Meet David DeJesus, the right fielder

David DeJesus tells Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he’s cool with moving to right field:

“It’s one of those things,” DeJesus said. “I know I had a good year in left. But we’re a team that needs a right fielder. Trey called me, and now I’m a right fielder. I’m going to play wherever they put me in the lineup.”

DeJesus, 30, has made only 16 starts in right field during his major league career, but was asked to make the switch after the Royals inked Rick Ankiel to play center field and Scott Podsednik to play left. Only Carl Crawford fared than better than DeJesus among major league left fielders in UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) last season. DeJesus did not make a single error in 1239 1/3 innings overall (includes three games in center and two games in right).

Factoring in his 4.9 career UZR/150 in center field (481 starts), far surpassing Ankiel (granted, in limiting showings) and Podsednik, I’m surprised that the Royals didn’t just go with their best defensive player in center. But what do I know, I blog in my pajamas while eating Fruity Pebbles and Dayton Moore, um, general manages.