Dilemma Deciphering: Solving Top MLB Position Problems

Happy June! We're about a third of the way through the MLB season, with some outbreaks (Pittsburgh) and some really bad teams which ended up being worse than we thought (Miami) and many teams right around where we thought they would be - Yankees, Tigers, Cardinals. As with the game, injuries are a part of them. But, some replacements are doing very well. So, how do we solve these dilemmas? Let's take a look at a few:

Marlins Outfield

They are really bad, I know. Yet, the outfield really has not been too awful. Marcell Ozuna has done well since his call-up, hitting .330. Chris Coghlan might have figured it out again. Justin Ruggiano leads the team in HRs, Giancarlo Stanton is on his way back and they have veteran Juan Pierre. Clearly, Stanton will play RF everyday, so that's one. The best solution would be some kind of platoon with Pierre and Coghlan versus righties and Ruggiano and Ozuna versus lefties. I think it would be best for Miami to play the younger, more talented Coghlan and Ozuna, but that won't happen until after the trade deadline, presumably Pierre and Ruggiano actually having some trade value.

The Evan Gattis Problem

The Braves have an elite catcher in Brian McCann. They have a talented OF in the brothers Upton and Jason Heyward. They also have a talented 1B in Freddie Freeman. They also play with no DH. Yet, they have Evan Gattis, a human power stroke. Consider this: if Gattis had 550 at-bats, he would be on pace for 47 home runs this year. If I'm Fredi Gonzalez, I get Gattis in the line-up somehow everyday. I've been saying for years how much BJ Upton is incredibly overrated and now overpaid. You sit the guy who isn't hitting. Sure, it is incredibly tough to sit an OF making $15 million this year, but they need him to be right for the next 4 years of his deal. If they fix him now, he and Gattis (presumably at C if McCann leaves via free agency) can hit dozens of home runs for the Braves for years.

Should the Tigers platoon Andy Dirks and Avisail Garcia?

Short answer, Yes. Dirks has historically struggled against lefties and against LH starters, he does not have a hit. Garcia's only hitting .200 against RH starters, but he's a better long-term option for an OF spot over, say Matt Tuiasosopo, who is playing way over his head at hitting .315 this year. Send the best lineups out there when you can.

Yankees log jam at everywhere that they don't actually need help at

You know what and who I mean here - Kevin Youkilis, David Adams, Lyle Overbay, Jayson Nix, Mark Teixeira, Vernon Wells, Brennan Boesch, Ichiro Suzuki, Travis Hafner. Oh, and Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez in 2 months, give or take. Where do they need the help at? SS and C. Where don't they have help at? SS and C. Leaving Granderson and A-Rod off the the table temporarily, the most standard lineup here on out is going to feature Youk, Nix (at SS probably), Tex, Wells, Ichiro and Pronk in it most nights. As much as I like Adams, I'd rather he play everyday in AAA versus bench-warming. Overbay is going to have to be cut eventually, and I would love to send he and Ichiro off in a package somewhere (Mets?!) to get Boesch more playing time and ease the jam. It's a good problem to have, but it would be nice if the other weak spots had this depth, too.

How do you solve these problems? Tweet me @JMFlorio