Joey Gallo on playing 3B: “I hate it”

Joey Gallo moving back to third base from left field and first base — the positions he has been playing -- has been a topic of much discussion among fans, as the Texas Rangers look to best allocate their players in the lineup, especially with Adrian Beltre landing back on the disabled list, and likely being limited to only part time duty on the field going forward. Gallo moving to third base would potentially allow the Rangers to call up Willie Calhoun to play left field without having to send Ronald Guzman back down to AAA.

So, how does Joey Gallo feel about playing third base? Via Evan Grant...

So, tell us how you really feel, Joey...

I doubt this is a surprise to anyone in the organization, and as Levi Weaver wrote in the early morning hours, while the team seems to feel that Gallo can play third base, there appears to be a consensus that it is not his best position going forward.

Does that mean Gallo can put away his third base glove? Probably not. Once Beltre returns, if he really is going to have to DH quite a bit, that means you’ve got two players — Beltre and Shin-Soo Choo -- who are best suited for DH duty, before getting to Calhoun, who is in AAA, but will most likely be in the majors at some point, and who is also best suited to DH (though he’s currently learning left field in Round Rock). If Ronald Guzman stays up, and barring any other injuries, its certainly possible we will see a lineup this season where Gallo is at third base, Choo is in right field, Nomar Mazara is in left field, and Beltre is at DH.

But this, at a minimum, complicates the situation. And is one of those factors that probably has been impacting the decision not to shuffle Gallo between left field, first base and third base this season.