assuming that Hannahan was a shortstop when he came out of the University of Minnesota (which I don’t know if he was).

Hannahan played third at college with Scott Welch – briefly of Spokane – playing beside him at short.

I like his approach, and I like most of his skillset, but Ronny Cedeno had the same argument in his favor as well, and, uh

Raul Ibanez through age 28: .241/.295/.383
Jose Guillen through age 27 (2000 PAs): .260/.305 /.398
Mark McLemore through age 26 (about 1000 PAs): .225/.295/.289

Rich Amaral would be another example- he didn’t start hitting until he was pushing 30 in AAA, and then turned into an OK bench player.

I tend to think these are best case scenarios for Hannahan’s offensive development, but it’s worth a shot, and his defense is good enough that if he turns into a .250/.320/.400 hitter (well under Mark DeRosa’s career numbers), he’d be useful.

but you can’t pretend that he hasn’t had solid stretches of good hitting at the major league level.

I’m not. And again, I’m not saying it’s totally impossible he’s a little better than what he’s shown so far. I also never said he’s been consistently bad. He just hasn’t been– and won’t be in my humble opinion– significantly better than your average utility player offensively.

It’s also worth noting that the “miserable” season he had in ’08 was the only time he’s gotten even semi-regular playing time. Coincidence, or were his weaknesses as a hitter just being exposed?

I’m not disagreeing with your overall sentiment Dave. I think Hannahan is a useful player.

900 plate appearances. He also posted a .403 wOBA in Triple-A in 2007. There’s more offensive ability there than you think.

Sure, but does that mean that the 417 plate appearances he accumulated in ’07– when he was a 27 year old playing in AAA– mean more than the 900 or so he’s struggled in the majors?

I’m not saying there’s absolutely no chance he’s a little better of a hitter than what we’ve seen from him, but at the same time I feel like if that were the case, me might have already seen some of that. And even if he is a little better than a .298 wOBA hitter, is he that so much better that you could call him “significantly” better than your average utility player? Especially while he’s playing in the AL, in a tough hitting environment?

No one can take away from his defensive abilities, and I agree that he could make a good 10th guy if he proves himself in the middle infield. But 417 PA two years ago in AAA isn’t enough to convince me the past 900 in the majors are less indicative of his abilities.

The downside? He doesn’t get as much actual playing time at SS/2B. The upside? He gets to stay on a major league roster, which makes any player happy.