Rey Navarro joins the utility infielder competition

[Ruzious]

Wasn't he two years ago?

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Yeah, I have some memory issues. Fwiw, Yamaico Navarro had a nice year in Korea last year hitting 31 homers batting .308/.417/.552. He's signed a $950,000 contract to play with the same team for 2015.

[weams]

Says the man that forgot we made the playoffs in 2012. .

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When did I forget that? I am a huge Joe Saunders fan. And I blame Matusz and Johnson

[Can_of_corn]

When did I forget that? I am a huge Joe Saunders fan. And I blame Matusz and Johnson

Not CC?

[SteveA]

There were two spots in the O's infield in question when ST began. Jonathan Schoop has asserted his incumbency at 2B with continued great defense and added a element of offense so far this spring. A homer and two doubles has his OPS at 917. The challenge from Everth Cabrera has fallen flat in the first week of games. Its not over but its not a good start for Cabrera.

However, competition for the utility infielder spot intensified yesterday when Rey Navarro slammed a homer to left field. It raised his OPS to 1.089 in the very early going. As Gary Thorne said yesterday "That will get you noticed." He is ticketed for Norfolk but he might not go quietly. Navarro has been known for his defense throughout his minor league career. It has helped him to All-Star appearances in:

2009 in the low A Midwest League

2011 in the advanced A Carolina League

2013 in the AA Texas League

2014 in the AA Southern League

His offense has improved over the last year. Beginning last spring and continuing through the year he has hit for:

271/336/459/794 in the AA Southern League

296/351/409/759 in the AAA International League

310/361/437/798 in the Puerto Rican Winter League

Now 25 years old, he was drafted by Arizona on the 3rd round. Traded to Kansas City and last year became a minor league free agent. He signed with Reds. Dan Duquette liked what he saw well enough to offer him a major league contract. He has three options left. Navarro has played:

445 games at SS

320 games at 2B

98 games at 3B

In his minor league career. 2nd Base is where he has the best fielding percentage.

Ryan Flaherty is the incumbent at the O's Utility Infield position. His versatility is valued by Buck. But he hasn't hit well. Last year he had a 644 OPS in 281 at bats.

So the battle is on over the next three plus weeks. Flaherty, Cabrera or Navarro could step forward and take the Utility role. All three plus Schoop have options. Winner stays and the other two go to AAA.

I think you are putting too much emphasis on ST performance.

If by performance you mean "stats accumulated in a small sample size of plate appearances", then I agree they mean very little.

But I DO think players are judged on what they do in spring training. That includes the totality of what the coaches see working with them on a daily basis from late February to Opening Day. It includes practice, work habits, evaluation of defense both in games and in practice, how they are hitting the ball in games and in practice (which is not accumulated stats but an assessment of how the ball actually comes off their bat), and takes into account variables such as quality of pitching they are seeing, what they have been told by the coaches to work on, etc.

Judgments ARE made based on spring training performance as I define it in the previous paragraph and I don't think its a stretch to imagine that Everth has hurt his cause with some sloppy play so far. Of course maybe he has done good things in practice that we haven't seen as well.

But just because any stats accumulated in small spring training sample size of ABs is meaningless, do not believe that overall performance in Sarasota means nothing.

[El Gordo]

Flaherty has 3 BB to Schoop's 0 and a .462 OBP top Schoop's .250. The guy who plays the best SS of the three, Navarro, Cabrera, and Flaherty, will be the UTIF.

[eddie83]

Flaherty has 3 BB to Schoop's 0 and a .462 OBP top Schoop's .250. The guy who plays the best SS of the three, Navarro, Cabrera, and Flaherty, will be the UTIF.

Navarro was a starting SS in the majors. I don't think Flaherty has looked that good at SS, he is much better at 2nd and 3rd.

[El Gordo]

Navarro was a starting SS in the majors. I don't think Flaherty has looked that good at SS, he is much better at 2nd and 3rd.

Navarro has never played in the ML. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=navarr001rey

[eddie83]

Navarro has never played in the ML.

My bad meant Cabrera with SD. I think Navarro has zero chance at making team minus injuries to others.

[El Gordo]

My bad meant Cabrera with SD. I think Navarro has zero chance at making team minus injuries to others.

Cabrera's defensive numbers at SS are not impressive.

[eddie83]

Cabrera's defensive numbers at SS are not impressive.

He has started at least 90 games at SS 4 times. His defensive WAR looks respectable. You think any team in MLB would look at Flaherty the same way?

[wildcard]

If by performance you mean "stats accumulated in a small sample size of plate appearances", then I agree they mean very little.

But I DO think players are judged on what they do in spring training. That includes the totality of what the coaches see working with them on a daily basis from late February to Opening Day. It includes practice, work habits, evaluation of defense both in games and in practice, how they are hitting the ball in games and in practice (which is not accumulated stats but an assessment of how the ball actually comes off their bat), and takes into account variables such as quality of pitching they are seeing, what they have been told by the coaches to work on, etc.

Judgments ARE made based on spring training performance as I define it in the previous paragraph and I don't think its a stretch to imagine that Everth has hurt his cause with some sloppy play so far. Of course maybe he has done good things in practice that we haven't seen as well.

But just because any stats accumulated in small spring training sample size of ABs is meaningless, do not believe that overall performance in Sarasota means nothing.

I believe that when a player has trouble catching catchable balls on a Buck managed team ------He has a problem.

[eddie83]

I believe that when a player has trouble catching catchable balls on a Buck managed team ------He has a problem.

And the 4-5 years of info on him in SD is going to be forgotten? I think you are putting way too much on how he has looked so far.

[wildcard]

And the 4-5 years of info on him in SD is going to be forgotten? I think you are putting way too much on how he has looked so far.

Cabrera don't seem good enough (without steroids) to beat out Schoop for the starting 2nd base job. He has bearing played 2B in the last 5 years. To be exact he has play 16 games at 2B in the last 5 years. So Cabrera has to beat out Flaherty to win the utility infield job. Flaherty can play all the infield positions. Meanwhile Cabrera has been almost exclusively a SS for 5 years. Its hard to see Cabrera being an effective defensive UIF at this point. Maybe if he goes AAA and works on it he can do it and bring the ability to steal with him.

So see I didn't forget the last 5 years in SD.

[eddie83]

Cabrera don't seem good enough (without steroids) to beat out Schoop for the starting 2nd base job. He has bearing played 2B in the last 5 years. To be exact he has play 16 games at 2B in the last 5 years. So Cabrera has to beat out Flaherty to win the utility infield job. Flaherty can play all the infield positions. Meanwhile Cabrera has been almost exclusively a SS for 5 years. Its hard to see Cabrera being an effective defensive UIF at this point. Maybe if he goes AAA and works on it he can do it and bring the ability to steal with him.

So see I didn't forget the last 5 years in SD.

All that baggage and the Orioles still signed Cabrera. I don't think anybody whether it was media or fans were clamoring to add another infielder and yet they did. If you are athletic enough to play SS then you can play 2nd. Cabrera hasn't played since last August. If the Orioles didn't think he could play 2nd then they never would have signed him to begin with. I agree he hasn't done enough to replace Schoop but that doesn't mean he won't be on the team. As long as Manny is healthy he is going to play. Flaherty played a lot at 3rd last year. He can play 2nd well also but if Schoop is on the team he will at least play around 70% of the time. Flaherty has not impressed me when he has been at SS. I think the Orioles will take their chances that Cabrera can spell Schoop at 2nd and let them rest Hardy here and there as well. He gives an element of speed that the club can use late in games. Flaherty isn't going to pinch hit for anyone on the team except for maybe Schoop if he is really struggling. Cabrera is someone that Buck could use as a pinch runner and leave in the game for defense.

[wildcard]

All that baggage and the Orioles still signed Cabrera. I don't think anybody whether it was media or fans were clamoring to add another infielder and yet they did. If you are athletic enough to play SS then you can play 2nd. Cabrera hasn't played since last August. If the Orioles didn't think he could play 2nd then they never would have signed him to begin with. I agree he hasn't done enough to replace Schoop but that doesn't mean he won't be on the team. As long as Manny is healthy he is going to play. Flaherty played a lot at 3rd last year. He can play 2nd well also but if Schoop is on the team he will at least play around 70% of the time. Flaherty has not impressed me when he has been at SS. I think the Orioles will take their chances that Cabrera can spell Schoop at 2nd and let them rest Hardy here and there as well. He gives an element of speed that the club can use late in games. Flaherty isn't going to pinch hit for anyone on the team except for maybe Schoop if he is really struggling. Cabrera is someone that Buck could use as a pinch runner and leave in the game for defense.

I agree with most of this. I think the timing is important. I think the O's do think that at some point Cabrera will be decent as backing up at 2nd base. He may even be able to backup third at some point in the future. He has defensive skills. However it is asking a lot to think he will progress that far to start the season. I agree that Cabrera adds a base running element the O's can use. But even that is not where it needs to be at the moment. He has to learn to only steal when he can make it. The O's will take less steals from him if he can improve his steal rate causing less outs.

So we agree on a lot. I just don't know if Cabrera will be where the O's need him to be defensively at 2nd and 3rd base by opening day. One the reason the O's signed Cabrera is that he has an option. The O's may ask him to go to Norfolk to improve his defense to start the season.