We heard the refrain all month: “You can’t sacrifice the defense for the sake of the offense!”
Of course, Nolan Gorman was the centerpiece of that statement. Tommy Edman was a Gold Glove-winning second baseman in 2021. Over the first two months of the season, he was playing the position at a near-Platinum glove level.
Paul DeJong, meanwhile, wasn’t hitting at all but was providing his usual good-to-very-good defensive play at shortstop.
Since the roster was constructed with a philosophy of defense + run suppression (through ground balls and ballpark), it didn’t make sense to some fans to mess with the strategy.