Wil Myers recorded his first professional start at third base on May 13, 2012. He had been drafted as a catcher three years earlier, but another youngster, Salvador Pérez, excelled at the position and Myers showed a preternatural ability to hit, so the Royals shifted him to the outfield in 2011. Emboldened by his athletic prowess, they began exposing him to a fresh perspective the following year.
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Early that season, Myers started consecutive games at the hot corner for Kansas City’s Double-A affiliate. The former high school infielder was promoted to Triple-A the same week. He made two more starts as a third baseman that June. A couple of months later, after Omaha had secured a division title, he returned for an 11-game trial.
“Just for versatility,” Royals assistant general manager and ex-farm director Scott Sharp recalled Saturday. “We do that with a lot of our guys.”
In truth, the Royals also were considering their options for navigating potential logjams. They already had three starting outfielders in Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain and Jeff Francoeur. They had a promising third baseman named Mike Moustakas. And they had a need for pitching. That December, Myers headlined a package sent to Tampa Bay in exchange for James Shields and Wade Davis.
Almost six years and another trade later, Myers has yet to go more than two seasons without switching positions on defense. His itinerant career could be attributed to inconsistency, willingness, raw talent or some combination of all three. And now, with versatility prized throughout the sport, he appears on the verge of his first major-league start at third base.
Myers, who could return Monday from a bone bruise in his left foot, will play at least a few innings at third in a rehab game Sunday with High-A Lake Elsinore. For the last few weeks, the left fielder — his primary title in an injury-wracked 2018 — has taken ground balls under close supervision from infield instructors Josh Johnson and Glenn Hoffman. His memory of his 2012 hot-corner flirtation is vague, but he possesses a clear understanding of the current stakes.
“[The Royals] said, ‘Hey, do you want to play some third base?’ And I said yes,” Myers said. “It’s a fun position for me, it’s pretty cool to do, but now it seems a little more serious.”
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Amid a critical period of team-wide evaluation, Myers’ latest stint on the disabled list has coincided with encouraging stretches for two young corner outfielders. Hunter Renfroe has gone 12-for-32 with four home runs in Myers’ absence. Franmil Reyes, recently recalled from Triple-A, has gone 9-for-22 with three home runs. Only seven weeks remain in the season, and the Padres, destined for another last-place finish, would like both to continue receiving consistent opportunities.
Meanwhile, with Manuel Margot entrenched in center field, Travis Jankowski has gone from regular starts to substitute appearances. The Padres have seen enough from Franchy Cordero, who underwent season-ending surgery in June, that they would like to see more of him in 2019. Even if San Diego trades one outfielder in the offseason, a surplus would remain.
So Myers has been preparing for a scenario in which he could help ease the logjam. A long-term solution has yet to emerge at third. Rookie Christian Villanueva leads the Padres with 20 home runs, but he entered the weekend with a .294 on-base percentage. Prospect Hudson Potts has advanced to Double-A, but he is still only 19.
“It’s something that I think can really benefit the team a lot, just to be able to go out there and give them that option,” said Myers, who before beginning his professional career had committed to play third at the University of South Carolina. “I realize that I might not always be in the infield, but just to have that option of fifth, sixth, seventh inning or later, to be able to make a switch, [it can] give the team a better chance to win.”
The Padres, of course, have won precious few games since Myers and several other big names were acquired before the 2015 season. When that campaign fizzled, the organization pivoted to an overt focus on youth. Myers was retained and later signed to a six-year, $83 million extension.
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Now 27, he is one of the veteran members of a team that will get even younger in the final weeks of this season. In certain cases, opportunities for others around his age have dwindled. A dash of added versatility could prove helpful. Renfroe, 26, seems especially deserving of a continued run in the outfield. His OPS since the All-Star break is .914, and he has produced against right-handed pitching.
“He’s been a guy that’s always been super-talented,” Myers said. “It’s really cool to see what he’s done so far this year — make those adjustments and be a feared hitter here in the big leagues. I think that has some effect to me kind of moving around.
“But it is cool to see all of these guys — Franchy, Franmil, Travis, really good, quality big-leaguers. So I think this move is to give them a little more opportunity, let them play and kind of show some versatility I can have as well.”
Should Myers stick in at least a part-time capacity at third, it could open another door next season, if not earlier. Top catching and hitting prospect Francisco Mejía, recently acquired from Cleveland, is a candidate for eventual time in an outfield spot. Incumbent backstop Austin Hedges has played increasingly well of late, and the Padres have already floated the idea of a timeshare that could see Mejía toggle between multiple positions.
Much could hinge on how Myers takes to the present experiment. As a Padre, he has struggled in center field, drawn mixed reviews at first base and impressed in a small sample in left field. On Saturday, he spoke enthusiastically about a potential return to the infield.
“We don’t expect it to be a polished finished product when he comes back,” manager Andy Green said. “There’s literally nothing for him to lose here. Just an opportunity to see what a great athlete he can be on a baseball field, and he’s game for it, excited for it.
“We’re going to figure out how versatile we are as a club, and we’ll take some looks at different alignments. Where we are in the process right now, it only makes sense for us to try some things.”
The Athletic staff writer Rustin Dodd contributed to this story.
(Top photo: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)