re: Guidry next year

quote:

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Johnson would never say this out loud and I'm glad things worked out for Thompson in the end in Game 3, but he made every effort to replace him at SS going into this season. He took Pineda from Baylor and Young from Vanderbilt thinking he would get one or both of them. Pineda signing for under $150k in the 12th round was surprising, the Orioles splurging and giving Young over $1m was a shocker in the 17th round.
Then he works Guidry at SS all fall and gives him some AB's and innings in the early spring, while batting Thompson 9th.
He made the decision to move Guidry to relief pitcher for a reason.

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Or he simply saw a severe lack of depth in the middle of the infield. For SS and 2nd, the options on our roster were Dugas (who didn't play infield at all last season), Guidry, Thompson, Nippolt, and Merrifield.