The World’s Most Important Utility Player In The World
Sorry for the headline. I hate that commercial too.
But, while its kind of hyperbole, with the way the roster is currently setup, the performance of Jack Hannahan is far more vital to the team’s success than an ordinary reserve infielder. As Geoff Baker noted, he’s already in camp, and the team is having him work out as a catcher, which he hasn’t done since high school. The M’s want him to provide as much versatility as possible, and getting some work behind the plate will help if the team ends up needing to use him as an emergency catcher at some point.
But, it isn’t Hannahan’s ability to catch that will matter much to this team. It’s his ability to play shortstop.
As we’ve talked about, Jack Wilson is not exactly Cal Ripken. Over the last three years, he played in 67 percent of the Pirates games, and its only 60 percent if we just look at the last two years. Heading into his age 32 season, coming off a couple of seasons where nagging leg problems have regularly kept him off the field, you have to be pretty conservative with his playing time projections. Even if he’s totally healthy, we probably can’t project him for more than 70 to 75 percent of the team’s starts at shortstop. He’s just not durable enough to handle more than that.
That leaves approximately 40 starts at the position unaccounted for, and Hannahan is the only guy on the roster who can credibly be asked to start those games. Despite only playing three games at the position in his professional career (2 in the majors, 1 in the minors), Hannahan has the physical skills to handle the job. He’s proven to be a quality defender at both second and third, and has enough range and arm to handle the SS spot.
But, while he has flashed SS skills at other positions, he hasn’t yet had to play the position regularly, and the M’s will need him to be able to do so this year. Given Wilson’s health track record, Hannahan is not so much a reserve as he is a part-time player. Between playing ~30 to 40 games at short and the starts he’ll pick up when Figgins or Lopez need a day off, Hannahan’s probably in line for 300+ plate appearances this year.
If he can hit at anything close to a league average rate, he could really be an asset for the M’s. If he hits like he did a year ago, then he’ll be a problem, as a Wilson-like offensive player without the same defensive skills. Given the patience he’s shown and a swing that should generate some power, I think he’s a better hitter than we’ve seen, but it’s certainly a gamble. The M’s are currently counting on a guy who has almost no experience at shortstop and hasn’t hit in a couple of years to play at least a couple of times a week.
How he performs is going to have a pretty significant impact on how the team does this year. If he can hold down SS while Wilson is on the bench, and provide some offensive punch, the team can pinch-hit for Wilson more frequently, and not burn resources trying to fill the hole when he inevitably lands on the DL. If Hannahan flops, though, then SS could become something of a sinkhole, and there just isn’t much depth at the position in the organization, so they may have to expend some resources to fix the problem from the outside.
While his official title of utility infielder makes him sound like a minor part, in reality, Jack Hannahan is a pretty important player for the M’s this year.
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Goodness I’m behind times, I didn’t realize there was a new Pope.
Just a thought. We are all here as guests– the authors of the site don’t have to put up a comment section after their articles. If they truly were worried about people exposing their infallibility, they wouldn’t invite discussion.
Did you miss the white smoke coming from the chimney?
I must have been distracted by Ichiro’s pants.
@shannondrayer
First infield drill Lopez at third Figgins at second.
If anything happens to Jack Wilson, I for one don’t want to see Josh Wilson back here. Or Chris Woodward. And if people worry that Hannahan can’t hit, the next option would be Oswaldo Navarro, who can hardly get the ball out of the infield.
But I know of at least one SS out there who could be one hell of a backup, and a full time regular if need be, and that’s Khalil Greene, who is going through some psychological problems right now (social anxiety disorder, which is NOT some laughing matter), and according to latest reports, is likely to be cut loose by the Rangers. He signed for about half a mil there.
The hugs in the Seattle clubhouse could be just what he needs. If he could go, Greene would be all the backup the Mariners needed.
I’m guessing that the M’s don’t consider him an option, and that they think Hannahan would be just fine, and that’s OK with me. But Greene could be out there, and he would be a bargain at the price if he can play.
Yow, he looks like a summer softball beer league guy in that photo (based on his clothes I mean; obviously he lacks the beer gut).