Nationals looking to move Juan Soto to first base?
The Washington Nationals may have a new job in mind for Childish Bambino.
The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty reported Sunday that Nats phenom Juan Soto, who regularly takes grounders at first base during batting practice, really got into the details of the position with several members of the team.
Juan Soto regularly takes grounders at first base during batting practice. But he is really getting into details today with Ryan Zimmerman, Gerardo Parra and first base coach Tim Bogar, who works with infielders.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) May 19, 2019
Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic also said that some outside of the club believe that the 20-year-old will eventually end up at first base, as he has largely stagnated defensively since his rookie season.
Where some outside the organization think he'll ultimately end up. Has not improved defensively much from last year. https://t.co/8BsbKBc8eO
— Brittany Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) May 19, 2019
Soto, who has played exclusively in left field thus far, burst onto the scene last season, hitting .292 with 22 home runs and 70 RBIs in just 116 games. This year however, his batting average has plummeted to .246 to go along with six homers and 27 RBIs in 35 games thus far.
The 19-26 Nats are currently down two first baseman in Ryan Zimmerman and Matt Adams, who are both hurt. Sticking Soto at the other hot corner would not be the first time that they have shuffled things around amid their uninspiring start.