’s first month in left field was rough. To some extent, this was foreseeable. Not only is he taking to a new perch, he’s doing it with substandard physical attributes. Altuve combines below-average foot speed with a weak arm. Now, I’ll grant that there’s more to playing the outfield than those particular traits. Someone like Steven Kwan, a multi-time Gold Glove Award winner, makes up for so-so straight line speed with impressive jumps and routes. It’s theoretically possible that, with more experience, Altuve could fashion himself into a better outfielder. For now though? Altuve is … well, he’s not Steven Kwan.
The best defensive players radiate a sense of control with smooth actions and decisive movements. You watch them and it appears that they’re processing the play at a faster speed than mere mortals. On the other end of the spectrum, the worst defensive players seem to be processing things at half speed, making them more prone to awkward movements.
Unfortunately, Altuve doesn’t appear to be in control right now. He often appears to be caught in between on batted balls, to the extent that you can almost hear him working through the equation. That doesn’t mean he’s a gaffe-fest out there. It does mean you’ll notice him pulling up, or making jagged movements on routine plays. He also has zero chance at making the most difficult plays associated with the position. You don’t take my word and evaluation for it alone, either: Statcast has him 0 for 4 on balls that had a catch probability of 51% or lower.
There’s a long way to go this season, and it stands to reason that someone with Altuve’s work ethic will improve with more repetitions. For now, though, it’s reasonable to expect manager Joe Espada to continue subbing out Altuve for a better defender in late and close situations.
2. Cam Smith, RF, Houston Astros
That’s right, Altuve isn’t the only infielder-turned-outfielder in the Houston lineup. Smith, a third baseman by trade, has exclusively played right field to date. That could change soon, with rumblings suggesting that the Astros are thinking of playing him in center field.
Predictably, Smith has taken better to the outfield than his veteran teammate. He moves well for his size, ranking in the 95th percentile in sprint speed, and his above-average arm works just fine in right. Smith still has his share of moments where he looks brand new out there — because he is — but he has the athleticism to make up the difference, resulting in some GIF-worthy plays: like this snag of a Gavin Sheets line drive, or this interception of a Dylan Moore heatseeker. (The latter may not look super impressive, but it had a catch probability of just 25% off the bat.)
Overall, Smith’s transition to the outfield looks like a success in the making.
Earlier in the season, an opposing executive quipped to me that Pittsburgh’s pitchers should mutiny if Cruz continued to play center field. Jokes aside, he’s still out there. I expect him to remain there, too.
In theory, Cruz ought to be a natural fit in the outfield. He’s an explosive athlete with an elite arm who should be able to convert those gifts into above-average defense. In practice, he hasn’t realized that upside. He’s 1 for 11 on batted balls with a catch probability of 51% or worse, and he has the unfortunate tendency to look bad — sometimes very bad — when he misplays a ball.
The Pirates season isn’t off to a good start, and in some ways that imbues a greater sense of urgency on what they do with Cruz. So far as I see it, they have two options and only two options. First, they could maximize his short-term value by moving him further down the defensive spectrum (possibly to left) and inserting a better defender in center. Alternatively, they could attempt to maximize his long-term value by keeping him in center and living with the gaffes.
I suspect the Pirates know their current club isn’t built to win this season and that they’re better off giving Cruz an honest chance at maturing into an impact defender. Let’s see if they’re right.
Báez is yet another newcomer to the positional change game. He’s only recently taken up playing center field, but you wouldn’t know that by watching some of his film.
Rather, Báez looks as though he’s been doing this forever. There was a running grab that had a 15% catch probability (and that would’ve been a home run in nearly half the MLB parks). And a casual snag, where he feels comfortable enough to turn his body late in the process. And how about when he stormed into the gap and successfully avoided a collision with his right fielder.
It’s a small sample, to be sure, but playing the outfield — and specifically center field — in Comerica Park is a big challenge. That Báez looks at home there with fewer than 100 career innings to his credit speaks to his athleticism and defensive talent. He looks the part, and the Tigers could (and, frankly, have) done worse than letting him go get it out there.
