Brewers On Deck Notes: Scooter Gennett to play at multiple positions in Spring Training

The Brewers On Deck event is in full swing right now, as the yearly fan fest helps build up to the upcoming season. With many of the players, coaches, and front office staff in attendance, it’s natural to get some news out of this event every year. Though this year’s event has been quieter so far, there’s still some interesting information coming from it.

Adam McCalvy had a chance to talk to manager Craig Counsell today, and he mentioned that second baseman Scooter Gennett will play multiple positions in spring training this year, both in the infield and outfield. In the past, Scooter Gennett has been limited to second base, with no flexibility to move beyond there. With the infield now filled heading into spring training (Travis Shaw at third, Orlando Arcia at shortstop, Jonathan Villar at second), Gennett’s best chance to get playing time will be to have some positional flexibility.

There’s still many obstacles in front of Gennett if he wants to be a regular player as a utility bench guy. First of all, he hasn’t shown much success in the past with playing beyond second base. Second, he will still be in competition with Hernan Perez as a utility player, and Perez has already demonstrated the positional flexibility that the team wants. It’s unlikely that he will be able to be better defensively than Perez with just one spring training’s worth of practice, so the best way for him to be in the lineup will be to swing a hot bat and force his way in.

Of course, the best option to all of this would be to find a trade partner for Scooter Gennett, as his usefulness on the roster appears to be coming to an end. However, with less than a month remaining until spring training, time is running out to find that partner before camps begin. At the same time, though, there’s always the chance that spring training creates a new need (either with the Brewers or another team) and a new opportunity.