Yonder Alonso, the catcher?

That’s right. During the team’s winter caravan event on Saturday, manager Dusty Baker mentioned that the team has considered using prospect Yonder Alonso behind the plate. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com has the quote from the Reds’ skipper:

“That’s always a possibility,” Baker said. “We’ve entertained a few things, even the possibility of putting Alonso behind the plate. He’s built more like a catcher than he is anything. Imagine a left-handed, power-hitting catcher. A lot of that depends on our Minor League development people that spend time with the kids and the time training them.”

Save for a few designated hitter assignments here and there, the former 2008 first-round pick has exclusively played at first base in the minor leagues, so this is probably wishful thinking more than anything else. I’ve looked for any evidence of him playing another position during his time at the University of Miami, but have come up empty-handed.

Alonso, who turns 23 in April, batted .292/.374/.464 with nine home runs and 52 RBI during his first full year of pro ball last season, reaching as high as Double-A Carolina. He was recently ranked as the club’s No. 2 prospect by Baseball America and is expected to rise rather quickly, so something will have to give with Joey Votto as the big club’s current first baseman. Many have speculated that Votto will eventually be ticketed for left field.