Infield batting, besides 1B

[jamalshw]

7 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

We’ll probably see a hockey style line change soon. 3B Gunnar. SS Westburg. 2B Vavra. Mateo to the bench. 

I hope you are right, but I'm skeptical we see Henderson this year given his age and this 40-man status. I hope he forces the team's hand. I think they stick to their guns though and we see him late April/May of next year. That way we get the extra year of service unless he dominates and gets a top 2 ROY spot in which case, that's a win, too.

Now, Westburg and Vavra are more likely. I thought there was a chance it was going to be Vavra instead of Bannon getting the latest call up. 

I like Mateo's defense and speed, but he just can't hit enough as a regular. Odor was interesting for a stretch when we got hot and I thought we had a chance to deal him for a lottery pick, but that's gone now. 

Hopefully by August, the Orioles will cut ties with Odor, resign themselves to the fact Mateo is a utility player and give Vavra and Westburg looks along with Urias when he returns. 

[UMDTerrapins]

21 minutes ago, Camden_yardbird said:

Your faith that three prospects are going to come up, perform right away with out struggles, and maintain average or above production is wholly misplaced.

One of those guys might hit.

The Orioles are going to actually spend some money one of these days.

I like it when people say I said things that I didn’t, and then critique me for those things I didn’t say. 

[btdart20]

42 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

We’ll probably see a hockey style line change soon. 3B Gunnar. SS Westburg. 2B Vavra. Mateo to the bench. 

2B - I can see Vavra at 2B after the trade deadline. 

3B - I think the AAAA players will get their audition for the rest of the season at 3B though. 

SS - I'm not sure what'll happen here.  Part of me thinks that Mateo continues playing the majority of reps for continuity on defense.  But now is the time to give the Martin's of the world some ML time.  I highly doubt we'll see Gunnar or Westburg this year.

[sportsfan8703]

There’s a lot of baseball to be played between now and three weeks into the season next year. Approximately 110 MLB games. Over half of the season left this year. 

[OriolesMagic83]

59 minutes ago, Camden_yardbird said:

Your faith that three prospects are going to come up, perform right away with out struggles, and maintain average or above production is wholly misplaced.

One of those guys might hit.

The Orioles are going to actually spend some money one of these days.

Yeah, when we get a new owner.

[sevastras]

Trade Mancini and Odor(probably not worth anything) and bring up Westburg and Henderson. Nevin and Mateo can hang out in the dugout and pretend to be big leaguers. 

[Natty]

2 hours ago, btdart20 said:

Not if/when we're looking to be more competitive. 

It's only year 6 that we can't play .500 ball.

What is this competitive thing you speak of?

[Aristotelian]

25 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

2B - I can see Vavra at 2B after the trade deadline. 

3B - I think the AAAA players will get their audition for the rest of the season at 3B though. 

SS - I'm not sure what'll happen here.  Part of me thinks that Mateo continues playing the majority of reps for continuity on defense.  But now is the time to give the Martin's of the world some ML time.  I highly doubt we'll see Gunnar or Westburg this year.

I keep forgetting about Vavra. He is already on the 40 man. I think you are right, he is probably first in line of the prospects and could stick at 2B. Gunnar and Westburg maybe when rosters expand. 

[waroriole]

9 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

I keep forgetting about Vavra. He is already on the 40 man. I think you are right, he is probably first in line of the prospects and could stick at 2B. Gunnar and Westburg maybe when rosters expand. 

I think Vavra only comes up if Odor is traded or injured. McKenna is playing decent, for him, so we won’t use Vavra in the OF. With Odor still here he won’t play 2B. If only he could play 3B. That’s what we really need. 

[LookinUp]

I think there are very real questions about whether Vavra is a 2b, OF or some util type. Many don't think he can stick at 2b, at least that's my recollection.

He could get squeezed by the outfield depth. He could also be another trade candidate if he's ever healthy enough to gain some value.

[NCRaven]

I still think Vavra is going to play more 2B at the MLB level.  But teams love them some multi positional players so he’s getting OF time while they can afford it.

[NCRaven]

4 hours ago, Natty said:

Mateo has a fair chance to lead the league in stolen bases. But only if he plays. Is that alone going to keep him in the lineup? 

Can’t steal if he can’t get on base.  Unless he’s strictly a pinch runner.  The Billy Hamilton of infielders.

[wildcard]

It probably makes some sense for Odor to get the majority of at bats at 2B until August 2nd or when he is traded.   Its an effort to see if he can make himself valuable to another team in trade.   

But if he is not traded then there is little to no value in him continuing to get many at bats because he will be a free agent this fall and not part of the O's future.  At that point it makes a lot of sense for those at bats to go to Vavra to find out if he is  a  part of the O's future.

I would think Urias gets the majority of at bats at 3B once he is healthy.   He may or may not be part of the O's future.

On Mateo I go with the Weaver theory that you judge a player on what he can do not on what he can't.  If Mateo is truely outstanding as a defensive SS and the team around him can carry the weight of the offense then maybe he is a piece of the future.

So far I see no one in the O's organization that is close to his ability as a defensive SS.   Challengers will have to outperform him on the basis of their combined offense and defense.

[Ohfan67]

4 hours ago, spiritof66 said:

Hard for me to see how Elias/Hyde could think they know all they need to know about Martin., but maybe they do.

On the other hand, it should be real clear what Odor is. I have to think the Orioles signed him because the IF was looking pretty empty and they thought he'd be real cheap and as good or better than the guys they already had, and if he did well he might be tradeable. All that's left of that rationale is the trade possibility, and that's looking slim.  I would like to see him gone, one way or another, in August.  

Between Baltimore and the minors, Martin has between 700-800 plate appearances as an Oriole. He’s 27.5 years old. I don’t think there’s a whole lot of mystery left for the Orioles to decipher. 

[interloper]

6 hours ago, Frobby said:

Mateo has a .343 OPS in June, with 23 strikeouts in 55 PA.   As I posted elsewhere, I think they’ll give him about another month to try to straighten things out.  At some point they’ll have to make a change is his bat continues to be this feeble, despite his stellar defensive performance.  

Mateo is really the ideal pinch runner/defensive replacement UTIL IF on a team with a legit MI. Of course, that's what he was on the Padres and it didn't work out.