The Jonathan Villar Appreciation Thread

[yark14]

4 hours ago, ChuckS said:

Only 150 at bats this season. He had a 101 OPS+ last year in a full season.

He could be washed but I’d take him over Odor who hasn’t had a decent season in years and can only play second base. So the interest for me would be contingent on cutting Odor. 

I don't think I'd take Villar over Odor.  At least Odor is loved in the clubhouse and lifts everyone up with his energy.  I never got the feeling that Villar was a good teammate.  I think that washes out any slight improvements in on-field value that Villar *might* bring.

[Chelsea_Phil]

Odor seems like a thug, but maybe it’s just his beard, what he did to Batista, and that he never seems to smile.

[ScGO's]

I think the O's can pass on Villar. Odor and Urias will be healthy soon. Tyler Nevin is drawing walks and could still figure it out. Kelvin Guiterez is hot at AAA. Richie Martin was hitting over .800 OPS at AAA. Rylan Bannon is still in the mix.  That's plenty of stop gap while we wait on Westburg, Vavra, and Henderson.

[Roll Tide]

16 hours ago, yark14 said:

I don't think I'd take Villar over Odor.  At least Odor is loved in the clubhouse and lifts everyone up with his energy.  I never got the feeling that Villar was a good teammate.  I think that washes out any slight improvements in on-field value that Villar *might* bring.

Interesting take based on your feeling of inside the clubhouse from outside it? 

[Jammer7]

I would pass on Villar. Odor is a huge influence in the clubhouse, in the dugout and particularly for Mateo in the field. Odor is one of the reasons this team has played great defense. And how many times has he had big hits for this team?

I have not seen much of Arauz, but I liked the swing on the two line drives to RCF. Robert ran them down, but they were solid shots and the swing was short and through the ball. He is supposed to be an excellent defender as well.

Richie is a guy that just needs to relax and play. Once he gets comfortable, I think he can be solid as a bench player. 

[emmett16]

19 hours ago, Chelsea_Phil said:

Odor seems like a thug, but maybe it’s just his beard, what he did to Batista, and that he never seems to smile.

He’s actually more of a cowboy.  He’s a country boy that trains horses in his off time.  

[Tony-OH]

22 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Is Villar better than Jonathan Arauz?  The answer is Yes. Incremental improvements to a long way. Look at the bullpen, and the Austin Voth claim thread. 

I'd need to know more about Arauz' defense, but Villar most likely would have a better bat. I always liked Villar but he struggles when he doesn't get every day PAs, so unless the Orioles decide he's going to be the everyday 3B or super utility guy, I'm not sure he's an upgrade at this stage. 

Saying that, this team is still playing Nevin at 3B, and have been rotating Bannon up and down and now Arauz, so it's not like he has high bar to be better.

[Jammer7]

36 minutes ago, emmett16 said:

He’s actually more of a cowboy.  He’s a country boy that trains horses in his off time.  

Absolutely. He’s not a “thug.” Far from it. But he isn’t soft either. Tough as nails. He popped Joey Bats because he was drawing back to strike Odor. Roogie was just quicker. Roogie used to be a golden gloves boxer. 

[sportsfan8703]

I would be looking at Villar as a Nevin replacement. The bottom of the lineup could be,

7. Odor 2B

8. Villar 3B

9. Mateo SS

Then a bench of McKenna, Chirnos, Arauz/Martin, Nevin or Stewart(leaning Stewart for PH). 
 

Not world beaters, but Villar over Nevin as the everyday 3B is an upgrade IMO. Stewart over Nevin on the bench is an upgrade as a PH. It would be nice to have a Lefty bat off the bench. Incremental upgrades. 

[Hank Scorpio]

On 6/26/2022 at 10:40 AM, Jammer7 said:

Absolutely. He’s not a “thug.” Far from it. But he isn’t soft either. Tough as nails. He popped Joey Bats because he was drawing back to strike Odor. Roogie was just quicker. Roogie used to be a golden gloves boxer. 

Based on my failing memory, he tagged him once and Bautista stood there. To be fair, he's definitely not in Roogie's weight class. 

[Orioles4Life21]

1 hour ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Based on my failing memory, he tagged him once and Bautista stood there. To be fair, he's definitely not in Roogie's weight class. 

He staggered him big time actually. If Beltre hadn’t got in between, Odor may have been able to finish the knockout lol.

Odor could have batted .000 for us this season and I would still love him just because of that.

[Hank Scorpio]

8 minutes ago, Orioles4Life21 said:

He staggered him big time actually. If Beltre hadn’t got in between, Odor may have been able to finish the knockout lol.

Odor could have batted .000 for us this season and I would still love him just because of that.

It was a thing of beauty for sure. Not something you see very often, a clean punch in baseball hahaha

[jamalshw]

Jonathan Villar was fun to watch in 2019 when there weren't too many other players on the team that were fun to watch. There was Villar, Mancini and flashes of Alberto, Nunez and Santander and that was pretty much it. 

That said, I'm not in favor of bringing him back. Is he better than Arauz or Martin? Maybe. Probably. But he was really struggling this and clearly needed more ABs as he didn't seem to be able to find his way in the utility role. 

Could we grab him and play him over Odor? Sure. Would it be an upgrade? Probably not...maybe...I don't know. But I'm over adding over 30-year old fringe players to fill holes. When we replace Odor and Nevin, I'd prefer to do it with Henderson and Westburg. 

[sportsfan8703]

17 minutes ago, jamalshw said:

Jonathan Villar was fun to watch in 2019 when there weren't too many other players on the team that were fun to watch. There was Villar, Mancini and flashes of Alberto, Nunez and Santander and that was pretty much it. 

That said, I'm not in favor of bringing him back. Is he better than Arauz or Martin? Maybe. Probably. But he was really struggling this and clearly needed more ABs as he didn't seem to be able to find his way in the utility role. 

Could we grab him and play him over Odor? Sure. Would it be an upgrade? Probably not...maybe...I don't know. But I'm over adding over 30-year old fringe players to fill holes. When we replace Odor and Nevin, I'd prefer to do it with Henderson and Westburg. 

The team is competing and I’d rather run Villar out there as the everyday 3rd basemen until we call up Gunnar and Westburg. While the team is playing well Elias should do whatever he can to support that. Subbing in Villar for Nevin makes sense. 

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

The team is competing and I’d rather run Villar out there as the everyday 3rd basemen until we call up Gunnar and Westburg. While the team is playing well Elias should do whatever he can to support that. Subbing in Villar for Nevin makes sense. 

If you care about this season just call up Henderson and Westburg.

If you don't it doesn't make a difference if it's Nevin or Villar.