Have we forgotten about the emerging emergence of Mr. Emerg-o-matic Chris Getz? Is it already time to cast aside the extremely recent past in favor of the near future? Is Gordon Beckham really the serious contender for the second base job the press and PR machine are making him out to be?
In all likelihood, no. In all likelihood, even the White Sox aren’t foolish enough to try converting a shortstop-by-trade into a second baseman just to spite their other options.
On the other hand, it’s a nice thing to envision. Not that Beckham will be good, but that a Sox prospect – a position-playing prospect, at that – might actually pan out the way all those other positional prospects never seem to.
But consider for a moment what happens if Beckham makes it. Let’s say he continues his domination throughout the rest of Spring Training and the Sox juggle the lineup to find a logical place for him. Let’s say either he is moved to second to fill the vacancy, or Alexei Ramirez stays put and Beckham remains at shortstop. Awesome as that may be, keep in mind that will mean:
- Chris Getz is a bust, or at least suddenly useless, but in a good way i.e. the Sox have a surplus of high-ceiling, legitimate infield prospects
- Brent Lillibridge becomes superfluous in the same fashion
- As a result, the Jose Contreras/Bartolo Colon sideshow is reduced to mere spectacle, as we would be forced to acknowledge the return on The Most Interesting Man in Baseball didn’t have quite the usefulness it first seemed to
It’s funny how that works. One minute the Good Guys are trying to overpay for a rental of Brian Roberts, the next their middle infield questions are answered into eternity. Perhaps all is not lost just yet.