Cardinals’ Matt Holliday works out at first base

Matt Holliday is getting some work out at first base. 

In an interesting development, it is being reported that long-time St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday is mulling a potential switch to first base.

Reports from around the team’s training facility in Jupiter, Florida have spotted the 35-year-old working around the first base bag recently. While this has long been a buzzed about potential destination for Holliday, whose always limited range in the field has eroded even further in recent years, this is the most serious effort towards the potential switch that has occurred to date.

It should not be surprising to at least see Holliday kicking the tires on learning the position. Despite playing left field exclusively in his career –of his 1,622 career games, all have been spent in left field, with the exception of eight where he has served as designated hitter— he twice injured his right quadriceps last season, and was noticeably limited upon returning late in the year.

It should be noted that Holliday is giving the position a trial run on his own accord, and the team itself still has him penciled in as its everyday left fielder.

However, if he does adapt well at the position it could open up another outfield slot for the team to make a push for free agent Alex Gordon, whom the team reportedly has interest in, but is both shying away from his price tag and also do not have a clear path of where to insert him.

At any rate, the idea of Holliday’s positional repertoire expanding has to at least be intriguing for a Cardinal team that is in need of finding creative ways to create more run production.