It may be Tui time at second base
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 | 12:01 am
As the Mariners consider their options for next season, don't be surprised if Matt Tuiasosopo sees some duty at second base before this season ends.
Tuiasosopo, drafted as a shortstop and converted to third base, played 21 games at second base this season for Class AAA Tacoma. And it wasn't just so Chris Shelton could play third for the Rainiers. The Mariners love Tuiasosopo's athleticism and see at least the potential for better range at second base than they're getting from Jose Lopez. And even if they leave Lopez at second, the Mariners would like to see if Tuiasosopo could fill a "super utility" role and be used in a variety of positions. He also played left field several games at spring training.
Tui, who missed about two months after surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow, made more than a third of his 59 starts for the Rainiers at second base. His manager, Daren Brown, said he didn't play badly for a guy who'd spent all of his time as a pro on the other side of the diamond.
“He’ll need a little more than 20 games at second base, but he’s a really good athlete and he picks up things really quick,” Brown said. “With a lot of repetition, he gets better and better. I didn’t see anything that said he couldn’t play it. It’s good for him to be able to slide somewhere else and not just slot into one position. He did OK there.”
It will be interesting to see if the Mariners play him at second sometime in these final 16 games. Their middle infield depth got fairly thin this week with injuries to both Jack Wilson and Bill Hall. Wilson suffered a bruised heel that could keep him out most, if not all, of the remaining games. Hall pulled up with a cramp in his right quad and, while manager Don Wakamatsu described it as a day-to-day injury, Hall continued to feel pain today and wasn't able to play.
It left Josh Wilson as the starter at shortstop and Jack Hannahan as the only other middle infield backup, unless you consider Tuiasosopo.
Tuiasosopo, drafted as a shortstop and converted to third base, played 21 games at second base this season for Class AAA Tacoma. And it wasn't just so Chris Shelton could play third for the Rainiers. The Mariners love Tuiasosopo's athleticism and see at least the potential for better range at second base than they're getting from Jose Lopez. And even if they leave Lopez at second, the Mariners would like to see if Tuiasosopo could fill a "super utility" role and be used in a variety of positions. He also played left field several games at spring training.
Tui, who missed about two months after surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow, made more than a third of his 59 starts for the Rainiers at second base. His manager, Daren Brown, said he didn't play badly for a guy who'd spent all of his time as a pro on the other side of the diamond.
“He’ll need a little more than 20 games at second base, but he’s a really good athlete and he picks up things really quick,” Brown said. “With a lot of repetition, he gets better and better. I didn’t see anything that said he couldn’t play it. It’s good for him to be able to slide somewhere else and not just slot into one position. He did OK there.”
It will be interesting to see if the Mariners play him at second sometime in these final 16 games. Their middle infield depth got fairly thin this week with injuries to both Jack Wilson and Bill Hall. Wilson suffered a bruised heel that could keep him out most, if not all, of the remaining games. Hall pulled up with a cramp in his right quad and, while manager Don Wakamatsu described it as a day-to-day injury, Hall continued to feel pain today and wasn't able to play.
It left Josh Wilson as the starter at shortstop and Jack Hannahan as the only other middle infield backup, unless you consider Tuiasosopo.
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