The Padres’ lineup has a different look for tonight’s game against the Braves, as Corey Brock of MLB.com notes that Jedd Gyorko is making the start at shortstop.
This is notable because Gyorko has never played shortstop as a professional. That’s right, not in the majors or the minors. He has almost exclusively played either second base or third. However, the Padres are looking at alternatives to Alexi Amarista and his .553 OPS, so they are willing to take some chances with their alignment even though it might not be pretty. You might recall that Will Middlebrooks has even made some starts at shortstop this season.
The Padres had a “shortstop of the future” in prospect Trea Turner, but they traded him to the Nationals as the player-to-be-named-later in the three-team Wil Myers deal. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported last month that the Padres tried to get Turner back in a deal for Craig Kimbrel, but obviously nothing came of it. You can bet that shortstop will be on A.J. Preller’s wish list this offseason.