Could Gutierrez be at risk of DFA on May 2? (Edit: DFA'd on 1 May)

[interloper]

Thinking about the 26-man roster with the 14-pitcher limit got me thinking about which position player will get the cut come May 2. Obviously, I hope it's Chris Owings. Or Odor. Or even McKenna. 

But as is often the case, we tend to get surprised by what seems to be an otherwise obvious roster decision. So I wonder if someone like Guti is a surprise DFA on May 2nd. Some reasoning:

• He has appeared in 10 games - just 3 more than Owings, and 3 less than McKenna. Odor has played 15. 
• He only plays 3B. 
• He hits right-handed. This has hurt his playing time arguably more than anything as the O's have prioritized having Odor's lefty bat in there (for some reason). 
• Urias has effectively supplanted him at the hot corner. 
• Other options at 3B exist if needed later on - Nevin, who is already on the 40-man and made good strides defensively at 3B, and Martin, who is a better fit on the bench than Gutierrez. 
• Veteran Guy Armor exists for Odor and Owings.
• McKenna is useful for pinch running and defensive replacements in an injury-prone outfield. Apparently Hyde thinks he's also a good pinch hitter. 

I really like Gutierrez and feel like he's really gotten the short end of the stick this year due mostly to Odor. He was showing signs of improvement offensively, and of course has the great arm at third. But the fact is, the way the roster is constructed and the fact that he doesn't really make sense as a bench player if he only can play 3B (and some 1B, to be fair).... I think he's definitely at risk. 

[jamalshw]

With the 14-pitcher limit, I do think that makes a bench player suspect to being cut, but I'm not sure it guarantees it. They will need to get down to 13 pitchers by the end of May anyway. They may take advantage of the extra time on pitchers, but may also go back and forth a bit during the next month. 

I think we know Lakins is one of the two getting cut. The other could be a reliever (Fry?) or a position player and Gutierrez is certainly a possibility.

I don't think Odor or Owings have a "veteran guy armor" so much as I think they like that Owings can play SS (though he could lose his spot in favor of Martin, but I think they want someone who can play SS behind Mateo on the roster and don't see keen on Urias there) and Odor hits--or at least stands at the plate--left-handed (though he doesn't really hit at all). Given that, if Vavra was healthy, I would think he'd be the biggest threat to Odor. Since he's not, I expect Odor to stay on the roster at least until Rutschman and/or Stowers get a promotion. 

Given that, unless they drop two pitchers or they're comfortable going with Owings and Mancini as the extra OFs and demoting McKenna (who they seem to like having as a pinch runner and defensive replacement when Mancini is in the outfield), Gutierrez may be the most logical. 

[interloper]

2 minutes ago, jamalshw said:

With the 14-pitcher limit, I do think that makes a bench player suspect to being cut, but I'm not sure it guarantees it. They will need to get down to 13 pitchers by the end of May anyway. They may take advantage of the extra time on pitchers, but may also go back and forth a bit during the next month. 

I think we know Lakins is one of the two getting cut. The other could be a reliever (Fry?) or a position player and Gutierrez is certainly a possibility.

I don't think Odor or Owings have a "veteran guy armor" so much as I think they like that Owings can play SS (though he could lose his spot in favor of Martin, but I think they want someone who can play SS behind Mateo on the roster and don't see keen on Urias there) and Odor hits--or at least stands at the plate--left-handed (though he doesn't really hit at all). Given that, if Vavra was healthy, I would think he'd be the biggest threat to Odor. Since he's not, I expect Odor to stay on the roster at least until Rutschman and/or Stowers get a promotion. 

Given that, unless they drop two pitchers or they're comfortable going with Owings and Mancini as the extra OFs and demoting McKenna (who they seem to like having as a pinch runner and defensive replacement when Mancini is in the outfield), Gutierrez may be the most logical. 

I'm a bit unclear on if the pitcher limit of 14 is a minimum or a maximum. If it's a maximum then, yes, it's possible that 2 relievers could go, although that would feel a bit weird to me considering how many bullpen innings we typically require. 

[jamalshw]

4 minutes ago, interloper said:

I'm a bit unclear on if the pitcher limit of 14 is a minimum or a maximum. If it's a maximum then, yes, it's possible that 2 relievers could go, although that would feel a bit weird to me considering how many bullpen innings we typically require. 

It's a maximum. MLB wouldn't require a team to only carry a 3 man bench, a couple day-to-day injuries and a team is in dire issues. It's them relaxing the rule that would have required teams to have no more than 13 pitchers. That said, I agree it's much more likely they'll carry the extra arm most of the time than the extra bat, but it would mean they could make the decision to send out two arms for a bit and buy themselves time until they absolutely need that extra arm and make a decision at that time. I fully expect they'll have 14 pitchers for most of the time between May 2 and May 29 (when the rule goes back to 13 pitchers), but I don't know if it'll absolutely still be that way on May 2. 

That all said, I do agree that the rule change does put Gutierrez a bit more at risk. I don't see Gutierrez as a future piece for the O's so I don't really care much either way if he stays or goes, but I do like him more than Owings and Odor. We shall see. 

[SteveA]

10 minutes ago, interloper said:

I'm a bit unclear on if the pitcher limit of 14 is a minimum or a maximum. If it's a maximum then, yes, it's possible that 2 relievers could go, although that would feel a bit weird to me considering how many bullpen innings we typically require. 

It's a maximum.

[Yossarian]

The Os need some offensive production from the 3B position.  Granted, no positron has produced much offense this year - but you can't keep rolling out 3Bmen that can't hit.  If Gutierrez does get cut, he has only himself and his bat to blame. 

[interloper]

36 minutes ago, Yossarian said:

The Os need some offensive production from the 3B position.  Granted, no positron has produced much offense this year - but you can't keep rolling out 3Bmen that can't hit.  If Gutierrez does get cut, he has only himself and his bat to blame. 

In fairness to Guti, Urias hasn't been hitting for squat as the 3B either.

[Aristotelian]

Defensively he seems like the only true 3B on the team. I'd like to think they find a way to keep him. I think they could get rid of Owings and slide Urias and Odor around should they need a SS from time to time. Gutierrez seems like he has more upside than Owings and between Mateo and Urias they have enough versatility to handle pretty much any situation. 

[Yossarian]

16 minutes ago, interloper said:

In fairness to Guti, Urias hasn't been hitting for squat as the 3B either.

I agree. I meant to emphasize that position, in general.  Urias had the advantage of showing some ability to hit, looking at least year's performance.  

This year is a tryout for Gutierrez, Mateo, Urias and McKenna to prove they belong in a competitive big league roster.   The young guys are coming up and they have to fight for a roster spot.  Gutierrez will be given his chance, but so far hadn't done much with it. 

[Jammer7]

I wrote this in another thread, earlier today.

Gutierrez’ hands are back to being in a high set at load. That kills him, honestly. When he lowered them in 2021, he made great progress. That was what I had hoped to see more of. He has raw power, as evidenced by the long home runs he hit in 2021. Right now, he hits the ball hard, but on the ground. And he gets around the ball, instead of staying inside it. Too bad, because he is special defensively. 
 

The Odor signing was a poor attempt to shoe-horn a LH bat into the lineup. Putting Urias at 3B on a regular basis is along the same foolishness that had Rio Ruiz at 2B full time. Urias is a 2B, who can play some SS and 3B. He is a useful player, when he hits. If Gutierrez can again understand that lowering his hands leads to a better fundamental bat path for hitting the ball with loft, the. He should play everyday. Right now, he does look like a lame duck. I would hate to see him go, because “it” is there. He is a fantastic athlete and seems like a good likeable dude. 

[luismatos4prez]

If they cut Gutierrez, Odor, and Owings and brought up 2 of Nevin, Martin, and Bannon, I'd be more than okay with that. I assume we'll be at 14 pitchers and a 3 man bench in May.

Frees up AAA ABs for our IF prospects as well.

[btdart20]

4 minutes ago, luismatos4prez said:

If they cut Gutierrez, Odor, and Owings and brought up 2 of Nevin, Martin, and Bannon, I'd be more than okay with that. I assume we'll be at 14 pitchers and a 3 man bench in May.

Frees up AAA ABs for our IF prospects as well.

Gunnar/Westburg should be promoted to AAA soon.  So, I can see Bannon or Dorrian getting a shot as the transactions waterfall whatever direction...  Don't think Nevin fills a 3B need but I'd rather that over Martin.

[vab]

The dude can't hit but has a great arm. Send him back to extended spring and see if he can pitch. 

[luismatos4prez]

8 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

Gunnar/Westburg should be promoted to AAA soon.  So, I can see Bannon or Dorrian getting a shot as the transactions waterfall whatever direction...  Don't think Nevin fills a 3B need but I'd rather that over Martin.

Dorrian is hitting .143 this year and hasn't played an inning at 3B yet. Bannon and Nevin have been splitting time at 3B. Bannon's made 5 errors in 11 games, Nevin only 1 in 9 games. Not sure what to conclude from that.

This corps of Nevin, Martin, Bannon, and J. Jones should be given a shot this year. They're in danger of being overtaken by the next group at Bowie/Aberdeen.

Really a shame that Vavra can't stay healthy. He should be the first one up of that crew.

 

[OriolesMagic83]

to OP, God I hope so.