“Versatility” has become a buzzword in baseball these days. Finding a player who can adequately fill multiple positions while holding their own with the bat gives allows a manager to be much more flexible in how he fills out his lineup card on any given day, meaning that he can more easily plan rest days for other hitters and be extra aggressive when it comes to in-game substitutions and defensive switches. Every skipper in the game will tell you how important is it so employ a utility player on the roster.
Having that “jack of all trades” is even more critical in the American Association, where teams are limited to just 23 active players.