Ryan McKenna as a 4th Outfielder

[paullwaull]

Hopefully he shakes it off...

[seak05]

Some people on this forum really do have a strange anti-McKenna bias. He’s a plus defender at three outfield positions, plus runner, and even with irregular at bats his ops is almost .700. 

[RZNJ]

1 hour ago, seak05 said:

Some people on this forum really do have a strange anti-McKenna bias. He’s a plus defender at three outfield positions, plus runner, and even with irregular at bats his ops is almost .700. 

He's done a good job. I haven't seen his AB's lately.  My feeling before was that he had a lot of uncompetitive at bats.  

[seak05]

10 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

He's done a good job. I haven't seen his AB's lately.  My feeling before was that he had a lot of uncompetitive at bats.  

I think he was miscast when he was used as a late game pinch hitter against a high velocity reliever. But to start one to two times a week, and as a late inning running/defense replacement he’s good

[spiritof66]

I'm not ready to conclude that McKenna can't hit. He hit in the minor leagues -- I.053 OBP in AAA. He's 25, a year older than Stowers, and has had just 274 major league ABs. Plenty of good hitters need more ABs than that, and with some consistency, to establish their ability to hit ML pitching. 

I was ready to give up on Mckenna as an offensive force because last season and early this season because he often looked pretty overmatched, including being unable to hit fastballs. But he's looked better and hit better recently. I think that with some more regular ABs, he could become a decent hitter. Whether the Orioles can keep him on the 26-man roster and can give him those ABs, in light of the talent on hand and in the minors (including the SSs who will be tried in the OF), are tougher calls. But I'd much rather see him on that roster or at the plate than I would Brett Phillips. 

[OriolesMagic83]

I'm wondering if Brett Phillips is auditioning for the 4th OF spot.  Not because McKenna is being sent to the minors, but because Mullins or Hays will be traded this offseason, and Elias wants a 4th OF who is expendable for the start of 2023.  I don't care if Cowser hits .400 between now and the end of the year, he won't be on the 2023 opening day roster. 

2023 Opening Day roster after Mullins trade would be:

LF  Hays

CF  McKenna

RF  Santander

4th OF  Phillips

McKenna would go to 4th OF and Phillips would be DFA'ed when Cowser is ready.

It's obvious, Elias is not a big fan of spending top draft picks on starting pitching prospects, but starters have to come from somewhere.  I'm guessing that Elias might like to trade ML pieces that are becoming more expensive for starters instead of prospects.  The positions he would trade would need ready replacements in the minors.

[Roll Tide]

8 hours ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

I'm wondering if Brett Phillips is auditioning for the 4th OF spot.  Not because McKenna is being sent to the minors, but because Mullins or Hays will be traded this offseason, and Elias wants a 4th OF who is expendable for the start of 2023.  I don't care if Cowser hits .400 between now and the end of the year, he won't be on the 2023 opening day roster. 

2023 Opening Day roster after Mullins trade would be:

LF  Hays

CF  McKenna

RF  Santander

4th OF  Phillips

McKenna would go to 4th OF and Phillips would be DFA'ed when Cowser is ready.

It's obvious, Elias is not a big fan of spending top draft picks on starting pitching prospects, but starters have to come from somewhere.  I'm guessing that Elias might like to trade ML pieces that are becoming more expensive for starters instead of prospects.  The positions he would trade would need ready replacements in the minors.

Where is Stowers in your equation? 

[DirtyBird]

On 7/26/2022 at 4:25 PM, Tony-OH said:

Yikes. Ok, that's an opinion I do not share, but who's PAs do you take away from?

How about from Hays?

[Frobby]

Since July 1, McKenna is hitting .326/.353/.543 in 51 PA.  He’s made strides this year offensively.  One more player making progress.   

[yark14]

6 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Since July 1, McKenna is hitting .326/.353/.543 in 51 PA.  He’s made strides this year offensively.  One more player making progress.   

I hope we keep finding ways to get him more AB's.  I love his glove and impact on the basepaths.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

McKenna has vastly improved against LHP this season with an .868 OPS in 41 at bats versus a .468 OPS in 78 at bats in 2021 against LHP. It's a small sample size and hopefully he can keep it up the last two months. 

[oriole]

He’s hitting lefties pretty good this year. Would a Mullins/McKenna platoon really be that bad of a thing?

[OriolesMagic83]

On 8/7/2022 at 7:51 AM, seak05 said:

Some people on this forum really do have a strange anti-McKenna bias. He’s a plus defender at three outfield positions, plus runner, and even with irregular at bats his ops is almost .700. 

Yeah, a lot of posters refer to him as a 5th OF.  Like any MLB team can carry a 5th OF anymore.  McKenna is a good 4th OF.  Without looking at the stats, I would bet he is a better hitter than several CF w/ starting jobs.

[OriolesMagic83]

On 8/8/2022 at 6:18 AM, Roll Tide said:

Where is Stowers in your equation? 

Yeah would make more sense to put Stowers in right and move Santander to DH/back OF/1B.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

4 minutes ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

Yeah would make more sense to put Stowers in right and move Santander to DH/back OF/1B.

Santander doesn't grade well on advanced fielding metrics and limiting his starts in the outfield would be good thing plus Stowers will get called up.