Gordon willing to do ‘whatever it takes’

SEATTLE — At least he’s not learning one of baseball’s most difficult positions on the fly against major-league hitters.

This is home for Dee Gordon. Not many teams can replace a Gold Glove second baseman with a Gold Glove second baseman like the Seattle Mariners can.

So there Gordon was, plugged into their defense Friday against the Detroit Tigers at second base for the first time since last season with the Miami Marlins, and the first time since he converted to full-time center field for the Mariners.

Gordon didn’t have a spring training to fine-tune his craft — he’s had three days since Major League Baseball hit Robinson Cano with an 80-game drug suspension that will also make him ineligible for the playoffs. Gordon said he hasn’t fielded grounders since about December.

“I’ve played this position, but considering the circumstances it’s definitely not how you wanted it to happen,” Gordon said. “Especially to a great guy like Robbie. I’m just going to try to help us for this season and see what we can do to get to the postseason.”

And that means more than just playing second base.

Now he has a unique skill set as a second baseman with an ability to play center field, a position he looked far more comfortable with lately after finally getting at least a month of big-league experience there — though he’s certainly had his good and bad moments.

It would be easy for the Mariners to say they don’t want to flip-flop him and allow him get comfortable focusing on one position. But Gordon’s been open to the opposite.

Which means versatility.

“I think he just wants to do what’s best for the team — and if there’s a situation where we wanted to give an outfielder a day and just scoot Dee back out there, he has no problem doing that,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “He’s very comfortable in the outfield now. I think he has looked much better out there, just comfort-wise, and his jumps (are better), especially in the past six, seven games. We can definitely move him around if we need.”

That means Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto isn’t limited to finding a replacement at second base or the outfield.

Dipoto said they can use the almost $12 million they would have paid as part of Cano’s contract (Cano is suspended without pay) for other players. Or maybe they’ll think enough of Guillermo Heredia’s move to full-time center field with Ben Gamel in left field that they can address another need — maybe starting pitching or bullpen.

Dipoto spoke on 710-ESPN radio recently saying the trade market appears to be churning a bit earlier this season than in years past.

But this is all predicated on Gordon’s openness to move from infield to outfield and vice versa as needed.

“It’s unique,” Servais said. “Certainly he’s a gifted athlete and having the mindset to go along with it — he just wants to do whatever he can to help our club this year, knowing we’ll be short-handed for the time being. Whatever it takes, wherever he can fill in he’ll do what’s best for our team on that particular day and he’s willing to do it. It’s great.”

But a lot easier said than done.

Just ask the only other guy in the Mariners’ clubhouse who plays infield and outfield.

Andrew Romine has six gloves in his clubhouse locker, each designed and molded for a different position. There isn’t a spot he can’t play after he entered the big leagues as a shortstop.

“It’s takes a little more time for me to stay prepared,” Romine said, “but the biggest thing is the glove. For me, switching between gloves is the hardest thing – each one is a different size and each is a different form and fits a little differently and the web is in a different spot.

“But if he’s just focusing on second, it would be logical for him to be able to still get the work in at both positions, though you throw in the magnifying glass of being on TV and in front of everybody — you do something that gets you on ESPN and it’s all over TV that night. But if you can’t handle the pressure you probably aren’t going to be around very long, and I think he’s done a nice job trying to adapt as quickly as possible.”

Gordon earned his Gold Glove in 2015 and could’ve earned it again last season. The Mariners employ defensive shifts as much as any team, but bench coach Manny Acta, a former infielder, said he and Servais have talked about not shifting him as far because Gordon is really fast.

“We’re going to stick with this because we didn’t design it for certain individuals,” said Acta, who has been working with Gordon on infield drills the past three days. “We can play him a little bit more toward the pull side, but we were wondering if it was even worth it because he can get to so many balls.”

Acta has seen plenty of that Gold Glove-caliber technique. He said it should be like riding a bike once Gordon re-learns the feel how the ball comes off a major-league bat as opposed to Acta’s Fungo bat.

“Obviously you want him to go through the whole spring training, but he’s a terrific athlete,” Acta said. “He worked with Perry Hill for years down in Miami, so the tune-up is a lot easier for him. We’ve been out there for only a few days, but he looks good. It’s just now a matter of re-thinking the plays and where to be on cutoffs and that kind of stuff.

“But for a guy like him, as athletic as he is, it’s not as difficult.”