David DeJesus

David DeJesus is on the move. Not to another team but to another position and possibly a different spot in the batting order.

His entire career DeJesus has played center field and batted mostly in the lead-off spot. He is now making the adjustment to left field and likely making the adjustment to batting in the three hole.

Why the changes? Coco Crisp. The newly acquired Crisp will be taking over the job in center field and there is a good bet he will be hitting first in the line-up as well.

This is not a demotion for DeJesus it is simply a change. In the outfield, in center, DeJesus has played well for the Royals with good range. Crisp, a bit faster will give the Royals even more coverage out in center.

The decision to bring in Crisp was the idea of general manager Dayton Moore. He wanted to insert speed into the outfield. With the addition of Crisp to the outfield Dejesus said "we solidify the left- and center-field spots."

DeJesus is confident about playing left field and said "Coco [Crisp] doesn't have to worry about my side. He just has to worry about helping Guillen out, so it's good for the team and the pitchers also."

As for the change in the batting order, it seems that it Crisp will be batting lead-off and DeJesus will be hitting third.

Manager Trey Hillman said " He really doesn't have a preference. His approach is going to stay the same. That's music to a manager's ears. It gives me a little flexibility, and it makes it easier to adjust spots when you need to massage the lineup depending on what the run production is."

Moving DeJesus to the three-hole could be a result of more than Coco Crisp coming to the Royals. Last year DeJesus led the Majors with a .419 batting average with runners in scoring position. He has a career batting average of .317 with runners in scoring position.

By batting DeJesus in the three spot he will have more oportunities to put to use those excellent numbers. He is not a power hitter. Last year his 12 home runs were the most of his career. Never the less DeJesus will get it done with singles, doubles, and triples.

The only thing that is important to DeJesus is playing. He said "I'm in the line-up, I want to be playing. That's most important."