The Padres seem to be leaning toward moving Wil Myers around between positions next season, rather than his anchoring the left-most side of their infield.

But Myers, while acknowledging it has been ugly at times during his 21 games there, really wants to be a third baseman.

“I think I’m a third baseman,” he said early Saturday afternoon. “I want to play third base. I see some fans talking that I’m not playing very well over there. It’s true. I have not played very good third base. … I know I can play third. That first game I went over there and made all the plays I needed to make.”

Thing is, Myers at present is discombobulated and even a little spooked at the hot corner.


Shortly before proving it in a rain-shortened 7-2 loss to the Reds, he acknowledged it.

“When you get hit in the face by a ball, it really, really can wear on you,” Myers said.

He referred to the Aug. 22 incident in which a pregame practice session grounder took a bounce off the lip of the infield grass and left him with a black eye and a cut on his nose that had to be stitched. He did not play for two games. A week later, he was charged with three errors in a game (reduced to two by a scoring change).

“I think the one thing about being over there is not necessarily all the practice and not necessarily all the drills,” Myers said. “It’s becoming more sure of myself over there. One thing I’ve lost is being sure of myself over there. Getting hit in the face, having a couple errors after that, you start to think about it. The more I can play over there, get used to the velocity, get used to the speed of the game, the better I’m going to get. Because I know I can make the plays over there; I’ve done it. But when you’re unsure of yourself, it can be tough. That’s what I’m working on right now.”


Myers, who played outfield early in his career and first base the last two seasons before returning to outfield in the spring, has taken grounders and done other drills at third base virtually every day the past month-and-a-half. Recently, infield coach Josh Johnson has been hitting grounders at Myers even harder. It is the latest way in which the Padres are trying to get as close as possible to game-like circumstances in his training.

“I’m learning the right steps pre-pitch, right now,” Myers said. “I’m ready for every single pitch, but I’m learning what it takes to take the right step, have the best step. As opposed to be able to just move, it’s being ready to move in the right way.”

Sure enough, a sizzling grounder by Brandon Dixon got on, up and past Myers in a hurry in Saturday’s second inning. He had been backing up before the pitch, and that contributed to the ball short-hopping him.

“He got himself in that in-between spot where you get in trouble at third base where you get in between hops,” manager Andy Green said.


Later in the inning, Myers didn’t make an attempt to charge a bunt by Matt Harvey that loaded the bases, enabling a one-out sacrifice fly that might have ended the inning had Myers made the previous play. Three batters later, Joey Votto hit a grand slam that gave the Reds a 7-0 lead.

“It’s tough in that moment (knowing whether) that (is) his ball or not,” Green said. “He needs to err on the side of aggression and just go get that ball.”

While Green wants Myers to remember he played first base the past two seasons and there were some hard-hit balls there, the manager is committed to this experiment.

“We thrust him in that spot,” Green said. “We asked him to do that. He’s getting a feel for what balls he’s got to come get, what balls he has to stay back. That guy has never played third base. There has to be some measure of patience and understanding he’s figuring it out.


“We would probably see him as a guy who moves around a little bit. But right now this is a spot he needs to get comfortable learning if he’s capable of doing it.”

Myers believes he knows the answer, even if there is more to discover.

“There are certain things I’m learning right now, but I do see myself at third base,” he said. “I can figure this thing out. The only thing is I can be more sure of myself. It’s just going to take some time. I’m going to figure it out.”

Extra bases

Luis Perdomo pitched a scoreless sixth inning, allowing a walk in his first relief appearance since May 31, 2016. He had started 58 straight games.

Eric Hosmer homered for the second game in a row – after going 14 games without one. His 15 homers are tied with Franmil Reyes for third most on the team.

Manuel Margot walked! He had not done so since July 20, a span of 151 plate appearances. His batting average in that span was .267 and his on-base percentage was .258.

Franmil Reyes singled and has hit safely in 15 of 17 games, going 18-for-49 (.367) over that stretch.

Austin Hedges walked and tripled. He is batting .279/.330/.515 since July 1. That is the highest batting average and slugging percentage and eighth-highest on-base percentage among the 15 catchers who have had at least 150 at-bats in that span.

Cory Spangenberg started for the first time since Aug. 26 and went 0-for-1 with a walk He has .371 on-base percentage over his past 16 starts.

kevin.acee@sduniontribune.com