Apparently with the return of Logan Morrison to left, Emilio Bonifacio is going to get a new job platooning at third.
Logan Morrison's return to the starting lineup won't necessarily mean that Emilio Bonifacio will spend most of the time on the bench.
Bonifacio has played left field since Morrison went on the disabled list April 20 because of a strained arch in his left foot. The versatile Bonifacio has hit well, batting .317 (26-for-82) since April 17.
He has been one of the Marlins' most consistent hitters, and all signs point to Bonifacio returning to the starting lineup Friday, possibly at third base.
"Bonifacio is going to be out there frequently," manager Edwin Rodriguez said.
This could prove interesting.
Since Greg Dobbs is doing well against right-handers, .343/.392/.471 he will get most of the playing time against them.
There is no doubt that Boni is better from the right side than the left when he is batting. His career hitting numbers batting against left-handed pitchers is .295/.330/.375 versus facing righties at .241/.304/.310.
Boni is producing at the plate, for now. But the problem is: he is a crappy third baseman. This experiment has been run in the past, and it failed miserably. Boni was an error machine.
Now the question becomes who would rather see defensively playing third in a platoon situation Wes Helms, who is batting .308/.333/.423 against lefties, or Boni?
Given the fact that Helms hasn't exactly been exactly slick with the glove at the hot corner either this season, and is better coming off the bench, maybe it isn't a bad idea to give Boni a shot at the lefties.
Might as well ride him while he is hot. I just hope he doesn't cause the pitchers to have to get more outs due to his play in the field. Maybe Perry Hill can work some of his magic on him and this won't be a major concern. However, I won't be holding my breath.
If Donnie Murphy can ever get healthy, big if. Something he hasn't been all year. This equation may change.
Edwin has kinda been rolling the dice all season, so I wouldn't expect him to change that now. Expect to see Boni at third against left-handed pitchers.