When I first played HBD (around 2008) there was a large group of owners who believed you could put a rock in RF without a huge impact on overall team performance. - plays were capped at 30 so even guys with single digit range could still “function” as a fielder (assuming he was a top level offensive bat) I was wondering if anyone does this still or is it something that has been fixed?
I recently signed an IFA C whose PC number was much lower than I had hoped, but his offensive ratings are ML level.
https://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx?pid=10597347
Playing in the NL, DH isn’t a option so I’m wondering if could potentially find a home in RF?

Playing a catcher-style DH in RF can work. You'll sacrifice 15 or so runs a season on defense, though, so the bat has to be pretty good.

About your guy-- as a 20 year old Int'l signee, your guy will probably only improve 5-8 points per category maximum... and his 58 DUR won't get too much higher. I don't think the bat will grow to cover the glove against RHP. I think you have a platoon RF against LHP here.

I wouldn't be afraid to try him at catcher if he gets a little development. Especially if he gets over 40 in PC and his bat justifies it. I used this guy off and on at catcher. Won a WS with him catching most of the playoff games one season. I've tried to put those guys in the RF and it never seems like it turns out well.
Player Profile: Quinn Millwood - Hardball Dynasty Baseball | WhatIfSports

I use both these strategies all the time. Remember the rationale:

1/ The game generates a ton of DHs who would be Catchers except for minimal range/glove and Pitch Calling. Is there any way for an NL team to use them?
2/ The Rightfielder handles, on average, less than two fielding chances per game.
3/ RF defensive production appears to correlate more to Arm Strength and Accuracy than Range and Glove (which is the reverse for LF.)

In case anyone wonders, I've A/Bd many times the difference between a C/RF and a "real" RF in terms of defensive efficiency and I can't tell the difference. Obviously the C/RF has a fielding percentage around .930 but the "real" RF goes around .960 anyway... he costs runs too. Unless you put a SS-quality guy out there. Your RF, "real" or not, is likely in your lineup for his bat first anyway.

So the whole point is to put a big bat with a big arm in RF. Like dedelman said, though, your guy may not get there for major league purpose. He'll shred in the minors though.

And yes I believe you can use him at C - again if his bat is worth it. I'll go as low as 40 on Pitch Calling, but then I play in pitcher's parks which IMO helps cancel out the poor catching skills.

I’ve been using Player Profile: Marcell Rodriguez - Hardball Dynasty Baseball | WhatIfSports in RF exclusively for several seasons. His bat should be better than it had been but that team has consistently been to the playoffs since he’s been in RF.

plus he only costs $5MM a year, which is a bargain for that bat.

That’s another good point. Because those players sometimes have lower Overall ratings their salary demands never get too high.

Posted by jamier2003 on 7/19/2020 11:36:00 AM (view original):
I’ve been using Player Profile: Marcell Rodriguez - Hardball Dynasty Baseball | WhatIfSports in RF exclusively for several seasons. His bat should be better than it had been but that team has consistently been to the playoffs since he’s been in RF.

plus he only costs $5MM a year, which is a bargain for that bat.

Id play this guy all day long in rf. Hes a stud.

I've been doing this almost my entire HBD career (not very long, about 35 seasons or so). A few examples are below.

This guy
This guy
This guy

The C/DH is more available and less expensive than the guy that the game generates at RF. Also, the guy that usually gets generated as a RF, underplays the position and still gives you [-] plays and errors at the position. If you have the luxury of having two third basemen that hit 800+ OPS, then go ahead and put one of them in RF. Or, if you have the luxury of having one of those 850+ OPS game generated RFs that still underplays the position, but is a nice bat, go ahead and play him. However, if you lack the luxury of the two above guys, I think the C/DH that OPS 800 is the next best option. To me, it is better than putting that SS/3b in there that OPS around 680-720. There just are not enough defensive plays in RF to have a guy there isn't a good hitter.

A couple of season ago I tried Brian Alexander in RF and I didn't like the results. Seven negative plays in 42 games and I seemed to notice a lot of singles hit to RF that I wondered if a "normal" RF might have been able to get to a few of them. I lost 8-10 games by a run or two during that time and abandoned the idea and put him back to platoon at C.

Here are most of my current rf's. My teams seem to do just fine as I have used this strategy for a long time.
Player Profile: Roberto Arguelles - Hardball Dynasty Baseball | WhatIfSports
Player Profile: Allen Reagan - Hardball Dynasty Baseball | WhatIfSports
Player Profile: Odrisamer Gabriel - Hardball Dynasty Baseball | WhatIfSports
Player Profile: Joely McKirahan - Hardball Dynasty Baseball | WhatIfSports

All good points. Remember, the point of this isn't to replace your RF (though as tlowster said there may be some cost savings to be had.) It's to find a use for a bunch of players you can draft easily but might not be able to use in the majors elsewhere.