Yusniel Diaz is one swing away from the majors

[wildcard]

Unfortunately,  its not his swing I am thinking about.   Its Anthony Santander's swing.   Anthony missed part of last season because of an oblique injury.   He has missed part of spring training because of a oblique injury.    They are tricky things that the violence  of a full power swing can aggravate in an instant.   Santander will try to be ready for Opening Day.  But how long will he be healthy and who will step up to take his place if needed.

The O's can go with Mountcastle in left, Mullins in center and Hays in right.   But who DHs?   The O's need a bat.  The best healthy bat in O's ST camp that is not scheduled to go north is Diaz.   They will need him until Santander is healthy or DJ Stewart is well.  So much for having too many outfielders.  Looks like the O's may need all they have.

What are your thoughts on if Santander is not ready now or shortly into the season?

[Sports Guy]

Again, we are seeing why I wanted to keep Nunez unfold immediately.  
 

That being said, Nunez was only needed (in my eyes) until they were ready to have Diaz here.  If they are ready for it now, so be it.  However, he won’t be up for long if those guys get healthy quickly.  
 

So, I would hold off promoting him for the time being.  Sounds like DJ will start on the IL but he should be able to be here quickly.  They they do the right thing and IL Santander and if the injury is minor, he should also be back quickly.

The easiest thing to do is keep Ruiz for a few extra weeks.

[Just Regular]

I would say McKenna in this mix, but for RMC monopolizing LF like Yaz.   McKenna, Mullins, Hays would be the best Anderson/Devereaux/Finley we could do if Santander sidelined this weekend.    

I still think/hope more 1B in time (hard to see a 1B on Next Good Team if it isn't him), but for right now I appreciate the short rookie priority list of hit the snot out of the ball.

Yusniel, Baumann and Adley all in the same Week 2 wish going toward next Opening Day.   I am not sure if babying Baumann this spring is a move I like - if TJ ultimately necessary, July not April perhaps knocks return before the end of 2022 out of range.

[DirtyBird]

30 minutes ago, OrioleDog said:

I would say McKenna in this mix, but for RMC monopolizing LF like Yaz.   McKenna, Mullins, Hays would be the best Anderson/Devereaux/Finley we could do if Santander sidelined this weekend.    

I still think/hope more 1B in time (hard to see a 1B on Next Good Team if it isn't him), but for right now I appreciate the short rookie priority list of hit the snot out of the ball.

Yusniel, Baumann and Adley all in the same Week 2 wish going toward next Opening Day.   I am not sure if babying Baumann this spring is a move I like - if TJ ultimately necessary, July not April perhaps knocks return before the end of 2022 out of range.

McKenna strikes out way to much 

[interloper]

Not sure the Diaz is going to be a dude. My man swings at everything and misses on most of em. But he could be fun if he gets it together. McKenna is whatever, but if Santander goes down early with an injury he'll probably get the call before Diaz.

Sure would be nice if Kjerstad was able to pick up a bat at some point. 

[Aristotelian]

Hay is not exactly a lock to stay healthy, and Mullins is far from a lock to be productive, especially against LHP. Plus Mancini will probably be traded. I definitely see Diaz joining the team at some point even if Santander plays 162 games. 

[Redskins Rick]

8 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

Again, we are seeing why I wanted to keep Nunez unfold immediately.  
 

That being said, Nunez was only needed (in my eyes) until they were ready to have Diaz here.  If they are ready for it now, so be it.  However, he won’t be up for long if those guys get healthy quickly.  
 

So, I would hold off promoting him for the time being.  Sounds like DJ will start on the IL but he should be able to be here quickly.  They they do the right thing and IL Santander and if the injury is minor, he should also be back quickly.

The easiest thing to do is keep Ruiz for a few extra weeks.

Nunez was released today, wasn't he?

[jamalshw]

I'm at the point where I would rather see Diaz up to start the year along with several others. 

I'd love to see an OF of Hays, Mullins, Diaz if Santander is on IL to start the year. Put Mountcastle and Mancini at 1B/DH where I prefer them both anyway. 

I'd like to see Urias at 2B for now, but want to see Bannon and Jones get looks this year sooner rather than later. I don't think you worry about service time manipulation on most of the prospects. For Rutschman, Grayson, Kjerstad, Hall, and Henderson? Sure. But none of them are that close right now anyway. They all need some time. 

Other than that, guys like Lowther, Wells, Bradish, Kevin Smith, Diaz, McKenna, Bannon, Jones, Nevin, even Baumann. I want to see them when they're ready and there's not another player ahead of them that will be here beyond 2022. Lets see what we have and see them sink or swim. I'd rather watch a team take it's lumps due to growing pains rather than due to playing a plethora of guys that are filling space. We have place holders at C and SS because there is no option currently ready at either spot, but we don't need place holders at the other spots unless the previously mentioned guys turn out to be that, but at least they get the experience and we can see what they are. 

 

[ArtVanDelay]

7 hours ago, DirtyBird said:

McKenna strikes out way to much 

He struck out 21.3% of the time at AA in 2019 and 22.2% this spring.   MLB average in 2019 was 23%.

[DirtyBird]

13 hours ago, ArtVanDelay said:

He struck out 21.3% of the time at AA in 2019 and 22.2% this spring.   MLB average in 2019 was 23%.

With an OPS of .686 in '19 and .675 this spring. How does that compare to league averages?

[ArtVanDelay]

1 hour ago, DirtyBird said:

With an OPS of .686 in '19 and .675 this spring. How does that compare to league averages?

You said he strikes out too much.  What does OPS have to do with that?

[DirtyBird]

2 minutes ago, ArtVanDelay said:

You said he strikes out too much.  What does OPS have to do with that?

Because if a guy is hitting HRs and 2Bs, they can get away with K's while still being productive. If a guy had McKenna's profile, a 22% K rate is too high.

[bobmc]

17 hours ago, Redskins Rick said:

Nunez was released today, wasn't he?

• "Nunie" gonna stay with Tigers for the meantime.
•  
• Renato Nuñez will remain with the Tigers and head to the alternate training site to begin the 2021 season even after being informed that he didn’t make the Opening Day roster, writes Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. Hinch called the decision “great news for us” and said he expects Nuñez to eventually be up with the big league club. Nuñez, 27 on Sunday, slugged 43 homers with the Orioles from 2019-20 but didn’t exactly force his way onto Detroit’s roster with a spring they couldn’t ignore. In 13 games and 32 plate appearances, he slashed .194/.219/.355 with a homer and a dozen strikeouts (37.5 percent).

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/03/central-notes-tigers-cabrera-nunez-cubs-pirates-ponce.html

[Moose Milligan]

It's a tough outfield to crack.  Mountcastle should be starting in left, Hays in Center, Santander in RF.  And then there's Mullins who's finally scrapped switch hitting, had a respectable spring and brings speed to the lineup that others don't.  DJ Stewart is always hurt but has OBP skills and can park one every so often.  

The problem here that wildcard touches on in his OP is that Santander had oblique issues last year and it's popped up again this spring (dude, do some crunches and strengthen that ****).  DJ Stewart is always hurt.  Hays is always hurt.  

I think it's safe to say that Diaz will be called up this year, it's just a matter of when.  I don't particularly think he's a future piece for us but he's had a respectable spring and he deserves to show what he can do.

 

[Sports Guy]

6 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

It's a tough outfield to crack.  Mountcastle should be starting in left, Hays in Center, Santander in RF.  And then there's Mullins who's finally scrapped switch hitting, had a respectable spring and brings speed to the lineup that others don't.  DJ Stewart is always hurt but has OBP skills and can park one every so often.  

The problem here that wildcard touches on in his OP is that Santander had oblique issues last year and it's popped up again this spring (dude, do some crunches and strengthen that ****).  DJ Stewart is always hurt.  Hays is always hurt.  

I think it's safe to say that Diaz will be called up this year, it's just a matter of when.  I don't particularly think he's a future piece for us but he's had a respectable spring and he deserves to show what he can do.

 

To be fair, you are the pessimistic person on this board w/r/t anyone in the system being part of the future.

Barring injury himself, Diaz will be here by June and between DH and the OF, he should be able to play 4+ times a week.