With Prince Fielder gone and Ryan Braun likely to be suspended for the first 50 games of the regular season, the Brewers need to get creative to squeeze maximum value out of their remaining position players. Fortunately, manager Ron Roenicke is showing a willingness to do so.
On Tuesday, Roenicke confirmed that he intends to have right fielder Corey Hart work out at first base this spring. If Hart is capable of handling occasional starts at Fielder’s old position, his newfound versatility would allow Roenicke to tweak the lineup from day to day, optimizing matchups both offensively and in the field.
The success of the experiment is far from guaranteed. During his big-league career, Hart has appeared in all of two games at first base, and his lone start there came in 2006. He made 179 appearances at first in the minors, but most of those came at the lower levels. His most recent long-term stint in the infield actually came at the hot corner for Double-A Huntsville in 2003.
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