Z has given himself a nice set of options, flexing on whether Tui is the everyday 3b in April, whether Hall can hold his own, whether Hannahan can show the patience and doubles power he had in the minors (which makes him a decent utility and platoon middle infield guy, not an everyday 3b), what they think about Lopez, etc. Key is that Hall and Hannahan can share the McLemore role and provide good defense even while we see if they can show anything at the plate.
Tui 3b, Lopez 2b, Hall/Hannahan McLemore role, no trade
Tui 3b, Hall/Hannahan 2b, trade Lopez
Lopez 3b or 2b, Hall/Hannahan 2b or 3b, Tui AAA or part-time/DH until feet wet, trade Lopez once Tui ready
As it stands, they don't have to count on any of the contingencies, but if they pan out, then Lopez becomes available to move for another piece of the puzzle.
One of the things they said was that they were shocked at how Bavasi's roster was such a bad fit for Safeco, and I would guess that they include Lopez in that characterization. In which case I would not be at all surprised to see him moved.
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