Freddie to third base??

[Southcack77]

I thought it was kind of telling that the broadcast crew last night was abnormally uneffusive when discussing Freeman moving to 3B. Simpson even quipped, "You won't be seeing that from Freddie" when Spangenberg made a nice charge and throw on a slow-roller a few minutes later. He did note that he asked Ron Washington how Freddie was progressing and Washington basically just said "good" (which, again, seemed nefariously unenthusiastic).

I agree with the general sentiment expressed by Cameron and others; this team has nothing to lose and, if by a stroke of luck, Freeman is palatable out there ... the team becomes that much better. I'm looking forward to seeing how he fares.

There isn't any chance that this works. The probability is zero. That's why no one is effusive.

[Enscheff]

That's basically what I've said.

And when you're wrong 1 month from now, what then? What's the next thing you'll be wrong about but blindly support?

[sturg33]

And when you're wrong 1 month from now, what then? What's the next thing you'll be wrong about but blindly support?

I'm curious though to your opinion. If Freeman can be equally as valuable at third as he at first (I suppose that means he'd have to be a -10 defender)... would we want that? Since it's easier to find a 1b?

Or am I thinking of it wrong?

[Hawk]

There isn't any chance that this works. The probability is zero. That's why no one is effusive.

Have you seen him play 3B at the Major League level?

[smootness]

Have you seen him play 3B at the Major League level?

Have you seen him play CF at the MLB level? Maybe he could do it. That would help us.

[Enscheff]

I'm curious though to your opinion. If Freeman can be equally as valuable at third as he at first (I suppose that means he'd have to be a -10 defender)... would we want that? Since it's easier to find a 1b?

Or am I thinking of it wrong?

You are 100% correct.

However, this move isn't being made to clear a space for a good player at 1B like the Tigers did with Miggy/Prince. This move is being made to keep Matt "Lucky Flyballs" Adams in the lineup.

I would accept the downsides to Freeman at 3B if the Braves were adding Prince Fielder at 1B. Needless to say, that ain't what's happening.

[sturg33]

You are 100% correct.

However, this move isn't being made to clear a space for a good player at 1B like the Tigers did with Miggy/Prince. This move is being made to keep Matt "Lucky Flyballs" Adams in the lineup.

I would accept the downsides to Freeman at 3B if the Braves were adding Prince Fielder at 1B. Needless to say, that ain't what's happening.

I hear ya, but I've convinced myself to give this a chance to see what happens. If Freddie turns himself into a -10 3B or better, that gives us a lot more flexibility such as:

- Give Adams more time to see if this hot streak is for real
- Explore options like Matt Kemp to 1B in the offseason, to see if we can find a meaningful upgrade in LF
- Allow us to look at 1B replacement rather than 3B options, which should be easier and much more cost effective

That is assuming the Braves are even looking at defensive stats, which at this point, I'm not certain they are (evidenced by the lack of late-game defensive replacement opportunities that are not acted upon)

[Hawk]

Have you seen him play CF at the MLB level? Maybe he could do it. That would help us.

The Braves don't need a CF.

[Enscheff]

I hear ya, but I've convinced myself to give this a chance to see what happens. If Freddie turns himself into a -10 3B or better, that gives us a lot more flexibility such as:

- Give Adams more time to see if this hot streak is for real
- Explore options like Matt Kemp to 1B in the offseason, to see if we can find a meaningful upgrade in LF
- Allow us to look at 1B replacement rather than 3B options, which should be easier and much more cost effective

That is assuming the Braves are even looking at defensive stats, which at this point, I'm not certain they are (evidenced by the lack of late-game defensive replacement opportunities that are not acted upon)

2 WAR guy at 1B should cost just the same as a 2 WAR guy at 3B.

Kemp to 1B is a very interesting idea if Freeman can hack it at 3B though.

[chop2chip]

2 WAR guy at 1B should cost just the same as a 2 WAR guy at 3B.

Kemp to 1B is a very interesting idea if Freeman can hack it at 3B though.

Interesting. I would have suspected that $/WAR would see some variance across the various positions. Not disagreeing because I'm not researched on this, but I would have hypothesized it would have fluctuated based on positional scarcity. (Though maybe the WAR calculation itself accounts for this).

[Managuarantano's Volunteers]

2 WAR guy at 1B should cost just the same as a 2 WAR guy at 3B.

Kemp to 1B is a very interesting idea if Freeman can hack it at 3B though.

They should, but there are a lot more average-ish 1B out there.

[Managuarantano's Volunteers]

Actually, after checking them both on Fangraphs, it looks pretty much the same amount. Hm. If I reduce the qualified PAs, there are more good 1B though.

[Southcack77]

Have you seen him play 3B at the Major League level?

I haven't seen him fly on a broomstick either.

[Hawk]

I haven't seen him fly on a broomstick either.

So then, perhaps the lesson here is that it's a solid idea to refrain from speaking in absolutes about things you haven't seen.

[Southcack77]

So then, perhaps the lesson here is that it's a solid idea to refrain from speaking in absolutes about things you haven't seen.

Ha! Funny, but too bad photoshop won't help him at 3b.

[Nerfherders]

Two games in now. How has he looked out there?

[smootness]

Two games in now. How has he looked out there?

Don't know. But as of 7/6, he has been worth 0.0 dWAR on BR and -1.2 runs on FG. So we can watch those numbers change going forward.

[msstate7]

Don't know. But as of 7/6, he has been worth 0.0 dWAR on BR and -1.2 runs on FG. So we can watch those numbers change going forward.

Does he get a boost just from moving to 3b?

[Enscheff]

Way way too soon to tell. He hasn't embarrassed himself, so that's a small victory. Already seeing the expected "he catches what he gets to" comments that are essentially worthless observations.

If this experiment goes on for 2-3 weeks that won't be enough to definitively say anything either way. If he plays 3B for the rest of the season it still won't be a large enough sample size, but it should give us a general idea of what to expect out of him at 3B.

[cajunrevenge]

I hear ya, but I've convinced myself to give this a chance to see what happens. If Freddie turns himself into a -10 3B or better, that gives us a lot more flexibility such as:

- Give Adams more time to see if this hot streak is for real
- Explore options like Matt Kemp to 1B in the offseason, to see if we can find a meaningful upgrade in LF
- Allow us to look at 1B replacement rather than 3B options, which should be easier and much more cost effective

That is assuming the Braves are even looking at defensive stats, which at this point, I'm not certain they are (evidenced by the lack of late-game defensive replacement opportunities that are not acted upon)

Kemp to 1B and Acuna for LF. I would like to try and sign Maybin back and use him as the starter in LF for 2 months while Acuna plays at AAA to save service time. Then he can be a very quality 4th outfielder if Acuna does well. I would be even more excited to field a lineup with Ender,Albies,Acuna and Maybin in the lineup at the same time. All kinds of team speed with power hitters in the middle of the lineup(Freeman/Kemp).