Machado: Demotion an Option?

[TonySoprano]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Will Machado's offensive struggles earn him demotion? <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Orioles&src=hash">#Orioles</a> GM Duquette: "That's always an option." Story soon on <a href="http://t.co/zOZKNLVfVb">http://t.co/zOZKNLVfVb</a>.</p>— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) <a href="

">June 10, 2014</a></blockquote>

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[Hank Scorpio]

Yeah, right.

[24fps]

I have to think this is nothing more than a message being sent, although I think Duquette would demote Machado if he felt the message wasn't appropriately received.

[weams]

I am extremely proud of this team's management and front office. An organization you can be proud of.

'Good kid who made a bad decision'

[wildcard]

So they would demote Manny so Flaherty or Schoop can play 3B? Yea, that is a big help to the offense.

[weams]

So they would demote Manny so Flaherty or Schoop can play 3B? Yea, that is a big help to the offense.

Not Schoop. He goes too.

[SticksandStones]

This has about as much of a chance of happening as me playing 3B for the O's in the next week. Zip, Zilch, Zero

[weams]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/orioles-weighing-demoting-struggling-manny-machado-061014

“That’s always an option,” general manager Dan Duquette told FOX Sports on Tuesday. “The guy distinguished himself in the big leagues last year. We’d much rather see him develop his skills here. But that’s always an option.”

...

Prior to injuring his knee last Sept. 23, Machado appeared in all 156 games, batting .283 with a .746 OPS, 14 home runs and 51 doubles. He also played brilliant defense, made the American League All-Star team as a reserve and finished 10th in the majors in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), according to Fangraphs.com.

This season, Machado is swinging at a greater percentage of pitches outside of the strike zone, hitting more groundballs and fewer line drives. On Monday night, he fell behind 0-2 in three of his four at-bats, going 0-for-4 and striking out twice.

If the Orioles demoted Machado, they could play Ryan Flaherty at third and Jonathan Schoop at second

...

They also could recall infielder Steve Lombardozzi, whom they demoted shortly before activating Machado. Lombardozzi is batting .307 with a .692 OPS at Triple A.

[MagicBird]

This has about as much of a chance of happening as me playing 3B for the O's in the next week. Zip, Zilch, Zero

[LoyalBirdFan]

Demotion should be an option, however it would be nice if they moved him down to the lower third of the order FIRST to see if that helps him get on track. After watching Buck though, I think he'll hit #2 the whole year no matter what.

[24fps]

This has about as much of a chance of happening as me playing 3B for the O's in the next week. Zip, Zilch, Zero

Even though the talent is unmistakable, Machado has done nothing this year to make himself indispensable. I think Duquette was serious. I don't think it will be necessary.

[srock]

His defense keeps him in the majors. It's the only reason he was activated so quickly. If there was a decent option to play 3b, maybe he gets demoted to work in his swing. But there isn't.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[weams]

Even though the talent is unmistakable, Machado has done nothing this year to make himself indispensable. I think Duquette was serious. I don't think it will be necessary.

He was and I agree with you. I think Manny will start performing.

[weams]

Demotion should be an option, however it would be nice if they moved him down to the lower third of the order FIRST to see if that helps him get on track. After watching Buck though, I think he'll hit #2 the whole year no matter what.

I take it that you are not in favor of Buck as the Orioles manager?

[Frobby]

Milwaukee demoted J.J. Hardy for 3 weeks in August 2009 when he was hitting .229/.300/.367, even though he'd been a full-time starter for 4+ seasons and an all star in 2007. So yes, I'd say demotion is always an option.

By the way, the Hardy 3-week demotion delayed his eligibility for free agency by a year.