You can all relax. For now. The National League adopting the designated hitter is mere speculation. For now. Even Commissioner Rob Manfred, a man who seems decisive one moment and hesitant the next, particularly on very serious issues, says the "most likely result on the designated hitter for the foreseeable future is the status quo." For now.
If you loathe the DH or if you love it, let's set the arguments aside for the moment and have a little mad fun with the idea. Even if you'd mourn the loss of Madison Bumgarner's four bombs a season (well, in 2015, anyway), you have to admit it's a tantalizing idea to ponder whom on the National League's roster would make far better DHs than position players. David Schoenfeld of ESPN's Sweet Spot has published his ideas. Herewith mine, some of which may dovetail with his. I'll take it by franchise:
ARIZONA — Yasmany Tomas. It isn't even close. Tomas plays third base like a vacuum cleaner ... whose hose was inserted into the blower end, not the suction end. And he isn't likely to do any better in right field, either.
ATLANTA — Freddie Freeman. Freeman can hit, still, but injuries have sapped him otherwise, and he wasn't all that much more than a league-average fielder at first base if that good. Producing in 2015 in an injury-shortened season what he did in a full season the year before bodes well for him at the plate. And a -4.6 defensive wins above replacement level for his career suggests he may have a future in the American League unless the NL really does get crazy enough to bring in the DH.
CHICAGO — Kyle Schwarber. This is even less close than Tomas in Arizona. Schwarber drew eyes upon him for his thumping at the plate last postseason. And those eyes saw a guy who played the field like a dump truck with flat inner tires in the rear. The word seems to be his future may be behind the plate, but I really don't see Schwarber as more than a DH up the street.
CINCINNATI — Marlon Byrd. Byrd is still a more than useful hitter. Defensively he was never going to bust the record books or become known as the human wall. But if they brought the DH to the league this year Byrd would be a perfect choice for the role with the Reds ... while the Reds might think about inserting Joey Votto in the slot now and then to give him a defensive rest.
COLORADO — Charlie Blackmon. In five years in center field Blackmon is the gift that keeps giving ... to the other guys. He averages -8 defensive runs saved at the position over that span. But he can hit, even if he's a near-classic Coors hitter. And maybe lifting the defensive side of the burden from him gives him a hitting bump on the road.
LOS ANGELES — Andre Ethier. Schoenfeld picked Ethier as a Dodger DH candidate simply because he has no defined 2016 role. And that, Schoenfeld reminds us, is also contingent on Yasiel Puig staying healthy and sane (not necessarily in that order) and Joc Pederson taking the everyday left field job. But there's still work to be found for Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke, which means the NL bringing aboard the DH would provide major relief for new boss Dave Roberts when it comes to left field. If the Dodgers had another first base option, by the way, moving Adrian Gonzalez to the DH slot could add about three years to his career.
MIAMI — Ichiro Suzuki. For now, anyway. Give the old man a break, get him out of right field where he isn't quite what he used to be even if he got to a few more balls than the average right fielder, and let him swing for his 3,000th MLB hit. Then let the old man retire with dignity. Meanwhile, think about grooming utilityman Derek Dietrich as a DH. He's a so-so fielder but his hitting has improved each of his three major league seasons, he generally stays out of the double play, and he can be worked with to cut his strikeouts back while improving his walk rate. (Don't let his low RBI totals fool you: you can't drive in what ain't on base ahead of you in the first place.)
MILWAUKEE — Ryan Braun. He's lost some range in the outfield. But he's been recovering his power stroke, and he's cut his strikeouts to below his lifetime per-162 average. If he can stay out of the double play, Braun could add about three years to his career as at least a 75 percent-time DH.
NEW YORK — David Wright or Lucas Duda. Schoenfeld picked Wright, and for the right reasons: his injury history has drained enough of his third base ability. I'd think about Duda, too. Duda isn't a high average hitter but he's run productive, and he might be one of those hitters who sees a spike in his numbers if he doesn't have to worry about defense. Which is something the Mets probably worried about long before his all-too-crucial World Series throwing error.
PITTSBURGH — Pedro Alvarez or Jason Rogers. There were reasons why Clint Hurdle started last fall's wild card game with Alvarez on the bench in favor of his best defensive lineup. Nobody was going to beat Jake Arrieta that day, anyway, but Hurdle didn't want to chance Alvarez coming up short at first base. Alvarez at this writing is unsigned, but bet that the Pirates would have kept him if the NL had the DH. He probably would have started the wild card game, too, and given Arrieta at least something to think about on the mound otherwise. Might. Absent signing Alvarez, the Pirates could probably think about Jason Rogers as a DH; he has promise as a hitter but no clear track to the full-time first base job — yet.
PHILADELPHIA — Ryan Howard. If you're the Phillies, you can't find anyone to take Ryan Howard, but he can still hit a good bit, and the NL brings in the DH this year, you finally have light at the end of the tunnel. You make Howard your DH for his final season before buying him out at 2016's end (believe me, the rebuilding Phillies are thinking hard about it), keep an eye on the prospects in what's now ranked as a top-five minor league system, and Howard's DH successor would probably make himself known soon enough.
ST. LOUIS — Matt Adams. Adams's 2015 was ruined by injuries and early inconsistency, but the projections have him coming back well enough at the plate, with considerable power, and Stephen Piscotty put on a respectable enough show near the end of 2015 that he's earned a shot at the regular first base job — and just might claim it.
SAN DIEGO — Matt Kemp. He's become too much liability with a glove but he has plenty of hitting left in him.
SAN FRANCISCO — Buster Posey and Brandon Belt. Schoenfeld says it best: the Giants have been giving him fewer innings behind the dish but his bat is just too valuable to set aside. So you make Posey your DH when he isn't catching, and you don't have to put Brandon Belt on ice on the days you want Posey at first base.
WASHINGTON — Daniel Murphy. Schoenfeld chose both Murphy and Jayson Werth, but Murphy may be the better bat now with Werth's age and injuries catching up to him. Murphy isn't really a bomber, last October notwithstanding, but he does deliver the extra base hit and he can be run productive when he's in a groove. And why wouldn't he get into several good grooves if he and the Nats don't have to worry about his limited fielding range delivering disaster as happened in the World Series?
Again, this is all speculation. For now. The DH isn't coming to the National League. For now. But there was once a time when we all thought the lights wouldn't come to Wrigley Field anytime soon, too.
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