Can Zach Walters Play Third Base?

When the Indians traded for Zach Walters last year, it was a bit of a something for nothing trade. Asdrubal Cabrera was hurting the team through his defense more than he was helping offensively and Walters was the Nationals top power hitting prospect, so position didn’t really enter into it. During his short time during the 2014 campaign, he was needed in the out field and DH and that is where he played in 25 of 30 games with the Indians. With the addition of Brandon Moss and the assumed health (tentatively) of Nick Swisher, that hole appears to have disappeared and, being willing to play anywhere to get a job, it is no secret that Walters is trying his hand at a few other positions including first and second base, short stop and, right now, third base.

Taking one particular example of Walter’s play as an example, the game against the Royals on March 6th, things aren’t looking very good. As the starting third baseman, in just five innings, Walters committed two errors and missed a catch on another play that could have been a third error. He overthrew the mammoth Jesus Aguilar at first, got one under the glove of the incredibly talented Roberto Perez at home and dropped a fairly sure assist from left-center in what was a generally terrible game all around defensively.

Of course, this is just a single game and he has played just five (one start) at the Major League level, but throwing out his limited action this Spring and in his two short appearances in the Majors, there is still a place to go for more in depth defensive numbers for Zach Walters, his minor league career.

With more than 500 minor league games under his belt (compared to just 70 MLB), Walters’ defensive stats look a little more legitimate. He played just ten games in the outfield over five MiLB seasons and 42 at DH, showing that the infield is nowhere new to Walters. Unfortunately, in depth minor league fielding stats are not available, but in this case, they may not be necessary. Walters is terrible at all three positions. For comparison, the worst third baseman according to fielding percent in 2014 was Lonnie Chisenhall at .931 while 21 around the Majors qualified with a fielding percent .950 or above. At short, the worst was Hanley Ramirez at .961 with 16 above .971 and at second the worst was Daniel Murphy at .974 and the top 16 were successful at least 98% of the time. In every case, Walters minor league numbers would essentially make him the worst defender in the league at every position.

The Indians were already the worst defensive team in baseball in 2014, so it makes little sense to attempt a move that would make them even worse. Having a poor defender with a questionable bat already playing at third, it makes little sense to groom another with an even more inconsistent glove and bat. While versatility is a virtue, simply saying a player can play a position doesn’t mean they can do so at the Major League level. The Indians learned this lesson last season with Carlos Santana, but seem to be testing it again in 2015.

Third base seems to be the only option of interest at the moment for Walters as the depth everywhere else looks to be keeping him of the potential 25 man roster this April. Jose Ramirez will start at short, Jason Kipnis will start at second and Mike Aviles will back both of them up. With a designated DH (Nick Swisher) and two extra outfielders (David Murphy and Ryan Raburn), there is no available spot for Walters.

With all that, it makes sense to try Walters at third, especially considering that he is already a better hitter than Raburn. If he were able to play infield every once in awhile, outfield slightly more often and DH when necessary, Walters would be that much more valuable to the Indians than Raburn or even Murphy. Unfortunately, if one Friday Spring game is any indication, third base will not be an option for Zach Walters.