Alex Guerrero has been one of the best hitters for the Los Angeles Dodgers so far this season, and yet he's made just 27 plate appearances in the month of April. Will manager Don Mattingly budge soon and put him in the starting lineup?
It was speculated Guerrero could eventually take over at third base because he's been out-performing fellow infielders Juan Uribe and Justin Turner, but Mattingly has insisted he is not going to give up on his veterans because Guerrero happens to be "the flavor of the day."
However, outfielders Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig have hit the disabled list and Guerrero is now guaranteed to get more playing time. The 28-year-old got his first career start in left field on Tuesday night, but went 0-for-3 and then did not start the following night as Mattingly went with Scott Van Slyke in left.
Guerrero has minimal experience playing the outfield since he's primarily a middle infielder, so it's understandable why Mattingly is likely to give the nod over his incumbent outfielders (which he has a lot of) such as Van Slyke and Andre Ethier. But still, there needs to be a way to incorporate Guerrero into the lineup to get him more playing time.
"Alex Guerrero has started just four games and logged just 22 at-bats, and yet he has five home runs already for the Dodgers. Much love and respect for Juan Uribe, but Don Mattingly has to get this kid into the lineup more consistently at third base," writes Anthony Castrovince of Sports on Earth.
Mattingly has acknowledged Guerrero's success at the plate and agrees he needs to be worked into the lineup at a greater frequency. He's batting .423/.429/1.077 with five runs scored, five home runs and 11 RBIs.
"We're going to have to find at-bats for Alex the way he is swinging," Mattingly told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Guerrero will probably not become a mainstay in the outfield because of the team's surplus of outfielders as well as his inexperience playing the position, but if his offensive production remains consistent it's going to be hard for Mattingly to keep Uribe as the starting third baseman. Although Uribe has rebounded recently to bring his stat line up to .278/.316/.370 with five runs scored, one home run and four RBIs, it's still not comparable to what Guerrero is doing.
We'll see if Mattingly opts to change his mind in the month of May.