This time last year, I referred to position-eligibility changes as an "interesting" database project.
It's all relative, of course, and if nothing else, sweeping the list "by hand" is a reminder that I should probably figure out a better way.
With another fantasy baseball season in the books, it's time to look at the changes to the player pool for 2018.
For the purposes of this list, I used 20 games played at a position, or the position a player appeared at the most if they played fewer than 20 games.
You can adjust the thresholds and check eligibility with the RotoWire Games Played by Position page.
All changes I found using this criteria are documented in full here.
See anything awry? Let me know @DerekVanRiper.
Note: The list below is alphabetized by last name and players of the most interest to the author are in bold.
Austin, Tyler -- 1B-only (may have had OF-elig some places)
Baez, Javier -- Lost 3B eligibility
Barnes, Austin -- Added 2B eligibility
Barreto, Franklin -- SS by default, more GP at SS than 2B
Bregman, Alex -- Added SS eligibility (still 3B-elig too)
Bryant, Kris -- 3B only, Lost OF-elig
Cabrera, Asdrubal -- Added 2B & 3B eligibility
Calhoun, Willie -- OF-only now; was 2B by default
Carpenter, Matt -- 1B-only now; had 2B & 3B throughout 2017
Castellanos, Nick -- Added OF-elig
Contreras, Willson -- C-only; had OF-elig in 2017
Crawford, J.P. -- 3B-only; lost SS
Cruz, Nelson -- Now UT-only; lost OF
Davidson, Matt -- Added 3B; was UT-only to begin 2017
DeJong, Paul -- Default SS, also 2B-elig; default was 3B
Delmonico, Nicky -- Now OF-only; was 3B-elig
Desmond, Ian -- Added 1B-elig
Drury, Brandon -- 2B-only; lost 3B
Escobar, Eduardo -- 3B-only; lost SS
Frazier, Adam -- Added 2B; was OF-only to begin 2017
Gallo, Joey -- Eligible at both corners; was 3B-only to start 2017
Gonzalez, Marwin -- Added 2B/SS/OF, Had 1B/3B to begin 2017, lost 3B
Gyorko, Jedd -- 3B-only; lost 2B/SS elig
Hanson, Alen -- 2B/OF
Happ, Ian -- Has 2B/OF-elig for 2018
Harrison, Josh -- Added 3B-elig, has 2B/3B
Hernandez, Enrique -- Added SS-elig, now SS/OF
Holliday, Matt -- Now UT-only; lost OF
Holt, Brock -- 2B-only now; lost oF
Hoskins, Rhys -- 1B/OF; may have added OF in some leagues
Kendrick, Howie -- OF-only now, had 2B-elig in 2017
Machado, Manny -- 3B-only again; lost SS-elig from 2017
Mancini, Trey -- 1B/OF...was UT-only to begin 2017
Martinez, Jose -- 1B/OF-elig for 2018
McMahon, Ryan -- 1B-only now; had 3B-elig in 2017
Mejia, Francisco -- UT-only now; most games played there in 2017
Miller, Brad -- 2B-only; lost SS-elig
Moncada, Yoan -- 2B-only now
Mondesi, Raul -- Continues to be 2B-only (Could add SS in first week of '18)
Morales, Kendrys -- Still UT-only; added in-season 1B in some leagues
Moss, Brandon -- UT-only; Had OF/1B elig in 2017
Motter, Taylor -- SS-only, qualified other places in-season 2017
Murphy, Daniel -- 2B-only now; lost 1B-elig
Nunez, Eduardo -- Lost SS-elig, 3B/OF/2B still!
Nunez, Renato -- OF-only now; lost 3B
Olson, Matt -- 1B-only now; was OF-elig
Pearce, Steve -- OF-only now; lost 1B
Peraza, Jose -- 2B/SS-elig for 2018
Perez, Hernan -- OF/3B again; same entering 2017
Phillips, Brandon -- 2B & 3B now;
Pinder, Chad -- SS/OF now; lost 2B
Pirela, Jose -- OF-only now; lost 2B
Profar, Jurickson -- OF-only now
Pujols, Albert -- UT-only now
Ramirez, Hanley -- UT-only now
Ramirez, Jose -- Added 2B-elig (also 3B default); lost OF
Reyes, Jose -- Added 2B/SS; was 3B-only
Robertson, Daniel -- Now SS & 2B-elig
Sanchez, Yolmer -- 2B/3B now; was 2B only
Solarte, Yangervis -- Added 2B/SS, was 3B-only, now all three
Spangenberg, Cory -- Lost 2B; now 3B/OF
Taylor, Chris -- 2B/OF now; 3B-default in 2017
Thames, Eric -- 1B/OF for 2018, was one or the other to begin 2017
Turner, Trea -- SS only now; lost 2B-elig
Valaika, Pat -- SS-only; had 3B-elig
Valbuena, Luis -- 1B/3B
Valencia, Danny -- 1B-only now; lost 3B & OF
Villar, Jonathan -- 2B-only now; lost 3B/SS
Wade, Tyler -- 2B-only