Don’t call Marwin Gonzalez a utilityman. from zhangzk's blog

FORT MYERS http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-dustin-pedroia-jersey , Fla. (AP) — At least not around the Minnesota Twins.“That’s something I’ve heard used before, all the time,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said on Monday after welcoming Gonzalez to the team’s spring training ballpark. “We consider Marwin an everyday player. He’s just a multi-positional everyday player.”A veteran of seven seasons, all with the Astros, Gonzalez has played every position except pitcher and catcher — and played them well. In Houston’s 2017 World Series championship season, his best year, he committed eight errors in 134 games while batting .303 with 23 homers and 90 RBIs. He finished in the top 20 of the AL MVP voting.Despite a dropoff last year (.247, 16 HR, 68 RBIs), the Twins will pay Gonzalez $21 million for the next two years even though they don’t really have a spot for him.One spot wouldn’t be enough, anyway.“It’s kind of boring for me to be in the same spot every day,” he said. “I used to be that way Blake Swihart Jersey , years ago I wanted to be good at one position and be able to play there and establish myself for my entire career. With time, I fall in love with what I do and then I feel comfortable everywhere.”The Twins just gave shortstop Jorge Polanco a new deal and added Jonathan Schoop at second base and C.J. Cron at first. Third baseman Miguel Sano, an All-Star in 2017, is seen as a potential franchise cornerstone if he can stay healthy.The outfield is also crowded, with Eddie Rosario in left and Max Kepler in right; five-time All-Star Nelson Cruz, Minnesota’s highest-profile offseason addition, is the designated hitter.The Twins already had Ehire Adrianza as a backup infielder.Gonzalez expressed no preference for any one position — or even how he might choose to be bounced around — saying it was up to the manager to decide. Baldelli said they would figure that out over the next month.But it’s something he’s excited to think about.“It means everything. Because it doesn’t mean just one particular thing or two things. It just gives you so many different options,” Baldelli said.“What he does is incredibly difficult and challenging for most. But also not everyone embraces that role, either. To do what he does, it takes a very special player.”Gonzalez, who turns 30 next month, will receive $12 million this year and $9 million in 2020. To make room for him on the 40-man roster Rick Porcello Jersey , the Twins designated outfielder Zack Granite for assignment.The deal was agreed to in principle last week but not finalized until Gonzalez passed a physical. He said he has been working out in Houston before moving to Miami two weeks ago, doing all baseball activities except facing pitchers, to avoid injury.Dozens of free agents remain unsigned, including market leader Bryce Harper, who is expected to get a deal topping the $300 million, 10-year contract signed by shortstop Manny Machado only last week.Waiting until spring training was well underway before signing was “kind of frustrating,” Gonzalez said.“Especially the last week, going to social media and seeing everybody in a baseball uniform,” he said. “And you are just working out by yourself and getting ready for spring training. But I think that the wait was worth it. I couldn’t be in a better spot than down here.”__ Stacy Revere/Getty ImagesFormer MLB outfielder Jayson Werth said Wednesday that "super nerds" are killing baseball.Werth, who hinted toward retirement in June,believes the game's analytics revolution is having a negative impact on the sport, as he explained on theHoward Eskin Podcast(viaESPN.com):"They've got all these super nerds in the front office that know nothing about baseball but they like to project numbers and project players. ... I think it's killing the game. It's to the point where just put computers out there. Just put laptops and what have you http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-j.j.-hardy-jersey , just put them out there and let them play. We don't even need to go out there anymore. It's a joke."Werth lamented the lack of previously considered fundamental aspects of the game, including the strategic use of the bunt to take advantage of defensive alignment and the widespread use of the shift."When they come down, these kids from MIT, Stanford, Harvard, wherever they're from, they've never played baseball in their life," he told Eskin. "When they come down to talk about stuff like [shifts], should I just bunt it over there? They're like, 'No, don't do that. We don't want you to do that. We want you to hit a homer.'"It's just not baseball to me. We're creating something that's not fun to watch. It's boring. You're turning players into robots. You've taken the human element out of the game."In October,Brian Costa and Jared Diamondof theWall Street Journalreported MLB games last season "saw an average gap of 3 minutes Adam Jones Jersey , 48 seconds between balls in play, an all-time high." In addition, the league set records for pitching changes, time between pitches and longest games.TheWSJcited teams' use of data to seek pitchers who generate more strikeouts and hitters who generate fly balls to avoid shifts and create more home runs as key reasons for the lack of activity. It noted the "all-or-nothing approach means that between each home run there is a lot of standing around and waiting."Werth, who was one of the National League's toughest outs in his prime with the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals, struggled to adapt to the changing game over his final three seasons. He posted a .226/.322/.393 triple-slash line across 70 games for the Nats last year.His .360 career on-base percentage would rank inside the top 30 of active players if he was on a current roster. He toldJon Heymanof Fancred Sports he was "done" in June after a brief stint in the Seattle Mariners organization, though.