Rio Ruiz optioned

[GuidoSarducci]

5 hours ago, TINSTAAPP said:

Among the 31 3B that played at least 400 innings at the position last year, Nunez led all 3B in UZR/150. https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=3b&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=450&type=1&season=2018&month=0&season1=2018&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2018-01-01&enddate=2018-12-31&sort=25,d

Nunez also ranked 10th in defensive runs above average. Oh and for all of the talk about his below average arm, Nunez ranked 12th in Error Runs above average. 

I think the sample size is too small.  The 

https://library.fangraphs.com/defense/uzr/

Things to Remember:

● Beware of sample sizes! If a player only spent 50 innings at a position last season, it’d be a good idea not to draw too many conclusions from their UZR score over that time. Like with any defensive statistic, you should always use three years of UZR data before trying to draw any conclusions on the true talent level of a fielder.

[mdbdotcom]

Giving Nunez 10-19 days to prove that all the work he's put in on his defense has paid off is not a big deal. Gives him a chance and keeps Ruiz's option alive (if he's back in fewer than 20 days).

[DrungoHazewood]

8 hours ago, TINSTAAPP said:

Among the 31 3B that played at least 400 innings at the position last year, Nunez led all 3B in UZR/150. https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=3b&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=450&type=1&season=2018&month=0&season1=2018&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2018-01-01&enddate=2018-12-31&sort=25,d

Nunez also ranked 10th in defensive runs above average. Oh and for all of the talk about his below average arm, Nunez ranked 12th in Error Runs above average. 

But does that make any sense?  It seems like a fluke or an outlier.  By total zone and DRS he's an average fielder.  By the fan's scouting report he's an average fielder.  By his manager's choices he's a poor fielder - he's spent about half of his games in the majors as a DH in his early-to-mid 20s.  His E-to-DP ratio is even, while even Wilson Betemit and Mark Reynolds have/had more DPs than errors.

As far as I can tell the only piece of evidence we have that Nunez is a very good fielding third baseman is his 2018 UZR.

[Frobby]

36 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

But does that make any sense?  It seems like a fluke or an outlier.  By total zone and DRS he's an average fielder.  By the fan's scouting report he's an average fielder.  By his manager's choices he's a poor fielder - he's spent about half of his games in the majors as a DH in his early-to-mid 20s.  His E-to-DP ratio is even, while even Wilson Betemit and Mark Reynolds have/had more DPs than errors.

As far as I can tell the only piece of evidence we have that Nunez is a very good fielding third baseman is his 2018 UZR.

I’m going to keep an open mind here.   I confess I wasn’t watching a lot of Orioles baseball in the second half of 2018 when Núñez was playing.    He looked very bad in spring training this spring, but was dealing with arm problems.    In his two games so far on this road trip, he made a subpar play on a slow roller on Tuesday that was scored as a hit, then made an error yesterday.    But in his defense, he’s understandably rusty.   So, I’ll wait to see whether last year’s numbers have any validity.    In any event I see UZR as an outlier.    Rtot and Rdrs say he was about league average, and I’m open to that possibility  though still skeptical.

 

[mdbdotcom]

1 hour ago, DrungoHazewood said:

But does that make any sense?  It seems like a fluke or an outlier.  By total zone and DRS he's an average fielder.  By the fan's scouting report he's an average fielder.  By his manager's choices he's a poor fielder - he's spent about half of his games in the majors as a DH in his early-to-mid 20s.  His E-to-DP ratio is even, while even Wilson Betemit and Mark Reynolds have/had more DPs than errors.

As far as I can tell the only piece of evidence we have that Nunez is a very good fielding third baseman is his 2018 UZR.

How much does his hitting prowess make up for his fielding deficiencies vs. how much does Ruiz's fielding prowess make up for his deficient hitting? Seems to me that's the question the manager and GM have to answer.

[tntoriole]

12 hours ago, eddie83 said:

And he if stays down less than 20 days that option remains.

Week away from deadline. A lot can happen.

I think this is a Trumbo move.  We shall see. 

[Tony-OH]

On 7/24/2019 at 8:09 PM, Three Run Homer said:

This move is overdue.  Renato Nunez' bat is an asset if he can play a reasonably mediocre 3B.  It's not an asset if he can only play DH.  

Nunez was solid average last year defensively at 3B so I'm glad to see him back there again this year. While Ruiz is better defensively overall, Ruiz does't have a major league bat as a regular. If Ruiz could play SS he'd be a decent utility guy but I don't think he has the quickness and arm to play there effectively.

I've been hoping for a while that they moved Nunez back to 3B where he has much more value.

[Tony-OH]

1 hour ago, DrungoHazewood said:

But does that make any sense?  It seems like a fluke or an outlier.  By total zone and DRS he's an average fielder.  By the fan's scouting report he's an average fielder.  By his manager's choices he's a poor fielder - he's spent about half of his games in the majors as a DH in his early-to-mid 20s.  His E-to-DP ratio is even, while even Wilson Betemit and Mark Reynolds have/had more DPs than errors.

As far as I can tell the only piece of evidence we have that Nunez is a very good fielding third baseman is his 2018 UZR.

Nunez put in a lot of work last year and had become a solid average 3B defensively. Obviously the shoulder problems this spring really hurt his throwing and I'm guessing that and wanting to give Ruiz a good long look is why he has mainly been a DH more than "his manager doesn't think he's a god fielder".

Nunez had plenty of arm last year and it's always been more about his footwork and accuracy of his throws. It's pretty obvious from my standpoint that Ruiz is not a major league 3B offensively so I don't see any loss there. Honestly, if my choices are Ruiz and 3B and Nunez at DH, or Nunez at 3B and Trumbo at DH I'll take the latter though I'd prefer those DH at bats go to a mixture or Stewart/Sisco/Nunez with Alberto filling in 3B.

[Frobby]

41 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Nunez was solid average last year defensively at 3B so I'm glad to see him back there again this year. While Ruiz is better defensively overall, Ruiz does't have a major league bat as a regular. If Ruiz could play SS he'd be a decent utility guy but I don't think he has the quickness and arm to play there effectively.

I've been hoping for a while that they moved Ruiz back to 3B where he has much more value.

I think you meant Núñez in that last sentence, right?

[interloper]

If Nunez could figure out 3B, boom, nugget. You have a young, controllable, 30+ homer bat at the hot corner. 

I doubt that will happen, but it's fun to think about.

Most likely this is just temporary. But I do wish maybe we had done it sooner to see if he could build trade value. Although there's no rush. It also helps the DH/1B logjam a bit. 

[oriole]

I think Trumbo comes up to play DH for a few games before going back on the IL for the rest of the year. 

[Three Run Homer]

1 hour ago, oriole said:

I think Trumbo comes up to play DH for a few games before going back on the IL for the rest of his career. 

Fixed that for you.  

[Yardball85]

14 hours ago, Philip said:

But he isn’t. The Rangers dumped him in part because his defense is mostly unplayable. 

What's the harm in letting him play 3B every day for the rest of the year?  We lose 2 more games?

[HowAboutThat]

Just now, Yardball85 said:

What's the harm in letting him play 3B every day for the rest of the year?  We lose 2 more games?

Yeah whatever. I don’t care. If they want Núñez lumbering around out there, that’s fine. I just hate embarrassing defense.

[Tony-OH]

11 hours ago, Frobby said:

I think you meant Núñez in that last sentence, right?

Yep, thanks for the catch.