New York Mets infielder Neil Walker played third base last night for the Las Vegas 51s. It’s not an entirely new position for Walker who has played 440 games there in his career, but only 15 of those in the majors.
Walker played the entire game at third for the 51s on Wednesday night and of course the first Nashville Sounds batter hit one to him. Walker showed nice range to get to the ball, but threw wide of first base for an error. He went 0 for 5 at the plate and is 5 for 19 with a walk in five rehab games for the 51s.
“We just want to protect ourselves,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “We want to make sure we cover all the bases. …We'[ve got to make sure we’ve done our due diligence that when he gets back if something should happen, the knee or hamstring situation with him, if he’s more comfortable playing at third base he needs to play a game there.”
Walker is expected to return to the Mets this weekend when they travel to Seattle to play the Mariners. The switch-hitting veteran is hitting .270/.352/.468 in 60 games for the Mets this season.
Asdrubal Cabrera has played his last four games at third base, however, he is on the trading block and multiple teams have shown interest in the veteran infielder.
