Pittsburgh Pirates: Six Position Changes You Forgot About

David Freese - Third Base to First Base

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed David Freese in the 2015-2016 offseason to serve as a hold-over until Jung-Ho Kang was activated off the injured list and then move over to first base, where he would platoon with the left-handed hitting John Jaso. Despite having very little playing time at first base before arriving in Pittsburgh, Freese had no issues moving across the diamond.

The former St. Louis Cardinal batted .270/.355/.403. Freese may not have hit for much power with just 32 home runs in 1260 plate appearances and a .113 isolated slugging percentage, but he hit for a solid average and drew walks at a 9.6% rate. This helped him produce a .331 wOBA and 106 wRC+.

Freese had logged just 18 innings at first base at the major league level before the Pirates picked him up. Although he continued to play a decent amount of third base, he also logged 462 innings across the diamond for the Pirates. He posted solid defensive numbers over at first with +4 Defensive Runs Saved and +2 Outs Above Average.

While Freese didn't make the full-time transition, he took on a position that was new to him. While the move from third base to first base isn't an extreme move, it's still a move that some Major Leaguers might find challenging.