Reynolds

[ccbird]

If this team were better offensively or pitching wise, we could afford Reynolds at 3B. But becuase we are barely able to score more than 4 runs a game, and brarely able to prevent four from scoring, shakey defense like his, stands out.

No, we could afford him at DH. His defense doesn't play anywhere on any team.

[El Gordo]

No, we could afford him at DH. His defense doesn't play anywhere on any team.

This is an over reaction. A team with better pitching or better offense could afford him at 3B. The numbers would indicate that he would be about 3 W above average with the bat and 1 W below with the glove. The fact that he isn't hitting in the first 5 games this season does not negate his offensive value. and the fact that his glove has been shakey the first 5 games does not mean he will be as poor on defense as he was last year. It's just that the team's margin for error is so slim, a SSS of poor D or poor O makes it look a lot worse than it is.

[ccbird]

This is an over reaction. A team with better pitching or better offense could afford him at 3B. The numbers would indicate that he would be about 3 W above average with the bat and 1 W below with the glove. The fact that he isn't hitting in the first 5 games this season does not negate his offensive value. and the fact that his glove has been shakey the first 5 games does not mean he will be as poor on defense as he was last year. It's just that the team's margin for error is so slim, a SSS of poor D or poor O makes it look a lot worse than it is.

A contender would use Reynolds bat, not his glove. Reynolds is what?? 28?? Still probably got a decent amount of baseball left in him. I'm willing to bet the his days as a fulltime 3b are over after this year. Ideally, he ends up as an AL DH. Maybe he goes back to the NL as a 1B but I'll be surprised if he gets another gig as a fulltime 3B. I seriously don't know if a team like Philly as desperately as they need offense would put him on 3B if they had him right now. They'd probably play him at 1B.

I'm racking my brain trying to come up with a team you described that would use him as a reg 3B??? Maybe the Dodgers.

[Dipper9]

I didn't see any strikes it I did see pitches called for strikes. MLB umpiring is so awful.

You can only cry foul for so long before you make adjustments and realize the strike zone is bigger than it should be. 14 strike outs, ten looking, is atrocious! Our hitters never make adjustments...ever. Being "right" doesn't help put a win on the board. It just makes us look like crybabies when we lose.

[toppcatt]

I am so fed up with Mark Reynolds. This guy is a pariah on the Orioles. I don’t care how many home runs he hits. He strikes out too much and is a liability at third base. This error winds up setting the tone for the whole year for the Orioles for all the other Major League teams, “Don’t give up, the Orioles will let you back into the game”. So from here on out, the Orioles have to play stellar baseball for nine innings because the other teams know they have a chance with people like Mark Reynolds on the field. He is not hitting; his fielding is subpar; and he offers nothing to the team in leadership. Buck Showalter should bench him tonight. I am a firm believer that fielding is the first priority in a third baseman, and Mark Reynolds does not fit the bill. If anyone should be booting balls at third base, it should be a rookie cutting his teeth. I can’t believe the Orioles are paying this guy eight million dollars. One of my favorite players for the Orioles is going in the Orioles Hall of Fame, Rich Dauer. A steady sure handed infielder who has the notoriety of being the only batter to face Nolan Ryan multiple times and not striking out. Give me a fundamentally sound third basemen who can put the bat on the ball over an abysmal fielding, free swinging, strikeout king who might hit a home run every now and then.

[waroriole]

Butbutbut the human element hurrdurrrrr.

What I'd pay for machines calling balls and strikes.

I'm sure the machines would be programmed to give the MFY the call too

[waroriole]

Reynolds is a very one dimensional player. Strikes out way too much. Boots many balls that are playable. Hits alot of Home Runs. Not worth the bargain. The Orioles are stuck with two corner

infielders who strike out with regularity..this will come back to haunt them this year. They didnt make any moves to give them many alternatives. Theyre stuck with this.

Seems like they did come up with some alternatives with Johnson, Betemit and Flaherty.

[ShaneDawg85]

There's no better option. Period. No, Robert Andino is not a third baseman, Chris Davis is a 1st baseman, and Ryan Flaherty has a reputation for being poor defensively too, and if he fails in that regard people will be calling for someone else immediately. There is no better option, period.

[Going Underground]

Reynolds hit around .200 with running in scoring position last year. He had the lowest batting average of any right handed hitter at home with a minimum of 300 at bats. He is not a great hitter. He is a guy with power who hits homers. He never advances a runner with less then two outs or even tries to move the runner to third. The O's tried to trade him and no one wanted him and his salary.

[GivemTheBird]

If this team were better offensively or pitching wise, we could afford Reynolds at 3B. But becuase we are barely able to score more than 4 runs a game, and brarely able to prevent four from scoring, shakey defense like his, stands out.

I agree with this.

[LookinUp]

I've been critical of the Reynolds trade since about the first week of last year. My criticism moderated a bit when he got hot and started really putting up some decent offensive numbers . That will likely happen this year as well, so I do think the piling on right now lacks a little bit of perspective.

However...

I hate Reynolds as a player for all of the reasons other people are outlining. I could list them all, but I simply want the O's to sign good ballplayers. For all the people who say Andino isn't a 3B, I ask why? Third is not the offensive position that first base is throughout the league. I'd rather promote Antonelli to play 2B or 3B, with Andino at the other and sprinkling Flaherty in as well than see Reynolds on the field.

The O's almost certainly have to let Reynolds play through this so he can re-establish some sort of value, but I'm sick of that perspective as well. In almost any case, Reynolds won't net much of significance in any trade. If the O's accept that as fact, it'll be easier to move on from this expirament and go with some guys who might just turn out to be alright. In fact, if Reynolds can hit as a DH, that might give another team reason to trade for him in the stretch. Anything but 3B or 1B, please.

[Going Underground]

Reynolds makes 7.5 million . No team would trade for him at that salary. Maybe later in the year,the O's might get a couple of minor leaguers. The O's might even have to pay some of his salary to get some prospects.

[Brendan25]

I liked the Reynolds trade when it happened last year, but it looks like he was a very overrated player coming out of Arizona.

[Frobby]

Reynolds hit around .200 with running in scoring position last year. He had the lowest batting average of any right handed hitter at home with a minimum of 300 at bats. He is not a great hitter. He is a guy with power who hits homers. He never advances a runner with less then two outs or even tries to move the runner to third. The O's tried to trade him and no one wanted him and his salary.

Frankly, there aren't many guys on this team who are good at advancing runners. But let's give this a little context. Last year, AL hitters advanced runners from 3B with less than 2 out 53% of the time. The Orioles did it 52% of the time. Reynolds did it 35% of the time in 31 opportunities. That's five fewer times than an average player would have. AL hitters advanced a runner from 2B with nobody out 55% of the time. The Orioles did it 54% of the time. Reynolds did it 48% of the time in 27 opportunities. That's about two fewer times than an average player would have. So, over the course of a season, Reynolds failed to advance a runner from 2nd or 3rd in "move the runner" situation seven more times than the average player would have.

Now let's look at the other side of the strikeout coin. The league grounded into double plays 11% of the time there was a DP situation. The Orioles did it 14% of the time. But Reynolds only did it 10% of the time in 108 opportunities. That's one fewer time than the average player, four fewer times than the average Oriole.

FWIW, in 2011 the best on the Orioles at advancing a runner from 3B with less than two outs were Guerrero (74%), Jones (66%) and Markakis (65%). Worst were Andino (32%), Davis (33%), Scott (33%) and Reynolds (35%). Best at advancing a runner from 2B with nobody out were Andino (77%), Roberts (71%) and Markakis (63%). Worst were Reimold (33%), Pie (38%), Lee (42%) and Hardy (42%). Scott, Wieters and Guerrero also were worse than Reynolds in that situation. Our lowest GIDP guys were Scott (5%), Reimold (7%) and Davis (9%), while our highest were Guerrero (22%), Lee (19%) and Wieters (18%). (I am only including players with 100+ PA on these lists.)

In case anyone is wondering, I am getting this from BB-ref: http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/2011-batting.shtml (scroll down to "Team PH/HR/Situ Hitting").

By the way, Reynolds over his career has done somewhat better at these situational hitting categories than he did in 2011: 44% with runner on 3B and less than 2 out, 49% with a runner on 2B and nobody out, 8% career GIDP rate. Data is here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reynoma01-bat.shtml (scroll down to "Situational Hitting").

To me, if all you are looking at is the offensive side of the equation, 37 homers far outweighs the 7 extra times he didn't advance a runner. If you had 9 hitters exactly like 2011 Mark Reynolds, you'd score 5.2 runs/game, compared to the 4.4 runs a game the Orioles actually scored. So far as I am concerned, I can accept Reynolds' flaws as a hitter, because they are outweighed by his strengths. That's not to say I am not frustrated as anyone else when he strikes out in one of these situations.

Reynolds' defense is the much bigger issue here, and he certainly has done nothing so far this season to indicate he'll be better than last year. It's too early to pull the plug on him at 3B but we can't have him making an error every other game.

[Going Underground]

Do you think any other team would want Reynolds with his 37 homers and $7.5 million dollar salary? Why did no other team want him when the O's were dangling him if his homers are so great?