Pasta Diving May Necessitate A Wilson Position Change

What is “pasta diving”? It’s a term AN coined when Jed Lowrie was toiling at SS for the A’s and the radio announcers routinely were forced to report, “....past a diving Lowrie” Jed was a solid defensive SS on balls he could get to, but his lack of speed and range severely limited the number of balls he could reach.

Fast forward to 2025 and SS is manned by Jacob Wilson, who was drafted with the reputation of being a slick defensive SS like his dad Jack, with questions about whether his low exit velocities and ‘swing at everything’ style would translate to big league hitting success.

Well, the man I like to call “Fidgety Guy” due to his batting approach is batting .340 and that’s after his worst slump of the season. His .340./382./474 (143 wRC+) line has helped him to garner more All-Star game votes than any SS in the league. His arm is much stronger than Lowrie’s.

Shortstop

But Wilson is actually struggling big time as a SS. If it seems like Wilson is doing a lot of pasta diving it’s because he is. Like Lowrie, Wilson is generally solid on the balls he can get to. It’s the whole “getting to balls” thing that weighs him down.

It’s not just the eyes that see problems with Wilson’s range, it’s the metrics too. Wilson rates poorly at SS with -9 DRS and -2 OAA, and not surprisingly almost all of the negative ratings come from “range factor”.

A Current Comp

So currently Wilson is not profiling like a Bobby Witt Jr. or a Jeremy Peña, but rather more like a Hanley Ramirez — which is not a terrible thing as Hanley accrued a healthy 41.8 career WAR.

But Ramirez provided value by hitting a lot and then giving some of it back on defense. Hanley’s career .289/.360/.486 line was offset by -74 DRS at SS until he was finally moved off of the position so he could wind down his career as a bad 3Bman and poor LFer.

Wilson, still only 23, has one edge over Hanley: he is not doomed to be a bad fielder no matter where you put him. The question is whether SS is actually the right place to put him.

If he’s just young and going through the growing pains rookies experience adjusting to the league and pace, there is every reason to believe he will improve. But if the issue relates to physical/skill limitations then it will only get worse as he ages and his body continues to take a beating — it’s already possible that what we’re seeing relates to leg injuries he has succumbed to since being drafted.

Third Base?

A move to 3B makes a lot of sense for Wilson on a number of fronts. Wilson shows all the skills needed to thrive at 3B: he has a strong arm, good hands, is strong on balls he has to charge, and he has overall fielding instincts for the position.

And Wilson’s range, while insufficient for a SS, is probably more than adequate for 3B. He is essentially playing SS with a 3Bman’s range, and it’s not hard to envision him getting to most balls you hope a 3Bman will reach even if range doesn’t show up as his biggest attribute.

Organizationally the A’s could use a long term solution at 3B every bit as they need one at SS. Max Muncy is learning the position but comes with an erratic throwing arm and his own limited range, not to mention he still has to prove he can hit in the big leagues. He might be currently the A’s best 3B prospect but he has many hurdles to clear to show he is more than a “super utility infielder” in the making.

Brett Harris is a worthy defensive 3Bman but there are legitimate questions about his bat and he is now 27, not a highly rated prospect and unlikely to be a long term solution. Max Schuemann is valuable as a versatile utility player but is best not overly exposed every day anywhere.

In the minors behind Harris the only interesting prospect is Tommy White, still in A+ ball. Not only does White have to prove that his unorthodox hitting style will play at AA and AAA, he has always come with questions around whether he can stick at 3B or whether a move across the diamond might be needed to get his bat in the lineup.

So there would be substantial value in locking 3B down with Wilson’s elite batting skills and solid 3B defensive tools. There is even the kicker that if SS is where the A’s have an opening, that is Muncy’s natural position and where he has looked the best.

Or you go all old school on the baseball world and find yourself a classic “all glove, no hit” SS to pair with Denzel Clarke and dominate defense up the middle, with bats a plenty on the corners of the infield and outfield.

Bottom Line

The bottom line here is that you can squeeze blood out of a stone any more than you can squeeze a big round stadium into a 9 acre rectangle without money. If Fidgety Guy doesn’t have the range to play SS then he doesn’t have the range to play SS. You can put him there anyway, as the Marlins and Dodgers did with Hanley for 9 seasons, but that doesn’t mean you are going to get good SS play out of him.

Perhaps right now isn’t the time to ask Wilson to change positions, especially while Muncy is establishing what he can or cannot do at 3B. Let the season play out and then reassess. But the right move appears to be for Wilson to start Opening Day 2026...at 3B and build the left side of the infield from there.

Or bring a lot of marinara sauce to the games.