Could Marwin Gonzalez Move to Third?

After the Astros signed Jed Lowrie, I speculated about what would happen with Marwin Gonzalez, Jonathan Villar and Matt Dominguez. There just didn’t seem to be enough room on the roster for all of them. Now, it looks as though Dominguez could be the odd-man out.

In the piece above, Evan Drellich quotes GM Jeff Luhnow, “Matt Dominguez has a chance to be a very good player,” Luhnow said recently. “Two years ago, he proved that. Last year, he slid back a little bit. We’re going to give him every opportunity to win that job, but we also have to protect ourselves as an organization. Marwin (Gonzalez) is still with us, and Marwin could end up being our third baseman. So we’ve got some options, and we also have a few months until spring training. We’re going to continue to look at ways to improve the club.”

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This is speculation on my behalf, but that could mean one of two things. First, exactly what he said. The Astros are going to give Dominguez the chance to win the job during spring training. But what happens if he doesn’t? Sure, you slide Marwin Gonzalez over to third, but then do you send Dominguez down to Fresno? It could work, but with Colin Moran and Rio Ruiz waiting in the wings, at least one of these three players is likely to be traded at some point.

The second option is that they’re going to trade Dominguez. There are teams out there that could definitely use a warm body at third (I’m looking at you, San Francisco) and Dominguez could draw some interest.

Here is where it gets tricky. If the Astros were to trade him now, his value isn’t what it was after the 2013 season, and the return wouldn’t be as great. Yet, if he has a great spring, he’s more likely to win the starting job in the majors, which leaves the same situation that the Astros are stuck with now. Dominguez could also have a terrible spring, which would hurt his trade value even more.

What plan of action would you prefer the Astros take, and more importantly, are you ok with Marwin Gonzalez at third?

Next: What's the Astros Next Move?