The Mariners acquired Dee Gordon from the Marlins on Thursday evening. He has played middle infield exclusively in the major leagues, but he is expected to move to center field in Seattle since the Mariners already have Robinson Cano at second base.
Following news of the trade, Gordon said he would normally be hesitant to switch positions, but Cano is one of the few players that would make him change his mind. Via T.J. Cotterill of the Tacoma News Tribune:
Yeah, wow, Robinson Cano is a dream come true for me to play with. I watched that guy play with my dad as a rookie. He’s always been awesome. It’s a dream. If I have to move, I’m not going to lie to you and just say, ‘Oh, yeah, let me move,’ because I worked really hard, really, really hard to become one of the best second basemen in baseball. But if there’s anybody I would move for, it would be Robbie.
There is already some consternation about Gordon’s move to center field from second base, mostly because of his arm. GM Jerry DiPoto isn’t concerned, however. Via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times:
His first step, his acceleration is about as good as anybody in the league. We have him registered as one of the top three in Major League Baseball in those categories. And when you look at the two people in front of him, they are both center fielders. He has that explosive speed and athletic ability that really resonates at that position. And if you add to it, the fact that we have a Hall of Famer playing second base, then this was a way that we could be creative to add what we think is an impact player to our club.