The original headline of this post was Alex Gaining Some Versati-Liddi but then I threw up all over my computer and had to get a new computer. Greg Johns:
Mariners manager Eric Wedge says Alex Liddi will get work at both 1B and 3B this spring to give him more options.
Not long ago, Mike Curto basically predicted that this would happen. Alex Liddi is almost guaranteed to begin the season with Tacoma. Other players who are almost guaranteed to begin the season with Tacoma, or who will at least show up in Tacoma before long, are Vinnie Catricala and Francisco Martinez. Catricala will probably spend a lot of his time in left field, but Martinez is a third baseman, and Martinez is a guy the Mariners really like, since they brought him over in the Doug Fister trade. The Mariners think Martinez could be the third baseman of the future, so Liddi will have to make some space.
Read into it however you want. I personally don't think this is huge news, or that it changes very much. My understanding is that Martinez has the better defensive reputation as a third baseman, so he should naturally be the one to stick. Not that Liddi is a disaster, but he isn't Martinez. Additionally, it's not like all of Liddi's third base skills are going to atrophy - if the Mariners need him to be a third baseman, he can be a third baseman. This is more about versatility than an out-and-out position switch.
And of course, Liddi is a prospect who might never make it in the Majors, on account of questions regarding his ability to make contact. Alex Liddi misses the ball a lot when he swings, and he needs to get better in that department if he wants to have a long career. So whatever position Liddi plays might end up being way more important to Mike Curto than it ever is to us.