Iglesias signs with O's

[Just Regular]

I like the dynamic for Martin - AAA is okay for awhile for him to reinforce if the late season progress he made was real.  After having his head handed to him, a taste of success can't hurt.  I'll be curious to see if he is high or low in the Norfolk batting order, and if he'll continue bouncing positionally (was ~20% at 2B in the minors in 2018).  I don't think he'll ever start for a good Orioles team, but can't rule him out as the Flaherty type guy yet.

As for Iglesias, no downside.  He's better than Martin, but we're still probably 14th - some distance from 13th - in the AL at shortstop.  Him getting pushed down like this is kind of a reflection of the good SS period we are in.  The 13th best starting SS in the AL is probably J.P. Crawford, and I think we'd be doing cartwheels/backflips to have him instead.  At least there's the Tigers.

[Mr. Chewbacca Jr.]

2 minutes ago, OrioleDog said:

I like the dynamic for Martin - AAA is okay for awhile for him to reinforce if the late season progress he made was real.  After having his head handed to him, a taste of success can't hurt.  I'll be curious to see if he is high or low in the Norfolk batting order, and if he'll continue bouncing positionally (was ~20% at 2B in the minors in 2018).  I don't think he'll ever start for a good Orioles team, but can't rule him out as the Flaherty type guy yet.

As for Iglesias, no downside.  He's better than Martin, but we're still probably 14th - some distance from 13th - in the AL at shortstop.  Him getting pushed down like this is kind of a reflection of the good SS period we are in.  The 13th best starting SS in the AL is probably J.P. Crawford, and I think we'd be doing cartwheels/backflips to have him instead.  At least there's the Tigers.

SS is exceptionally deep across the league right now. It is poised to get even deeper with Gavin Lux ready for 2020 and Wander Franco/Bobby Witt Jr getting close too.

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Chewbacca Jr. said:

SS is exceptionally deep across the league right now. It is poised to get even deeper with Gavin Lux ready for 2020 and Wander Franco/Bobby Witt Jr getting close too.

I wouldn't call Bobby Witt jr close.

[Mr. Chewbacca Jr.]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

I wouldn't call Bobby Witt jr close.

Lux in 2020, Franco in 2021, Witt in 2022. Those are likely the next three big shortstops to come up. They're on the radar.

[Beef Supreme]

I would have been happy if the Orioles had entered the season with Martin at SS. I am happy that they signed Iglesias, too. There is no problem with the financial commitment. Iglesias might play better defense, which would be good psychologically for young pitchers (and the reason I would not have wanted Villar at SS this year while the team tries to work back toward improving.)

Plus, Martin will get his first ever AAA at-bats -- for whatever that's worth. Considering he did OK offensively in his last 509 of 852 AA at-bats, maybe he can work out his swing to get back to OK at AAA this year. His swing will always be a work in progress. But that's true of a lot of players. There was a successful Orioles' shortstop who was constantly tinkering with his offensive  approach. I think they will use a different utility player in Baltimore and let Martin get full-time duty at SS in Norfolk for a couple of months and start to re-evaluate from there.

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Chewbacca Jr. said:

Lux in 2020, Franco in 2021, Witt in 2022. Those are likely the next three big shortstops to come up. They're on the radar.

Witt isn't a lock.

[7Mo]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Chewbacca Jr. said:

Lux in 2020, Franco in 2021, Witt in 2022. Those are likely the next three big shortstops to come up. They're on the radar.

I think Lux winds up at second, not short. 

"With his plus speed and savvy, Lux can steal bases and has the upside of a 25-25 player. He has the raw tools to play shortstop, including quickness, soft hands and solid arm strength, and he has gotten smoother at the position since turning pro. But he also has had issues with throwing accuracy, leading to 61 errors in 208 games at short in his first three seasons, so many scouts think he'll wind up at second base."

https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/mlb/indians/who-is-gavin-lux-meet-the-dodgers-top-prospect-linked-to-the-indians-in-trade-talks/95-66059a04-6820-4aa2-8446-72141cd4e2ea

Royce Lewis with Minnesota likely fits in there. 

[Yardball85]

Good move, nothing not to like.  Hopefully his defense up the middle provides a boost with the young array of pitchers coming through.

[atomic]

2 hours ago, Philip said:

It is curious that the Orioles are pinching pennies in so many ways, yet were willing to spend this much on a position that was not an extreme need.

$3 million isn’t much and it is an extreme need..

[wildcard]

28 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Wilkerson can't play SS effectively which is a requirement of a utility infielder.

Maybe on a winning team.

[SteveA]

22 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I wouldn't call Bobby Witt jr close.

Yeah, those 2 or 3 dozen college shortstops we drafted last year are probably closer to the majors!

[BohKnowsBmore]

2 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

I think we should set aside the grand ideas of flipping him.  MLBTR makes it sound like we will have a $3 million option for next year, so I think Jose is going to be a nice two year stop gap for us to provide competent defense.  

I don’t disagree with the notion of setting aside grand ideas of flipping him, but wouldn’t a team option make him potentially a relatively more attractive acquisition target if he’s having a great season, all else equal?

[LarryHarlow]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

I don’t think I’d put him at 1-5 (well, maybe 5ish).     Last year he was 7-11 in the various cumulative advanced metrics, mostly 7-8.     But anyway he’s very good.  

I’m disappointed to hear where you guys rank him defensively.  I was excited by this signing as I always thought of him as one of the best defensive shortstops in the league, but I haven’t studied the metrics and I guess I don’t know him that well.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

If Alberto hits right-handed pitching.

I’m just talking about the defense.    I think the defense up the middle will be very good on the days they’re both in the lineup.    
 

It’s interesting to note that as a minor leaguer, Alberto generally hit RHP better than LHP over several years prior to 2019.    So I really have no idea what to expect in terms of his R/L splits next year.    My working assumption is that (1) his splits will be closer in 2020 than they were in 2019, and (2) overall, he won’t hit as well in 2020 as he did in 2020.     But, I think he’ll be decent enough to play most of the time, somewhere on the diamond.    

[interloper]

49 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I wouldn't call Bobby Witt jr close.

Not sure I'd call him anything at all just yet.