With Ian Desmond signing, here are five notable middle infielders who moved to the outfield

Despite an All-Star Game appearance and three consecutive Silver Sluggers from 2012-15, Ian Desmond will not only be moving to a new city in 2016, but he'll be moving to a new position, as well. It was reported on Sunday that the former National, whose 88 home runs over the last four seasons lead all shortstops, will be joining the Rangers as their new left fielder. This despite Desmond playing all of 7 1/3 innings in the outfield in his Major League career. 

It's not all that new of a transition for a baseball player to make, though. After all, nearly every Major League player was his team's shortstop in high school or college. And just last year, Hanley Ramirez moved to left field (though perhaps the less said about that, the better.) 
With Desmond coming off a difficult season, hitting only .233/.290/.384 while making 27 errors in the field, now may be just the time for him to make the switch. Here are five of the most notable who have done it in the past: 
From 1974-84, Yount was the Brewers' star shortstop, picking up an MVP and Gold Glove award in 1982 when he hit .331/.379/.578 with 29 home runs. But in 1985, when Yount was 29, he moved to the outfield to keep his bat fresh (and install rookie Ernie Riles in the infield), before becoming a full-time center fielder in 1986. 
Things worked out pretty nicely there. Yount would hold down the position until he retired in 1993, picking up another MVP Award after hitting .318/.384/.511 with 21 HRs in 1989. He's one of only four players to ever earn the award at two different positions -- after Hank Greenberg and Stan Musial and before Alex Rodriguez.  
He also has one of the all-time greatest catches to save a no-hitter when, with two outs in the ninth, Yount came soaring across the outfield and leapt as if on wires, to end the game. 

We all know of Jackie Robinson, the home-plate-stealing second baseman. But few think of his last few years when he was a plenty useful left fielder/third baseman. After watching his errors spike to a career high of 20 and his range drop at the age of 33, Robinson made the move in 1953, while Jim Gilliam took over the keystone. (Gilliam would do well to follow in Robinson's path by winning the Rookie of the Year and leading the league in triples that season.)
Robinson would split time between left and third for two seasons, getting elected to All-Star Games in each season. The Hall of Famer would move over to third for his final two seasons, still finding himself playing nearly every position, though before hanging 'em up in 1957. 
It's almost poetic that Robinson would be called on to play left, too. After all, the famous song, "Did you see Jackie Robinson Hit that Ball?" made special mention of his liners to the corner, so why not play there, too? 

After breaking into the league as a 22-year-old second baseman (seriously, is that enough twos in there?) and winning a Rookie of the Year along the way, Rose moved to the outfield four years later in 1967. The position switch seemed to work as Rose went from hitting just .294/.348/.406 to .317/.389/.444 with an MVP Award and three batting titles over the next eight seasons before he moved to third base and, eventually, first. He also picked up two Gold Gloves as a right fielder, though those accomplishments tend to be obscured by the sheer amount of hits and legends that surround him. 

OK, this one feels a little like cheating just because what in the world do you actually call what Zobrist plays? He's not a utilityman, as that suggests a backup, roving member at the end of a roster, rather than a guy who just signed a four-year, $56 million contract.
After playing only shortstop in his first two tastes of the big leagues, Zobrist played every position except first, catcher or pitcher in his third season. He then added first base the next year. 
He's played four positions for more than 600 innings each: second base, right field, shortstop and left field. In two years, he's played an outfield position more than any other. 
So, he was a shortstop. And now he's largely a second baseman. But he's still so much more than that. After all, since 2009, he's fifth in fWAR, behind only Miguel Cabrera, Andrew McCutchen, Mike Trout and Joey Votto.  

While Zobrist may be the king for playing the most positions, Biggio may get the award for strangest progression. After breaking into the league as a catcher, he started playing the outfield when needing a rest behind the dish. Quick, think of the current catchers in the game who you would want to be roving center field when not squatting behind home plate?
Biggio then moved to second, becoming one of the best to play the position, before he again was moved to center field to make room for the defensively limited Jeff Kent in 2003. Only thing: Biggio was 37-years-old! That simply doesn't happen. Players are usually moved away from there, if they're not retiring, at that age. While his work in the outfield isn't highly regarded, that likely has more to do with the fact that he was either used there to rest up from the rigors of catching or at such an advanced age.