The Glow Is Off at Shortstop

The glamour is gone from shortstop, especially for veterans at the position. The Nationals last week moved off C.J. Abrams, switching him to second base in favor of Nasim Nunez because of Abrams’s defensive shortcomings at short. It follows the Yankees moving off Anthony Volpe and Jose Cabellero to promote George Lombard Jr., the Mariners moving off J.P. Crawford, the Twins moving off Brooks Lee, the Brewers moving off Joey Ortiz and, well, you get the idea.

Throw in a boatload of injuries as well as age and an unusual amount of regression from shortstop stalwarts and you get a massive changeover at the glamor position. How massive?

The MLB batting average for shortstop is .244, the worst it’s been since 1975.
Shortstop (OPS+ of 95) ranks behind only catcher (91) as the least productive position in baseball.
No qualified shortstop age 30 or older is having even an average season (OPS+ of 100 or better). None. It’s only the third time that’s happened in the past 25 years (2013 and 2019).

Last season there were eight 30-something shortstops who had good seasons. What happened to them? Here you go:

Mookie Betts, Dodgers, 33. He missed 37 games, is having a career worst season in batting average (.236), OBP (.292) and OPS (.701) and, most shockingly of all, is getting beat by four-seamers (.178).

Xander Bogaerts, Padres, 33. Hitting a career-low .221. As he cheats to velocity, he is pulling the ball more than ever and becoming vulnerable to non-fastballs (.177).
Carlos Correa, Astros, 31. Moved to third base, he has played only 32 games after tearing an ankle tendon.
‘J.P. Crawford, Mariners, 31. A move to third base, left wrist inflammation and a .212 batting average have made for an uneven season.
Francisco Lindor, Mets, 32. Injuries have limited him to 66 games, only three stolen bases, a .244 batting average and a career low in sprint speed.
Trevor Story, 33, Red Sox. Injuries, again, have led to him playing only 41 games and hitting .206.
Dansby Swanson, Cubs, 32. He has posted career worsts in batting average (.216) and OBP (.300) while continuing to do almost nothing against non-fastballs (.160, fifth worst among hitters to see 1,500 pitches).
Trea Turner, Phillies, 33. Career full season worsts in batting average (.247) and OBP (.298) while regressing on defense enough to again raise speculation about a move to the outfield.

Throw in off years by Corey Seager, 32, of Texas, Willy Adames, 30, of San Francisco, and Gunnar Henderson, 25, of Baltimore and the position has hit a downturn.

The Yankees (Lombard Jr.), Braves (Jim Jarvis), Tigers (Kevin McGonigle) and Brewers (Cooper Pratt, when healthy) are among the contenders going with rookies down the stretch, something the Mariners tried before Colt Emerson went on the IL, the Nationals may try with Seaver King and the Red Sox may try with Franklin Arias. It’s not as risky as it sounds. We’ve seen it before with Kevin Elster (1986 Mets), Brandon Crawford (2011 Giants), Andrelton Simmons (2012 Braves), Carlos Correa (2015 Astros), Seager (2015 Dodgers) and others. You don’t hold back talent at a premium position.

Shortstop traditionally has been the youngest position on the field because it requires range and athleticism and usually the ask is for glove first, bat second. But as the game gets faster, youth is winning out over experience more than ever. Long-term contracts for middle infielders as they age through their 30s have never looked worse.

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