Núñez vs. Ruiz

[mdbdotcom]

I'd still like to see Mancini get some reps at 3b. He likely would field better than Nunez and hit better than Ruiz. 

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, mdbdotcom said:

I'd still like to see Mancini get some reps at 3b. He likely would field better than Nunez and hit better than Ruiz. 

He isn't good in left or at first.

I don't think it is likely he would field better than Nunez.

[Rene88]

2 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

I agree, Nunez is not a lock. Between Ruiz and Jackson/Martin/Villar, there are lot of options for filling the infield. Wilkerson too.

Nunez is an old regime guy too. My gut tells me despite him having no options left, he is gone. They want defense first and he doesn't match that mantra. Just my .02. And as you recall, I was the one saying Nunez might have some promise unlike Drew Dosch (who is now out of baseball I may add....). But defense first in this regime IMO. He might be given a crack to improve since it really doesn't matter but that leash won't be a long one.

[sportsfan8703]

I think there is room for a Nunez/Ruiz platoon. Jackson is valuable enough to backup IF & OF.  Martin would have to totally bomb ST for Escobar to make the team. 

[BohKnowsBmore]

10 hours ago, wildcard said:

I think we could see a platoon.   Ruiz is better defensively but he has not hit left handed pitching well in the past.

 

10 hours ago, interloper said:

Won't have much room if the two Rule 5 infielders are kept. Still possible, but definitely not if they keep Escobar. 

 

10 hours ago, oriole said:

I’d love to see a platoon but I can’t imagine there would be room. Then again if it’s all about defense then Ruiz would be the guy considering how bad Núñez seems to be. Escobar could play 3B vs lefties. 

Couldn’t the platoon be Ruiz and Jackson?

[wildcard]

52 minutes ago, BohKnowsBmore said:

 

 

Couldn’t the platoon be Ruiz and Jackson?

Yes they could.  But then he is no available to platoon with Mullins.

[El_Duderino]

Of all the positions, 3B might be the weakest on this roster. 

[Sydnor]

2 hours ago, wildcard said:

Yes they could.  But then he is no available to platoon with Mullins.

Why would you want Jackson or anyone to platoon with Mullins? It does not matter how many games the Orioles win. I understand that he has struggled against LHP (.662 OPS in 2018 at Norfolk and .604 in 2017 at Bowie), but shouldn’t we want to see if he can make adjustments and prove capable of playing against LHP this year rather than making him a platoon player at 24 years old?

[AceKing]

Is there an Option C?

[Philip]

15 hours ago, wildcard said:

Infield:(7)  Mancini, Villar, Escobar, Ruiz   Subs: Martin, Nunez, Davis

Catchers: (2)  Sisco and Perez

DH: (1) Trumbo

OF: (3) Jackson, Mullins and Rickard

Mancini switches to left when Davis plays 1B.

Stewart, Wilkerson, Hays and Santander optioned,  Yaz and Diaz back to the minors.

This looks like a good defensive team to me.  It keeps all the players in the O's organization so there is depth when injuries happen.

 

 

Wynns. Sisco needs to show he can be a worthwhile Catcher. 

Oh, and he needs to K less than 40% of the time. And hit better than .220.

[wildcard]

3 hours ago, Sydnor said:

Why would you want Jackson or anyone to platoon with Mullins? It does not matter how many games the Orioles win. I understand that he has struggled against LHP (.662 OPS in 2018 at Norfolk and .604 in 2017 at Bowie), but shouldn’t we want to see if he can make adjustments and prove capable of playing against LHP this year rather than making him a platoon player at 24 years old?

Maybe after the O's fall out of contention.    The O's should put the best team they can on field to begin the season.   That way the players that can be traded for prospects are worth more at the  more at the trade deadline and the players that are being developed have a better chance of doing well.   

 

[eddie83]

20 hours ago, interloper said:

Won't have much room if the two Rule 5 infielders are kept. Still possible, but definitely not if they keep Escobar. 

I agree. I thought before Escobar was signed he had a good chance to make it. Still has a chance.  

 

17 hours ago, hoosiers said:

It will be interesting to see if Ruiz has a chance to make the team.  I am skeptical that he does.  I expect Ruiz to start the season in the minors, but I expect him up soon.  As I mentioned when we acquired him, I think getting Ruiz was an underappreciated move at the time.  It would not surprise me very much if Ruiz put together some league average or better production at 3B in the next few years.

I tend to think this is how things play out. Unless Trumbo starts the year on the DL which would open up a spot. Perhaps Núñez gets 2 months to see what he can do.  

[sportsfan8703]

7 hours ago, El_Duderino said:

Of all the positions, 3B might be the weakest on this roster. 

That would be SS or C. If we had to we could put Wilkerson at 3rd and he’d be ok. It’s hard to plug and play at SS and C. 

3rd Base flew under the radar all off season it seemed as everyone was content at what Nunez had done last year. Making some errors early on in ST doesn’t change that. The bat played last year, and we went out and got a LH defensive counterpart. 

Not worried about 3B. Between Nunez, Ruiz, and Wilkerson, we will be decent. SS and C is where things could get ugly. Obviously Davis at 1st as well. 

[eddie83]

 

7 hours ago, El_Duderino said:

Of all the positions, 3B might be the weakest on this roster. 

The left side of the infield is the weakest. At least at 1st you have Mancini to back up Davis.

We are talking about Núñez vs Ruiz at 3rd and two Rule 5 players and Escobar at SS. Following the games so far the early results on defense have been pretty mixed. Looks like Jackson will be used as a super utility type. 

I would be shocked if Escobar doesn’t make this team. He played a little 3rd last year along with SS.

[sportsfan8703]

3 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

 

The left side of the infield is the weakest. At least at 1st you have Mancini to back up Davis.

We are talking about Núñez vs Ruiz at 3rd and two Rule 5 players and Escobar at SS. Following the games so far the early results on defense have been pretty mixed. Looks like Jackson will be used as a super utility type. 

I would be shocked if Escobar doesn’t make this team. He played a little 3rd last year along with SS.

I would not be shocked to see a defensive minded bench with a lot of flexibility out of the gate. 

1.  Backup C

2.  Martin/Escobar SS

3. Drew Jackson Super Util

4. Ruiz 3B/COF

Will Trumbo be ready for OD?  Will the need for EY Jr force Ruiz to AAA?  Could Wilkerson beat out Ruiz for a spot?  Don’t sleep on Jace Peterson for a bench spot. He can play multiple positions decent, and can he has some speed. 

I think out of the gate we try not to be embarrassing defensively. So we may sacrifice some offensive potential for defensive coverage.