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| Brad Eldred hit his third homer of the spring Friday night against Houston. |
Our View: If Eldred continues to hit the ball with authority like he has been thus far, he may receive a shot to back up Nick Johnson at first base this season. However, it seems more likely, with veteran Dmitri Young able to play first as well, Eldred may spend time at Triple-A.
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| The Nationals signed Brad Eldred to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. |
Our View: Eldred has shown plus power in the minors, but he seems unlikely to compete for a 25-man roster job with the Nats.
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| Brad Eldred hit his 18th home run of the season for Triple-A Charlotte on Monday. |
Our View: We have known for a long time that Eldred had this type of power, but his all-or-nothing approach is tough to trust at first base. Even with Paul Konerko’s struggles, there is almost no chance that Eldred will get a real opportunity in the majors this unless someone gets hurt.
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| Brad Eldred continues to prove that he loves minor league living. The 27-year-old first baseman swatted his 16th homer of the season on Thursday. He is hitting .333-11-24 through 22 games in May. Eldred has also whiffed 27 times this month. |
Our View: Big Country is an all-or-nothing swinger, which is one reason he's never made it in the majors. We only envision him breaking in with the Sox if both Jim Thome and Paul Konerko suffer injuries.
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| Brad Eldred made his first career start in right field Sunday, in part because the Pirates had a ground-ball starter on the mound in Zach Duke, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Jim Tracy would like to find a way to get Eldred's bat into the lineup a few times a week. |
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| The Pirates have been trying Brad Eldred out in right field, according to the Post-Gazette. Eldred, regularly a first baseman, hasn't played the outfield since his junior year in college. "We took him out and hit him some balls, and he seemed to pick it up pretty fast," Pirates coach Bill Virdon said. Eldred is hitting .440 with four home runs this spring. It remains to be seen whether Eldred will be able to play at least a passable right field, but he would certainly increase his chances of making the team if he can get a feel for the new position. |
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| Brad Eldred smacked his third home run of the spring on Monday against the Blue Jays. He's 4-for-8 at the plate so far this spring. He's considered a longshot to break camp with the team. |
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| Brad Eldred, who has missed most of the season with a fractured and dislocated thumb, has been hitting off of a tee at Single-A Bradenton, according to the Pirates website. He is expected to face live pitching later this week. |
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