| Miami's Emilio Bonifacio has a new home on the diamond. (Getty Images) |
The recent trade of Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez to Detroit left the Marlins with a vacancy at second base. To fill that vacancy, the Marlins will turn to erstwhile center fielder Emilio Bonifacio.
The 27-year-old Bonifacio, although primarily an outfielder over the last three seasons, has played more than 2,200 innings in the infield and spent almost 500 of those at second. While advanced defensive metrics are best treated with some skepticism, it should be noted that Bonifacio does not grade out particularly well at any infield position.
If, however, it turns out he can capably man the keystone, then that will make Bonifacio a more valuable commodity. That's because the offensive bar for the position is lower than for center field. For instance, this season major-league center fielders have combined to hit .277/.339/.425, while second basemen as a group are hitting .253/.290/.390.
As for Bonifacio in 2012, he checks in at a Luis Castillo-like .277/.355/.351 -- perfectly adequate for a middle infielder, less so for an outfielder.
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