Padres' Yangervis Solarte: Seeing regular starts in utility role
Solarte will start at third base and bat cleanup Monday against the Reds, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.
After being activated from the disabled list Sunday and staying put in San Diego following the trade deadline a day later, Solarte seemed to be at risk of falling into a utility role, which was expected to limit his starting opportunities. Though Solarte has been used at three different infield spots over the last week, it hasn't come with the reduction in at-bats that had been anticipated, as he'll pick up his sixth start in seven games Monday. Solarte should continue to rotate into the infield regularly with Carlos Asuaje, Cory Spangenberg and Dusty Coleman, with manager Andy Green holding one of the quartet out of the lineup for a given game. Spangenberg will head to the bench Monday with Solarte manning the hot corner.
