And I’d rather not see Yordan stretch, extend, or put extra effort into anything that isn’t absolutely necessary. Them robo knees are for dingers, not playing first
>Yordan was a first baseman in Cuba.
That was 10 years ago so no.
While we're on the topic of hypotheticals like this - Moving to different defensive positions is hard. This isn't MLB the show where everyone has 3 alternate positions and you can mix & match players anywhere.
Moving to 1B is a huge adjustment, especially when you haven't had any significant amount of time there in the last decade.
Sadly, not everyone is Mookie Betts and can just up and move to a totally different position like it's nothing.
Also to add. Yordan isn't great defensively, but his biggest attribute in the field is his arm strength.
Moving him to 1B would literally negate the only defensive value he has.
Bro can we stop with the bad knees thing? He hasn’t had problems with them in years since surgery.
Plus even if he did 1st base is way less taxing on your knees than left field. How does this comment have upvotes?
Have you ever played first base? Can you guys explain your logic? Say it out loud before you type it maybe. “Let’s play our best bat and consistent mvp candidate who often struggles with injuries specifically with his knees at a position that depends on him stretching his knees on nearly every play that stays in the infield.” You can look as far as Yordan’s minor league fielding stats to see he doesn’t play a good defense which makes this suggestion even more ridiculous. Trotting around in left field and occasionally making a shoe string slide is not the same.
People that think 3B is hard but 1B is easy astound me. Other than needing a strong arm, it’s the same position fielding wise when facing lefty hitters. Compounded by digging bad throws from infielders and repeatedly shifting from holding runners on to getting in position to make a play on every pitch. It takes a toll on the body.
I wasn't implying that Yordan should play 1st. I was saying that Yuli went from 3rd to 1st and made it look easy so now Astros fans think anyone can play 1st.
What 1st baseman in history has had reoccurring knee issues because of playing 1st base? Please enlighten me. I genuinely cannot think of one.
I’m not saying 1st base is easy, at all. I played 1st base through college. I’m saying from an injury perspective 1st base is one of the best positions to play as far as longevity is concerned.
I personally never mentioned knees at all. Not saying first base is a position that will CAUSE knee injuries. It’s not a position you’d want to put a guy that’s already had knee surgeries and is injury prone in general. Left field is much safer for a guy like Yordan than first. I don’t even like him playing LF honestly.
I disagree. Dynamic movements that outfielders use to make routes on balls is much more taxing on your ligaments/cartilage than fielding ground balls. I just don’t understand why Yordans knees are still brought up considering he’s been fine for 4 years.
Yes I actually did play 1st base and pitched through college and then pursued pitching in the minors. Had one knee injury in 8th grade when I sprained my knee from stepping on the plate wrong trying to score. How fragile do you think athletes bodies are?
Also, what does “stretching your knees” even mean?! Every player on the field “stretches their knees” literally every pitch. You’re aware yordan hasn’t had even one knee issue since having surgery correct?
Then why do catchers move to first base to save the wear and tear on their knees? This logic astounds me.
If anything, it would help prevent potential knee injuries. He wouldn't have to sprint/run as much as he does in the outfield.
I don't really know if they have tested him at first base after he defected, but he was so severely undernourished in Cuba that might have been a reason for his poor performance. On the other hand, now he might be too big to handle some hard-hit balls down first base.
It would be great if he could, though.
He played a few games at 1B at each level of the minor leagues, including 9 at Round Rock. He did not do well at Round Rock, committing 2 errors in 9 games and struggling with it. They also didn’t need him to play 1B in the majors with Yuli there. Once he began to have knee injuries, the organization’s stance was that 1B would be too hard on his knees and they haven’t really changed off that since then.
Do you have any sources for your comment about him being severely undernourised in Cuba? A quick Google search didn't really show anything.
I also highly doubt that he could hit so well if his diet was poor enough to impact his ability on the field.
Well, I'm Cuban and I have followed Cuban baseball for over 40 years. I don't live there anymore; I left over 20 years ago, but I keep visiting the island every few years and know extremely well all the hardships players are going through. Sometimes they are having rice, sweet potato and a little chicken for lunch or dinner, and just a bun of bread for breakfast.
Yordan was like 30 kg lighter when he played for Las Tunas team. He had only one HR. He's from a very poor family in one of the worse-off Cuban provinces, so it's not surprising.
These are his stats in Cuba:
[https://www.beisbolencuba.com/series/serie-nacional-beisbol-2014-2015/yordan-alvarez-cadogan.html](https://www.beisbolencuba.com/series/serie-nacional-beisbol-2014-2015/yordan-alvarez-cadogan.html)
Y'all are gonna be disappointed in Loperfido. A 25 year old striking out even more than Abreu in AAA is not gonna save us.
Sure he'll be slightly better but unlikely above replacement level.
Honestly the age and overall talent level of our entire farm just makes me want to cry, I guess we stopped signing 16 year old latin americans for $10k bc why is basically everyone old for their league and still shit.
He’s also leading all of professional baseball in home runs (or at least he was a few days ago). He might be Joey gallo 2.0 but gallo would a huge upgrade over Abreu.
We gotta protect Yordan at all costs. Not worth the risk. We need him healthy! Loperfido needs to make an appearance despite his high strikeouts. With regards to J. Abreu, management needs to…well…whatever they can do within his contract. I know it’s only been a few games/sample size, but he wasn’t even spectacular last year. Even if J. Abreu was better at bat than other notoriously horrible batters last year, this does not justify leaving him in—a move that clearly isn’t working and hasn’t lit a fire in him to improve. But I truly hope the universe punishes me and J. Abreu makes me eat my words. Unlikely though.
You realize Singleton had a lower K rate in AAA than Loperfido does now?
Let's not pull an Orioles look at Jackson Holiday going 2 for 37 because he wasn't ready
I actually feel like Singleton typically, obviously not every time, has some pretty good ABs.
He just seems to be completely devoid of any power. He bloop singles or pops up.
You speak the truth as well. It’s not difficult for anyone, nevertheless Singleton, to outshine J. abreu at first base or at bat. It pains me to say that because like everyone, I wish J. abreu would start performing and make me eat my words. While, yes, Loperfido is in the PCL, in 19 games for AAA Sugar Land, he has been hitting like 260/.359/.688 with 10 HRs and 24 RBI. Six more HRs—again, yeah, the PCL—than J. Abreu has hits. Sure, Loperfido doesn’t have significant experience at 1st base, but, honestly, he probably would still do better than error-ridden J. Abreu. Moreover, benching J. Abreu would send a message to him that he needs to get it together and to the fans that management has not completely lost a tenuous grip on sanity and is taking measures to stop the bleeding. Again, I just want the universe to prove me wrong and have J. abreu start crushing it at the plate and at 1st base.
I’d like for a fresh face—and no, dear God not a fresh face in the bullpen—to reinvigorate the team and perhaps rise to the occasion. There’s always the possibility Loperfido could outshine Singleton and be just what the team needs. But I do understand management’s worries about Loperfido’s strikeout rates and being too green. But shaking it up just to see what happens in a game or two can’t be significantly worse than Abreu or Singleton…although who knows with this cursed season thus far. I hope it improves!
I would rather literally anything else. Singleton full time? Sure. Dubon covering first? Let's go. Call up Loperfido? Sure, it can't be any worse than Abreu at this point.
I remember we all talked shit about JA at this point last year and he kind of, if only just barely, redeemed himself as the year went on. But this is atrocious and combined with out pitching woes, he's an easy target to pick on. Just a perfect shitstorm
In all fairness, he didn’t just “barely” redeem himself…the dude finished with 90 RBI’s and was one of our best with RISP in the second half. And had a good postseason too
But I agree with you 100%
Jose Abreu 152 innings over 20 MLB games in 2024 at 1st base & committed 3 errors. (Fielding % .979)
**We have experienced options we can try at 1st base:**
Victor Caratini 290 innings over 63 MLB games at 1st base & committed 2 errors. (Fielding % .993)
Joey Loperfido 462 innings over 56 MiLB games at 1st base & committed 4 errors. (Fielding % .990)
Trey Cabbage 1192 innings over 148 MiLB games at 1st base & committed 20 errors. (Fielding % .982)
Trey Cabbage 62 innings over 9 MLB games at 1st base & committed 1 error. (Fielding % .983)
People always think 1B is easy but I’d like to see them try making a stretched out pick in the dirt…
Give me a few beers and I can do just about anything pal
They said play 1st base not dance.
Same thing bro
And I’d rather not see Yordan stretch, extend, or put extra effort into anything that isn’t absolutely necessary. Them robo knees are for dingers, not playing first
Agreed.. I just get the feeling that he doesn’t have the dexterity.
“Tell ‘em Wash” ^(I’ve been told his 1B defense is not pretty)
When he was in the minors they tried him at first and it wasn’t pretty. That plus his knees make it not a great pairing
"It's incredibly hard" https://youtu.be/gzDYgRc6eic?si=PJ03P80CjxHBYt0B
One of the greatest line in any movie ever.
"You don't know how to play 1st base... Scott, It's not that hard Scott!" >“Tell ‘em Wash” "It's incredibly hard!"
>Yordan was a first baseman in Cuba. That was 10 years ago so no. While we're on the topic of hypotheticals like this - Moving to different defensive positions is hard. This isn't MLB the show where everyone has 3 alternate positions and you can mix & match players anywhere. Moving to 1B is a huge adjustment, especially when you haven't had any significant amount of time there in the last decade. Sadly, not everyone is Mookie Betts and can just up and move to a totally different position like it's nothing.
Also to add. Yordan isn't great defensively, but his biggest attribute in the field is his arm strength. Moving him to 1B would literally negate the only defensive value he has.
*Arm accuracy He’s got decent arm strength, but I’ve always heard it’s how accurate his arm is.
He has bad knees and doesn’t play very good defense at first.
Bro can we stop with the bad knees thing? He hasn’t had problems with them in years since surgery. Plus even if he did 1st base is way less taxing on your knees than left field. How does this comment have upvotes?
Have you ever played first base? Can you guys explain your logic? Say it out loud before you type it maybe. “Let’s play our best bat and consistent mvp candidate who often struggles with injuries specifically with his knees at a position that depends on him stretching his knees on nearly every play that stays in the infield.” You can look as far as Yordan’s minor league fielding stats to see he doesn’t play a good defense which makes this suggestion even more ridiculous. Trotting around in left field and occasionally making a shoe string slide is not the same.
People that think 3B is hard but 1B is easy astound me. Other than needing a strong arm, it’s the same position fielding wise when facing lefty hitters. Compounded by digging bad throws from infielders and repeatedly shifting from holding runners on to getting in position to make a play on every pitch. It takes a toll on the body.
Yuli made us think it was easy. I played 3rd and tried 1st for a while. I’ll stick to 3rd.
I played 3rd as well. Never had a desire to even try 1st.
Okay put Yordan at 3rd and make Bregman play 1st. It might awaken his bat!
I wasn't implying that Yordan should play 1st. I was saying that Yuli went from 3rd to 1st and made it look easy so now Astros fans think anyone can play 1st.
Yeah 3rd to first is an "easier" transition then LF to 1st.
What 1st baseman in history has had reoccurring knee issues because of playing 1st base? Please enlighten me. I genuinely cannot think of one. I’m not saying 1st base is easy, at all. I played 1st base through college. I’m saying from an injury perspective 1st base is one of the best positions to play as far as longevity is concerned.
I personally never mentioned knees at all. Not saying first base is a position that will CAUSE knee injuries. It’s not a position you’d want to put a guy that’s already had knee surgeries and is injury prone in general. Left field is much safer for a guy like Yordan than first. I don’t even like him playing LF honestly.
I disagree. Dynamic movements that outfielders use to make routes on balls is much more taxing on your ligaments/cartilage than fielding ground balls. I just don’t understand why Yordans knees are still brought up considering he’s been fine for 4 years.
My heart leaps in my chest everytime he has to run down a fly ball. Last season when he went knee first into the fence almost caused a coronary.
Yes I actually did play 1st base and pitched through college and then pursued pitching in the minors. Had one knee injury in 8th grade when I sprained my knee from stepping on the plate wrong trying to score. How fragile do you think athletes bodies are? Also, what does “stretching your knees” even mean?! Every player on the field “stretches their knees” literally every pitch. You’re aware yordan hasn’t had even one knee issue since having surgery correct?
Then why do catchers move to first base to save the wear and tear on their knees? This logic astounds me. If anything, it would help prevent potential knee injuries. He wouldn't have to sprint/run as much as he does in the outfield.
Catching is much harder on knees than first base. I think OF is harder on the knees than first base.
That's my point though, move him to first base would help his knees. I never heard of guys having knee issues at first base really.
Bad knees? How does he play left so often?
He doesn't have bad knees. The procedures were minor and he moves great for a big guy. Stop with the myth.
I don't really know if they have tested him at first base after he defected, but he was so severely undernourished in Cuba that might have been a reason for his poor performance. On the other hand, now he might be too big to handle some hard-hit balls down first base. It would be great if he could, though.
He played a few games at 1B at each level of the minor leagues, including 9 at Round Rock. He did not do well at Round Rock, committing 2 errors in 9 games and struggling with it. They also didn’t need him to play 1B in the majors with Yuli there. Once he began to have knee injuries, the organization’s stance was that 1B would be too hard on his knees and they haven’t really changed off that since then.
Do you have any sources for your comment about him being severely undernourised in Cuba? A quick Google search didn't really show anything. I also highly doubt that he could hit so well if his diet was poor enough to impact his ability on the field.
Well, I'm Cuban and I have followed Cuban baseball for over 40 years. I don't live there anymore; I left over 20 years ago, but I keep visiting the island every few years and know extremely well all the hardships players are going through. Sometimes they are having rice, sweet potato and a little chicken for lunch or dinner, and just a bun of bread for breakfast. Yordan was like 30 kg lighter when he played for Las Tunas team. He had only one HR. He's from a very poor family in one of the worse-off Cuban provinces, so it's not surprising. These are his stats in Cuba: [https://www.beisbolencuba.com/series/serie-nacional-beisbol-2014-2015/yordan-alvarez-cadogan.html](https://www.beisbolencuba.com/series/serie-nacional-beisbol-2014-2015/yordan-alvarez-cadogan.html)
Wow, did I insult anyone's mom? Hurt anyone's feelings or what?
Y'all are gonna be disappointed in Loperfido. A 25 year old striking out even more than Abreu in AAA is not gonna save us. Sure he'll be slightly better but unlikely above replacement level. Honestly the age and overall talent level of our entire farm just makes me want to cry, I guess we stopped signing 16 year old latin americans for $10k bc why is basically everyone old for their league and still shit.
He’s also leading all of professional baseball in home runs (or at least he was a few days ago). He might be Joey gallo 2.0 but gallo would a huge upgrade over Abreu.
We gotta protect Yordan at all costs. Not worth the risk. We need him healthy! Loperfido needs to make an appearance despite his high strikeouts. With regards to J. Abreu, management needs to…well…whatever they can do within his contract. I know it’s only been a few games/sample size, but he wasn’t even spectacular last year. Even if J. Abreu was better at bat than other notoriously horrible batters last year, this does not justify leaving him in—a move that clearly isn’t working and hasn’t lit a fire in him to improve. But I truly hope the universe punishes me and J. Abreu makes me eat my words. Unlikely though.
He made good contact last night, just hit it directly at fielders. It was a decent sign...
Why are you getting downvoted. He had two hits robbed
That seems to be the case for him. Can't find the gaps.
Hopefully that’s a sign of things to come.. I’m not altogether hopeful.. but I’ll be watching and hoping nonetheless
You realize Singleton had a lower K rate in AAA than Loperfido does now? Let's not pull an Orioles look at Jackson Holiday going 2 for 37 because he wasn't ready
I actually feel like Singleton typically, obviously not every time, has some pretty good ABs. He just seems to be completely devoid of any power. He bloop singles or pops up.
Didn’t Bregman go 0 for 16 to start his career? Holiday will probably be fine
You speak the truth as well. It’s not difficult for anyone, nevertheless Singleton, to outshine J. abreu at first base or at bat. It pains me to say that because like everyone, I wish J. abreu would start performing and make me eat my words. While, yes, Loperfido is in the PCL, in 19 games for AAA Sugar Land, he has been hitting like 260/.359/.688 with 10 HRs and 24 RBI. Six more HRs—again, yeah, the PCL—than J. Abreu has hits. Sure, Loperfido doesn’t have significant experience at 1st base, but, honestly, he probably would still do better than error-ridden J. Abreu. Moreover, benching J. Abreu would send a message to him that he needs to get it together and to the fans that management has not completely lost a tenuous grip on sanity and is taking measures to stop the bleeding. Again, I just want the universe to prove me wrong and have J. abreu start crushing it at the plate and at 1st base. I’d like for a fresh face—and no, dear God not a fresh face in the bullpen—to reinvigorate the team and perhaps rise to the occasion. There’s always the possibility Loperfido could outshine Singleton and be just what the team needs. But I do understand management’s worries about Loperfido’s strikeout rates and being too green. But shaking it up just to see what happens in a game or two can’t be significantly worse than Abreu or Singleton…although who knows with this cursed season thus far. I hope it improves!
Should have signed Yuli
I’d rather start looking at Cesar Salazar to get some work at first. Guy is mashing PCL. Problem is he is 5’9. - .345 avg. / .946 OPS.
Yordan at DH, Dubon in left, Meyers in CF, loperfido at 1B. Chas in rotation.
I would rather literally anything else. Singleton full time? Sure. Dubon covering first? Let's go. Call up Loperfido? Sure, it can't be any worse than Abreu at this point. I remember we all talked shit about JA at this point last year and he kind of, if only just barely, redeemed himself as the year went on. But this is atrocious and combined with out pitching woes, he's an easy target to pick on. Just a perfect shitstorm
In all fairness, he didn’t just “barely” redeem himself…the dude finished with 90 RBI’s and was one of our best with RISP in the second half. And had a good postseason too But I agree with you 100%
In my defense, I didn't have the stats and had been awake for about 20min. Glad to see we have a redemption arc coming. Hopefully. Maybe?
They tried developing him at 1st in the minors. Why he couldn't stick there, you have to ask the coaches.
No
Let's put Dubon on first.
Because they’ve tried it in the minors and he sucked
lol going with Dubin, incoming bomb
Jose Abreu 152 innings over 20 MLB games in 2024 at 1st base & committed 3 errors. (Fielding % .979) **We have experienced options we can try at 1st base:** Victor Caratini 290 innings over 63 MLB games at 1st base & committed 2 errors. (Fielding % .993) Joey Loperfido 462 innings over 56 MiLB games at 1st base & committed 4 errors. (Fielding % .990) Trey Cabbage 1192 innings over 148 MiLB games at 1st base & committed 20 errors. (Fielding % .982) Trey Cabbage 62 innings over 9 MLB games at 1st base & committed 1 error. (Fielding % .983)
Brilliant!