Valaika DFA. Mateo replaces him

[Aristotelian]

I could see Mateo turning into a role player of some kind but I see low OBP and a lot of swing and miss without much pop and he scares me as an every day infielder.

[wildcard]

31 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

I could see Mateo turning into a role player of some kind but I see low OBP and a lot of swing and miss without much pop and he scares me as an every day infielder.

Right now I am thinking of Martin and Mateo as interim SS/2B that can provide good range in the middle of the infield.  To be replaced by Vavra at 2B and Westburg or Ortiz at SS in a year.  But that gives M and M a year to  show they belong.

[Aristotelian]

29 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Right now I am thinking of Martin and Mateo as interim SS/2B that can provide good range in the middle of the infield.  To be replaced by Vavra at 2B and Westburg or Ortiz at SS in a year.  But that gives M and M a year to  show they belong.

That sounds right to me. It bothers me a little bit that we don't seem to have a clear choice between the two, although I understand we got Mateo just as it looked like Martin might get his chance. 

[sportsfan8703]

Right now we should be trotting out,

SS - Martin

2B - Urias

3B - Mateo/Leyba

I think Franco survives until rosters expand because it’s not like we really need the 40 man spots. 

[Aristotelian]

By the way, the chorus in favor of Jahmai Jones sure seems to have died down. Not sure if that is due to OPS returning to career norms, Mateo, or both. 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

4 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Right now we should be trotting out,

SS - Martin

2B - Urias

3B - Mateo/Leyba

I think Franco survives until rosters expand because it’s not like we really need the 40 man spots. 

I'm more than good with this lineup, but Franco is still going to be the everyday 3B when there is less than a 5% chance he's on the team in 2022. Not that any of the above players are guaranteed to be part of a winning team in 2024, but there's at least a chance for one of them to be a contributor. 

[sportsfan8703]

4 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

I'm more than good with this lineup, but Franco is still going to be the everyday 3B when there is less than a 5% chance he's on the team in 2022. Not that any of the above players are guaranteed to be part of a winning team in 2024, but there's at least a chance for one of them to be a contributor. 

I see no reason to give Franco anymore ABs. We picked up two guys that can play 3B, that really haven’t been given an extended look at the MLB level. We should give them a look. Whatever handshake deal we made with Franco about playing time to get him to sign has been fulfilled. He had his chance. 

[Tony-OH]

Mateo is the exact kind of guy the orioles should be trying out. He has the tools to be very good player and has never really been given a major league opportunity to play every day until now. 

He's going to be a low OBP guy for sure, but his speed, power, and ability to play several positions could make him a very good utility guy if he doesn't work out at SS or 2B. He's definitely got plenty of arm for SS.

[Yardball85]

9 hours ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

The O's are going to need to trade/DFA someone.  They all seem to be utility player type guys.  Urias seems to have the most upside.  I would like to see Urias given a spot for next year.  I can't see Martin having any future value than a utility guy and there's going to be a roster crunch, so he has to go.  Jury's obviously still out on Mateo, but the clock is running with all the guys advancing thru the minors. 

I cannot think of a single reason why Franco still starts 6 times a week for this team. It's absurd. 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

3 minutes ago, Yardball85 said:

I cannot think of a single reason why Franco still starts 6 times a week for this team. It's absurd. 

Like @sportsfan8703 it's now August and they've given Franco his chance and it hasn't worked out. The Orioles have other options with some promise even if they project out to be utility players.

Franco is what he is a mediocre glove at 3B who sometimes hits for power. 

[Ruzious]

1 hour ago, Yardball85 said:

I cannot think of a single reason why Franco still starts 6 times a week for this team. It's absurd. 

This.  It's reached a point of absurdity.  The last couple of months, they've continued to play him while he's been injured... or is there another reason he's been limping to first base on every fair ground ball he's hit?  A lot of things that have gone wrong can be reasonably explained, but there is no reasonable excuse for continuing to play Franco at 3B while he's injured.  

[interloper]

11 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

This.  It's reached a point of absurdity.  The last couple of months, they've continued to play him while he's been injured... or is there another reason he's been limping to first base on every fair ground ball he's hit?  A lot of things that have gone wrong can be reasonably explained, but there is no reasonable excuse for continuing to play Franco at 3B while he's injured.  

I have to agree. They did this with Valaika unnecessarily and it's the same with Franco. I think he'll get cut eventually, but it'll be later than we all wanted. Just playing it extremely safe with their infield depth I guess. Or don't want to appear to admit that it was a bad FA signing. 

[interloper]

Franco on the bench today, at least. 

Urias 3B
Mateo 2B
Martin SS

As it should be. 

[Ruzious]

8 minutes ago, interloper said:

Franco on the bench today, at least. 

Urias 3B
Mateo 2B
Martin SS

As it should be. 

That's the lineup I suggested a while back.  Obviously, they pay attention to my posts.  

[interloper]

2 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

That's the lineup I suggested a while back.  Obviously, they pay attention to my posts.  

Yeah, like, if Urias can play 3B adequately that's honestly pretty huge. Then you can DFA Franco and bring up Jones for the last month or so because Mateo and Martin could also theoretically play 3B.