What began as an experiment as becoming a legitimate possibility for the San Francisco Giants, as it is becoming unsurprisingly clear that top prospect Buster Posey can handle himself at first base, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. It was originally planned to have Posey play a few innings at first base as a way to possibly work his bat into the big league lineup on a more regular basis.
The Giants would love to keep Posey in the big leagues when camp breaks, but can only justify doing so if he is in the lineup regularly. That will not be at catcher, as the team retained Bengie Molina's services in the off-season, blocking Posey's path as the every-day catcher for at least one more season. With Pablo Sandoval, who can play first and third, and Mark DeRosa, who can play third, second, and the corner outfield positions, the Giants have a lot of versatility, which will help if they want to work Posey in at first base.
The decision will likely come down to whether the Giants feel they can get Posey regular at-bats or if he would be better off in the minors where he will not only hit every day, but also will get regular catching experience. The Giants have made no indication that Posey's ultimate destination is not as their catcher of the future.
