In an effort to build upon my Hitter Scarcity Hypothesis - the move towards 12- and 13-man pitching staffs has necessarily depleted the free agent hitting pool, I wanted to see which players are already eligible at multiple positions. If the move towards 12+ pitchers per team continues, then I expect there to be efforts by major league teams towards having a Chone Figgins/Tony Phillips type utility player who can play every day at almost every position and be a valuable fantasy player.
Right now,the list of major league players eligible at more than one position based on one-game eligibily rules totals 104 ex-DH. Here is a list of those qualifying at four or more. (There are 40 with 3+ Postion Qualification (PQ):
| PLAYER | TM | PQ |
|---|---|---|
| Rich Aurilia | SF | 123S |
| Willie Bloomquist | SEA | 23OS |
| Miguel Cairo | NYY | 123OS |
| Alberto Callaspo | ARZ | 23OS |
| Jamey Carroll | COL | 23OS |
| Mark DeRosa | CHC | 123O |
| Kevin Frandsen | SF | 23OS |
| Esteban German | KC | 23OS |
| Matt Kata | TEX | 123OS |
| Mark Loretta | HOU | 123S |
| Ramon Martinez | LA | 123S |
| Pablo Ozuna | CWS | 23OS |
| Ryan Theriot | CHC | 23OS |
| Wilson Valdez | LA | 23OS |
If the change in pitching staffs becomes consensus, then I would expect this grow. It may take a year or two as teams refocus how they develop players, but I am interested to see if it occurs.