Throughout the season the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we discussed Luis Arraez's end-of-season batting average. This week we're going to tackle the hot corner.
Who is the best third baseman in baseball?
Matt Snyder: I'll stick with Nolan Arenado. José Ramírez obviously has a great case and is the obvious candidate that could be picked over Arenado right now. I don't think Manny Machado is old enough for an age-related decline, so perhaps he gets really hot at the plate and thrusts himself back in the race, but for now, he's having just too dreadful a season. Arenado still dazzles on defense and has hit well enough to rebound from a terrible April. Along with his established track record, that's enough for me.
R.J. Anderson: As I've said before, it always comes down to how you want to define these things. If we're talking about the best third baseman based on what's happened this season, then it's probably Matt Chapman. If we're talking about the best third baseman based on the last few years -- my preferred approach, if we're being honest -- then I'd go with José Ramírez (though Nolan Arenado and Manny Machado have compelling cases, too).
Mike Axisa: I'm sticking with Nolan Arenado. He had a very sluggish start to the season -- he was hitting .232/.281/.324 on May 10! -- but he's looked like himself the last five weeks, plus he's still playing best-in-the-world caliber defense. At age 32, that bad start was a little worrisome, I'm not gonna lie. Arenado plays hard and spent all those years in high altitude. It takes a toll, physically. He looks great now though, and the poor start appears to be a blip, not the beginning of the end. Arenado's my pick. Manny Machado has performed below expectations long enough now that I'll put José Ramírez in my No. 2 spot.
Dayn Perry: I prefer to come at this using a larger sample, so I'm not interested in, say, which third baseman has been the best or has the highest WAR for 2023 alone. I think I'll ever-so-slightly lean Arenado over José Ramírez over the last half-decade or so, especially now that Arenado this year has emerged from his funk at the plate and found his level. I think the fielding and the post-Coors production since the trade to St. Louis makes Arenado barely edge out Ramírez. Machado is of course in this discussion.
