Ok I wouldn't expect him to play the defense of Adam Lind. But I'm sure he can and will hit better then Lind. Lind is horrible defensively.... I'm almost hoping his back goes out so he'll be out of the lineup for a while.... Snider can come up and EE and Thames can man 1st base... Though admittedly that is a bit of a scary thought..... Btw.... How long is Snider expected to be out.

Lind is horrible defensively? I don't know if he's got the best range, but the man can pick it, and that's my top priority at that position defensively.

Why do you think Lind is a "horrible" defender?

Because he cant hit.. and his fielding is pi ss poor in left how will he be at first

Sorry... I misspoke. He is very good defensively. He is horrid offensively.

He is a better hitter then Lind is right now. I'm sure he'd be better then EE at first but not quite as good as Lind. I think he will have a better bat then Lind as he gets more reps.

He may and i use that very lightly be a better hitter than Lind. But no way will he ever be a better first baseman then either of Lind or EE.

Sorry again I got my terms wrong. he is horribly offensively. He is above average defensively.

So a below avg corner outfield bat suddenly plays better at 1b?

Agree. Lind has been very good defensively.

I've suggested considering Thames for 1B for several weeks now.

Thames is a better bitter than Lind, but he's a liability if LF. Snider may finally be ML ready and we know he's a much better outfielder.

The issue is how well do his skills (or lack of) project at 1B. Has he got reflexes and flexibility? I agree simply catching the ball reliably is more important than range.

Also, how do you train him for it? 6 weeks in AAA then grow him out there? (that might hurt our offense while he's gone and costs an option). DH him every day but do drills at practices focusing on learning to play first? That might throw him off somehow. I dunno. I like the general idea because we seem so highly unlikely to pick up a true top 10 1B by FA or trade. But I'm sure there are logistic issues that most of us don't comprehend.

Then there's Adam Lind. He may realize the writing is on the wall for him or he may not. You can't question his hustle this year - he looks very determined but struggles to hit for average or power. He may be a tradeable asset along with some pitching prospects that could net us an upgraded hitter or starting pitcher (three for one deal, say). Or maybe no one really wants him in which case he become a platoon player loading his value. His contract is good value if he plays every day and hits well. If he sits half the time then it's not. He's not DFA/release bad. He's just not good enough to be even an average AL first baseman.

So yeah, just flowing here, but there's lots to think about. And it's not as simple as just plugging him in.

He's hitting almost .300. I would not classify him as a below average OF bat. He may or may not sustain that but he's hitting well now and is clearly, at this point in time, a better hitter than Adam Lind.

Yes, some of those hits are infield singles. But so are Lawrie's.

Sure, his offense does not project as elite for a first baseman. But there's no one else to put there that's better. He's not a Votto or a Fielder or AGon, but we can't have those guys so it's irrelevant. He may be *our* best option this year and next.

Why are we trying so hard to find Thames a defensive position?

I don't dislike Thames at all, but I can't imagine a player with his poor defensive instincts in LF becoming passable at 1B. Certainly such a transition should not take place at the major league level.

If Thames had an elite bat, or a potentially elite bat, I could see trying to shoe-horn him into the lineup more, but he is what he is, a high-floor/low-ceiling bat who has no business putting a glove on.

I could tolerate him in LF if we didn't have a better option, but we do. I could tolerate him getting ABs at DH if we didn't have a better All-Bat-No-Glove option in EE. I could tolerate him on the bench if he had the defensive skills to cover off all three outfield positions, but he doesn't.

I really have no idea what to do with Thames unless his hit skill takes a quantum leap forward.

"So a below avg corner outfield bat suddenly plays better at 1b? "

Certainly better then the worst hitter in baseball coming up on 2 and a half years now. Numbers speak for themselves, and Lind's are beyond horrible.

Lets carry on with the .700 OPS, and hope that he somehow regains his magical form

I tossed around the idea of Thames transitioning to first last year when he was still a prospect. At this point, it just seems like it would be good for him to have positional versatility. He probably isn't quite good enough to cut it as an everyday player but he'd make a nice bat of the bench if there was more than one position where you could play him. I like his bat but I just don't think it's quite good enough to make up for consistently poor fielding performances.

Why didn't we pull a Seattle Mariners-like move this spring for Montero and convert him to first base?

I think a package of McGowan, Litsch, Farina, Santos, and Cecil could have snagged him.

How does that Pineda trade look for Yankees now?

If any player is converted into being a first baseman, it should be Arencebia, and then there would be room for both Arencebia and d'Arnaud on the ML roster. (Lots of catchers move to 1st base.)

Sadly, I doubt Lind has much trade value. He's turned into another Lyle Overbay.

New York wanted a ML-ready young starter, not a package of solid yet mediocre arms. Unless we gave up Romero, there wasn't really a way for the Jays to be a match.

"I think a package of McGowan, Litsch, Farina, Santos, and Cecil could have snagged him."

Well it's like they knew Pineda would get injured so there's no way they would have taken that package instead. They really were looking to get one impact starting pitching not a bunch of fringy guys, a minor league reliever and a closer. The closest comparison to Pineda would have probably been Alvarez. Maybe Alvarez and a GOOD prospect would have gotten it done but I still think the Yankees would have went with Pineda.

Why can't he become a better or at least equivalent 1b in terms of defense? Do you remember how god awful Lind looked in LF? If Lind can make that position adjustment then I think that Thames can make it also. However I don't think that this will happen so it's kind of irrelevant.