San Francisco Giants rumors: Buster Posey could move to first base at some point?
By Hayden Kane
The San Francisco Giants have one of the single most important players in all of baseball in franchise catcher Buster Posey.
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With a career that is already decorated with individual accomplishments and World Series rings, Posey might as important to his team’s fate as any player in all of baseball. When Posey fell off in the second half of 2013, so did the Giants. Things have been up and down in 2014, but with a recent hip tweak holding Posey out of the lineup, the inevitable question has started to emerge:
Could Posey eventually make a permanent switch to first base?
When asked that question, manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged that it will be a serious consideration in future years. From Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News:
"“Right now, no,” Bochy said. “Down the road, sure, that’s something we will talk about. It could lighten the load on Buster. Whether at some point down the road he will get out from behind the plate, I can’t answer that. Right now it’s not discussed. But I will say it’s nice to have options. It’s a beautiful thing to have that option and to put someone down there, whether it’s Susac or Sanchez, who can handle the staff.”"
As with Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins and his move out from behind the plate, part of the challenge for the Giants is the fact that Posey is an elite defender at catcher. Ultimately though, his bat is more important than anything.
Starting in 2016, Posey’s contract will pay him somewhere in the neighborhood of $20-$22 million a season. That number is not necessarily outlandish…as long as Posey stays on the field. With that in mind, he might be doing so at first base and not catcher.