Can anyone share their opinion on whether they think it is actually valuable to devote a spot on the bench for an offensively weak outfielder to act strictly as a defensive replacement?

Is this type of player worth the roster spot, or do you feel it is better to fill that spot with a strong pinch hitter?  Over the course of a season, what is the net difference in games won/lost when you have a defensive replacement at OF? 

I already have a pretty strong bench offensively.  My starting RF is strong offensively, but weak defensively, and my other two OFs are strong in both areas.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

Your replacements are only entered when you are winning/losing by a significant amount (You can choose when you want your replacements to come into the game in your management center). So if thats what you're using the replacement player for, it would be pointless and I would spend the extra money to help add more value to your starters. If your talking about using them as a replacement for when your regular starter is tired I would recommend a strong offensive replacement. Defense, in my opinion, has always been overvalued in sim. Most of the time I look at defense as the last option versus looking at AVG#, OBP#, and SLG# depending on the position.

It really depends on which position your trying to fill for your replacement. If its OF I would go with a strong offensive player hands down. If you already have a strong offensive bench and are looking at adding another replacement bench player at an IF position, defense wouldn't be a bad option since you already have strong hitting replacements.

It also depends on your pitching staff. If you have a strong pitching staff, then defense would be a good choice. You won't need his bat to help you score runs if your pitching can keep your ERA below 3.

A lot of different factors go into your question. I recently created a new tag to start over, but I have been apart of sim for a lot of years now. I have never looked at defense very strongly with the exception of SS and 2B. Even at 3B I use Chone Figgins and John McGraw a lot that have C/D defensive ratings at 3B. Most of the time if you look at the league leaders in defense within your league, a lot of them are in the middle of the pack when it comes to their record. I'm sure a lot of other users will agree, but thats my input on it. Hope it helps.

Thank you.  Your feedback is appreciated.

Posted by eastvanmungo on 5/20/2011 11:07:00 AM (view original):
I have a slightly different opinion from in2win, in that I value defense a bit more.
Now, the first thing I do is make sure that my starters are my go-to guys in terms of offense... and to make sure that they have the PA's to play as much as possible.  Sometimes this requires that I skimp a bit on D here and there.  Consequently, if I have a guy who has a decent likelihood of booting a ball in the late innings, I have him tagged for defensive replacement, and draft a guy with decent defense to sub in.  Not a lot of PA's are necessary, as they aren't going to eat up a lot of innings playing for guys who are resting.  So, yeah, I have no problem setting my team to send in defensive replacements for some of my more stone handed dudes when I am up by a couple of runs in the 8th or later.

I only play Progs and Themes, but I can't say it any better, so I'll just quote my friend evm.

This is not true:

"Your replacements are only entered when you are winning/losing by a significant amount (You can choose when you want your replacements to come into the game in your management center). "

Defensive replacements can be set to come in with as little as a 1-run lead.

defensive replacements are overrated. they really don't save you many Errors and minus plays because they don't play enough innings to make much difference. If used before 9th inning his weak bat negates any glove advantage. also it's sometimes tricky to prevent Sparky from using him as an unwanted PH. If I have an empty roster spot I think it's better to draft  an extra pinch hitter, a backup who can hit, a pinch runner, or use more pitchers. If he's also a defensive replacement that's a bonus but it's not my top priority.

RBow..   While they are overrated, they do make a difference.  True, they dont get many + plays or errors.  They play maybe 180-200 innings a season on a winning team.  However, that doesn't mean that they didnt help AVOID an error or a minus play from your iron gloved player in the late innings of a game you were winning.  Also remember that 180 innings is TWENTY GAMES.  A hidden value to the defensive replacement is saving your starter from 80 PAs.  The defensive replacement can allow you to draft a starter with 580-600 PAs who has great offense, but dismal defense and still start 162 games because he was saved 80-100 PAs by the defensive specialist who played 180-200 innings for him late in games.  Just my take.

I'm with rbow923 and dahsdebater because I've always been of the opinion that defense is overrated, something I emphasized in a recent thread. While a defensive replacement for a 'hands of stone' guy like 1919 Cravath can certainly benefit you in the late innings, I would never sub for him until the 9th due to the way I use my closers as well as my loathing for the replacement hitting in Gavvy's spot. And just as in2win noted, most (not all) of the good defensive teams in OLs are generally somewhere in the middle of the pack.  Its hitting and pitching that counts, as I've won a few WS with a D- range infield. In fact, most of my teams are at or near the bottom of the league in minus plays. So, in sum, for whatever its worth, I wouldn't be overly concerned with defense and would take hitting and pitching over defense every time.

I guess it depends on the game situation, and the way you want to spend you $$$ is different in an OL than in a lot of other kinds of leagues... but if I'm up 1 or 2 runs in the 8th or 9th inning and I'm bringing in my kickass closer to finish things off, I'm much more interested in preventing runs than scoring runs.  So, if I can upgrade my defense at 2B/SS/3B or the substitute for my (sometimes) Pete Browning-esque corner OF's (I always, if possible, have a good defensive CF), I see a percentage in doing so.  I don't always need to have A+ guys getting + plays, but I certainly want to avoid - plays and errors. Lehner and Foli and their their ilk shouldn't set you back more than 500K tops (a dedicated 2B will run you a bit more)... but, if you are in a league with WW and AAA, if you get lucky on your AAA you can always trade in your bench for offensive or pitching upgrades.  As I said in my earlier post, though... I put my money on the field. In an ideal situation, my bench is only there to seal the deal after my starters have won a game.  That said, I like to have a good PH handy too.