Someone help me understand the pickup of Jesus Aguilar

[wildcard]

Tony, you want logic.  I will give you logic.

Aguilar is one season removed from  22 homers and 93 RBI in 449 at bats.   He had a 261/329/459/788 last season.    He was playing for a 2nd division team that is currently 17.5 games out of the wild card.   Put that kind of guy on the contending team and there is a chance he gets inspired.  Could be a good replacement for Mancini.

Why Righties?  Last year he in 337 at bats vs righties he had 17 homer and 73 RBI.   His splits were 261/318/463/781 vs righties.    And he is a former All Star with the Brewers.

Put that kind of resume in competition with Mountcastle for playing time and maybe  Elias just lit a fire under Ryan.

Just sayin'

Edited September 6, 2022 by wildcard

[eddie83]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

I think it was a little bit of a panic move because Mountcastle had been struggling for two months.   Fortunately, Mountcaste seems to have found his stroke in the last week (.273/.222/.727 in 6 September games).    

I don’t see this. It may in their mind have made things easier to give Ryan a day off with the glove but he was going to play anyway. 
 

This team can’t hit LHP. My guess is Hyde didn’t want Aguilar sitting around so he gave him a start in Cleveland vs a RHP knowing he was going to play Friday. DH yesterday and Gausman is reverse splits. 
 

I don’t see Aguilar starting vs RHP much anymore if at all. 

[spiritof66]

If there was a problem with inadequate depth at first base, Elias created that problem by trading Mancini. I'm not questioning that trade, just saying that any first-base need was a consequence of a thought-out decision that was implemented over a month ago.

My guess is that Elias saw the need for an experienced player to back up at first, and for a power hitter who could pinch hit or DH. When he wasn't impressed with the in-house candidates trying to learn to play first on a crash basis, and Mountcastle's slump suggested a possible need for some off-days, the  need became a little more acute. He looked around for a veteran first baseman with some pop who would be available for the minimum salary (virtually nothing this late in the season) and would not require giving up any talent. Aguilar was the best he could do, and so that's the move he made. 

I don't have an explanation for why Aguilar has gotten so many ABs right away when he's looked so bad. I'd like to think that comes from Elias, who's told Hyde he wants to see as much of Aguilar as he can in order to make a quick decision whether to keep him or free up his spot on the roster, and not from Hyde, who I'd still like to think is trying to win as many games as he can.  

[Tony-OH]

21 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Tony, you want logic.  I will give you logic.

Aguilar is one season removed from  22 homers and 93 RBI in 449 at bats.   He had a 261/329/459/788 last season.    He was playing for a 2nd division team that is currently 17.5 games out of the wild card.   Put that kind of guy on the contending team and there is a chance he gets inspired.  Could be a good replacement for Mancini.

Why Righties?  Last year he in 337 at bats vs righties he had 17 homer and 73 RBI.   His splits were 261/318/463/781 vs righties.    And he is a former All Star with the Brewers.

Put that kind of resume in competition with Mountcastle for playing time and maybe  Elias just lit a fire under Ryan.

Just sayin'

I don't know if using one year old stats is logic, but it's a decent opinion. I don't put a lot of weight into who he used to be, just who he is now. He's guy that has done nothing all year, has been on the decline since his big year in 2018, and provides nothing but the hope that he'll somehow hit a few dingers late in the year.

[ShoelesJoe]

Apologies if this has already been thrown out, but my best guess is they’re auditioning Aguilar to be our regular DH in 2023. For most of this season Santander has been our DH, but he’ll probably be dealt in the off season which will leave a hole at that spot in the lineup.
 

I know some here believe that absent Santander on the team Elias would want to rotate different guys into the DH slot to give them rest. But is that optimal? Most successful teams seem to have one guy DHing about 90% of the time, and only switch up when injuries or slumps force their hand. Aguilar could be that guy for us nest year. 

Edited September 6, 2022 by ShoelesJoe

[OriolesMagic83]

Any reason that Stowers can't play 1st?  Has he been tried there.  It seems his athleticism would be a plus there. 

[SilverRocket]

How long does it take to teach big league level 1B to a player who has the athleticism? Gunnar got a handful of games at most. Santander took some ground balls and I don't think Stowers has tried it at all professionally. Rutschman could probably do it as is, but he already has a heavy workload. It would be nice if one of them could take the role, but is this actually something that could be done with a week or two of training?

[Three Run Homer]

I think they were just hoping that Aguilar would revert to his career norms over the rest of the season.  In other words, they were hoping that Aguilar has just been in a slump for most of the season, as opposed to being overtaken by Father Time.  

[Frobby]

6 hours ago, Three Run Homer said:

I think they were just hoping that Aguilar would revert to his career norms over the rest of the season.  In other words, they were hoping that Aguilar has just been in a slump for most of the season, as opposed to being overtaken by Father Time.  

Certainly nothing in his batted ball data to suggest he’d been particularly unlucky or anything.  Maybe they thought they saw some flaw in his swing that could be corrected.  Who knows.  

[Roll Tide]

18 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

First I totally understand keeping Chirinos and Odor on the roster since they've been with the team all year despite both being below replacement level players. Odor at least provides the ability to turn a DP consistently, but Chirinos has been pretty terrible as back up catcher.

The reason I bring them up is they make some sense, but somebody needs to help me understand why Elias signed Jesus Aguilar on this team and has given him starts against right-handers?

I mean, this is a team that kept a Tyler Nevin, a singles hitting, right-handed below average defensive 3B/1B as a backup for a long time, but honestly, why Aguilar?

Aguilar was released by the Marlins after putting up a .236/.286/.388/.674 for a -0.7 WAR. He brings zero defensive value and if you think he's a lefty masher, well his .208/.274/.333/.607 against them this year tells a different story.

But let's look at the team construct. Who are the hitters that most likely would be PH for late in games? 

Mateo (RHB), Odor (LHB), Vavra (LHB), Hays (RHB -we've already seen it), Chirinos (RHB), McKenna (RHB)

That's four RHB and two LHB. Wouldn't make more sense to add a left-handed hitter to PH or to spell Mountcastle at 1B? 

Now DJ Stewart would have made more sense now that he's been playing 1B, but he got hurt and hasn't played since August 20th. We'll assume that the Orioles don't want to add Westburg to the 40-man when he doesn't have to be until next offseason (though he should be up next year) so that's why he was out.

Honestly, Brett Phillips might have made more sense for the bench because he can at least play great defense and run. Other than that, AAA is filled with a wasteland of AAA guys who really can't help offensively down the stretch.

Either way, I just don't see how adding a one dimensional players who hasn't been good even in the power department this year adds much to this team, and he certainly should not be starting over Stowers and the now doghoused Vavra against right-handers. 

What am I missing? Is it his playoff experience (15 games of WV, DS slashing .207/.258/.431/.689)?

Why is Aguilar here and more importantly, why is he starting against right-handers?

 

 

 

I don’t get it an said so….another easy out that gives you an occasional homerun. 

[sportsfan8703]

Two reasons… Aguilar over Nevin. We faced two RH SP with reverse splits. 

[DrungoHazewood]

12 hours ago, ShoelesJoe said:

Apologies if this has already been thrown out, but my best guess is they’re auditioning Aguilar to be our regular DH in 2023. For most of this season Santander has been our DH, but he’ll probably be dealt in the off season which will leave a hole at that spot in the lineup.
 

I know some here believe that absent Santander on the team Elias would want to rotate different guys into the DH slot to give them rest. But is that optimal? Most successful teams seem to have one guy DHing about 90% of the time, and only switch up when injuries or slumps force their hand. Aguilar could be that guy for us nest year. 

He's a 32-year-old DH with a career OPS+ of 106.  He's here to hopefully run into a couple of pitches over the next month against lefties, at which point they'll give him a fruit basket, the home version of the game and wish him well.  The Orioles expect to contend in 2023, and you don't do that by handing a starting spot to a below-average player eight months before the season.

Edited September 7, 2022 by DrungoHazewood

[Jim'sKid26]

In a season where very little has gone as planned, (sometimes in a very good way), and they are playing guys who are below replacement level due to their leadership in the clubhouse and their veteran presence on the field, why not throw a little spaghetti against the wall and see if it sticks? Who saw the Stowers homerun coming? 

[Legend_Of_Joey]

21 hours ago, CharmCityHokie said:

Is Brett Cumberland healthy? I know he can't hit, but at least we could send him in a PH situation to get hit, as he's really good at that. Plus he's a switchhitter so he can get plunked from both sides of the plate, a switch hit-by-pitch-er. And he's played a little bit of 1B in the minors as a bonus!

The secret weapon.

[spiritof66]

Wanted to add some size for an expected brawl with the Jays?