Sarris: Christian Bethancourt and two-way players of the future
From SABR member Eno Sarris at FanGraphs on April 3, 2017:
Christian Bethancourt made the Padres! This is exciting, because he’s making the team as a catcher and a reliever at the same time. His existence challenges norms in a sport that’s known for the specialized roles of its participants. That said, we’ll have to see if he’s more Brooks Kieschnick or more Kenley Jansen eventually. Because hitter-slash-pitcher Kieschnick was nearly a unicorn, while Jansen — though a special reliever since abandoning his work as a catcher — has a story that’s been told in baseball’s history before.
If Bethancourt gets 20 plate appearances as anything other than a pitcher this season, and adds 20 innings pitched, he’ll join a list of just eight players who have ever managed the feat. You’ll recognize a couple of these names — the rest did their very best to stay in the game, bless them. Not a Bullet Joe Rogan in the bunch.
Read the full article here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/christian-bethancourt-and-two-way-players-of-the-past-future/
Originally published: April 3, 2017. Last Updated: April 3, 2017.