The Universal Designated Hitter Is Likely, What Will It Look Like For National League Teams?

The last time the National League and American League was unified in terms of a pitcher hitting was October 4, 1972 when notable pitchers such as Nolan Ryan, Blue Moon Odom, Bert Blyleven and Jim Lonborg took their swings.

The next time baseball returned for regular season game April 6, 1973, pitchers were not batting for American League teams. Instead they were replaced by the likes of Ron Blomberg with the Yankees, Terry Crowley with the Orioles, Orlando Cepeda with the Red Sox and Tony Oliva with the Twins.

Since then the National League has retained the pitcher’s spot in the batting order and in recent years it has fueled the debate of whether it takes away from a starting pitcher going deep into a game or if lessens some of the managerial strategy such as when and how to use double switches.

And there are strong indications a universal designated hitter is looming and likely it will take effect this season if the player’s union and owners agree to a new deal for a shortened season to start in early July.

Now comes the fun part of figuring out who would be prime candidates to be the designated hitters for each team. While the spot is frequently used as more of a rotation, each NL team possesses several good candidates for the role of only hitting four or five times per game.

NL EAST

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

Most of the lineup who won last year’s World Series will return for a title defense. The exception is Anthony Rendon, who signed with the Angels but the Nationals have a few veteran infielders they can rotate between second, third and DH in Starlin Castro, Howie Kendrick and Asdrubal Cabrera. Castro is the youngest of the trio and each member hit at least .260 with Kendrick batting .344 in over 300 at-bats. The Nationals also added Eric Thames to platoon with Ryan Zimmerman at first base but it’s plausible to think one could be a DH, especially when the opposing pitcher is a right-hander.

ATLANTA BRAVES

Outfield depth is never a bad thing and the Braves possess a decent amount of it with the trio of Ronald Acuna, Nick Markakis and Ender Inciarte who are all average to standout defenders. Atlanta also acquired Marcell Ozuna from the Cardinals and he also is adequate defensively and coming off a season where he hit 29 homers in 485 at-bats. So, for Brian Snitker this way allows him to keep Inciarte and Acuna in the outfield and then use a platoon for Markakis and Ozuna. Acuna can play all three outfield spot as well and can also be used as a DH if he needs a half day off for whatever reason.

NEW YORK METS

The Mets were among the worst defensive teams last season due to an aging Robinson Cano at second base and J.D. Davis struggling at times in left field. They also have two young first baseman in Dominic Smith and Pete Alonso, who are not necessarily the best defensive players. Then there is a possibility that Yoenis Cespedes benefits from the delayed start. Cespedes last played July 20, 2018 at Yankee Stadium and then had heel surgery that he was recovering from when he was injured by a boar at his Florida ranch. Before exhibition games were halted, Cespedes had progressed to facing live major league pitching during batting practice so it’s not out of the realm to see him as a DH for portions of this season if it happens and if he is cleared to return. Using Cespedes there would limit the stress on his legs from playing defense and if it works out for the Mets, it can be viewed as the big bat being acquired.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES:

Bryce Harper is set in right field for the foreseeable future other than an occasional DH day. What the Phillies possess is a pair of veterans they can rotate in left field with Andrew McCutchen and Jay Bruce. McCutchen is the better defender but is coming off an ACL injury that ended his season after 219 at-bats. The Phillies also added versatile infielder Neil Walker and could play him at first base on days they use the spot for slugger Rhys Hoskins.

MIAMI MARLINS: Garrett Cooper fits the prototype of a DH from his small sample of 15 homers in 381 at-bats last season and could be used there. The Marlins also acquired Jonathan Villar and added Corey Dickerson for their outfield and both can be DH options, which allows the Marlins to keep Lewis Brinson in the lineup as an above average outfielder while hoping he starts to develop his bat.

NL CENTRAL

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS The Cardinals traded a logical DH option when they sent Marcell Ozuna to Atlanta and possess an outfield trio of Dexter Fowler, Tommy Edman flanking standout center fielder Harrison Bader. It is the infield corner where the Cardinals could go for a decent portion of DH at-bats with Paul Goldschmidt and Matt Carpenter, who would get a ton of at-bats anyways.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS: Ryan Braun has never been known for his glove and was slated to share first base responsibilities with Justin Smoak, who signed as a free agent after spending a bulk of his career with Toronto. So in theory, Braun could DH while Smoak plays first base or vice versa. Of course, the Brewers could use this to give Christian Yelich a half day, especially since he is coming of the season-ending knee injury from last September. Another candidate to get some DH at-bats is Avisail Garcia, who is projected on depth charts to be the everyday right fielder.

CHICAGO CUBS: Ever since Kyle Schwarber arrived on the scene with 16 homers in 232 at-bats during the 2015 season, the Cubs have been waiting for a DH in the National League. Schwarber may be amongst the more obvious DH candidates, especially since it allows defensive standout Albert Almora Jr. to get more regular playing time. The Cubs could also use Kris Bryant at the DH spot or David Bote, two players who can play multiple positions. Schwarber will see a significant amount of DH time and the Cubs will figure it out from there.

CINCINNATI REDS: The Reds made two notable acquisitions in free agency by signing Nicolas Castellanos and Mike Moustakas. Moustakas is slated to be the regular second baseman while Castellanos is part of a crowded outfield. Using Castellanos as a DH allows more opportunities in the field for rookie Shogo Akiyama, Jesse Winker and Nick Senzel to go along with Philip Ervin and Aristides Aquino. While Castellanos can be used as DH, so can the extra outfielders to get them increased at-bats.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES: When you crater as badly in the second half as the Pirates did and then didn’t do much in the offseason, choices are limited. Perhaps the one obvious one is using Melky Cabrera, who at this point of his career is not much of a glove but has an adequate bat with a .280 average and a .712 OPS last season. Josh Bell also could be viewed as more of an option, especially if he continues to demonstrate issues with throwing the ball after entering the All-Star break as one of the top players in the game. The Pirates could also sign Yasiel Puig but based on their financial inactivity in the offseason another expenditure seems unlikely.

NL WEST

LOS ANGELES DODGERS: The Dodgers are loaded with options, which is what you might expect for a team coming off a 106-win season. The outfield is headlined by Cody Bellinger and newcomer Mookie Betts so they can DH on days they do not hit the field. They also lead a bevy of outfielders that includes Enrique Hernandez, A. J. Pollock, Joc Pederson. If there was ever a team designed to do more with a universal DH role, it might be this group.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: Jake Lamb could be an obvious selection merely for the sole reason of his injury history of missing nearly 200 games since he was an All-Star in 2017. Then there is the intrigue of what someone like Kevin Cron could do, especially after his absurd numbers in the extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Cron made 78 plate appearances in the majors last season and before that slugged 38 homers to go along with a .331 average in 82 games.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: Perhaps the most obvious possibility if this was 2021 would Joey Bart being on the team as a catcher and Buster Posey sliding over to the DH spot. Bart has the bat if you go by his minor league performance but also has barely played at Double-A. What the Giants have in terms of obvious if the four outfielders for three spots thing with Hunter Pence, Alex Dickerson, Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater, who were effective enough last season. Pence was productive last year in Texas after ending his stint with the Giants by batting .226 in 97 games in 2018.

COLORADO ROCKIES: Mets fans who examine Colorado’s roster would certainly know what the most obvious move is and that would be simply giving Daniel Murphy as many DH at-bats at possible, since he fits the description of good bat, shaky glove. Doing so would involve moving Ryan McMahon from second base to first base. Another option could be Ian Desmond or even David Dahl but based on past history Murphy seems to be the best DH option.

SAN DIEGO PADRES: There is a lot money (roughly 22 million) invested in Wil Myers, whose batting average of .249 with the Padres screams out as meh. Myers is not known for his glove so perhaps being a regular DH would allow him to focus on his bat and try to come close to batting .293 which he did in 88 games as a rookie for Tampa Bay in 2013.