O's Opening Day Position Players

[wildcard]

2 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

And kick that service clock back a year.

That is a good point.  But it only means keeping him in AAA for two weeks.

 

1 hour ago, Aristotelian said:

We should do that regardless due to Westburgs body of work. If Westburg isn't ready, Ortiz and Norby are not far behind. IMO the most likely thing holding up a Urias trade is that nobody has offered anything of value.

I don't know about that.  I think Elias/Hyde wants to see Gunnar play both SS and 3B.   And when he is playing SS Urias is the best 3B the Orioles have.   Westburg says 3B is  the position he plays the worst behind 2B and SS.   And Ortiz is not ready for the majors yet.

[AnythingO's]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

413 PA,  869 OPS at AAA.   He has passed Elias' criteria for being ready at about 200-250 PA.

No WC he has passed your presumed estimate of ME's criteria at AAA. I think ME is buying time with these paltry FA moves to see if Westburg starts hot or has a prolonged slump, is Ortiz for real is was it just a heater., can Mateo regain some of the discipline at the plate to OPS 700 and still play GG defense??????? IMHO and that is all it is, ME is trying to MAXIMIZE his prospects value before he decides who to trade. We will know what he decides at the deadline, not opening day.

[Aristotelian]

1 minute ago, wildcard said:

I don't know about that.  I think Elias/Hyde wants to see Gunnar play both SS and 3B.   And when he is playing SS Urias is the best 3B the Orioles have.   Westburg says 3B is  the position he plays the worst behind 2B and SS.   And Ortiz is not ready for the majors yet.

I agree Urias could have a role, but he is not essential. If someone offering pitching had interest in him Elias would have to do it, right? Or if Gunnar is the SS then Mateo should be traded.

[Moose Milligan]

35 minutes ago, AnythingO's said:

No WC he has passed your presumed estimate of ME's criteria at AAA. I think ME is buying time with these paltry FA moves to see if Westburg starts hot or has a prolonged slump, is Ortiz for real is was it just a heater., can Mateo regain some of the discipline at the plate to OPS 700 and still play GG defense??????? IMHO and that is all it is, ME is trying to MAXIMIZE his prospects value before he decides who to trade. We will know what he decides at the deadline, not opening day.

It's almost as if that Elias will let us know when Westburg is ready by calling him up when he feels that it's appropriate to do so.  Isn't it weird how that works?

[mlrhode]

39 minutes ago, wildcard said:

That is a good point.  But it only means keeping him in AAA for two weeks.

 

I don't know about that.  I think Elias/Hyde wants to see Gunnar play both SS and 3B.   And when he is playing SS Urias is the best 3B the Orioles have.   Westburg says 3B is  the position he plays the worst behind 2B and SS.   And Ortiz is not ready for the majors yet.

When did Westburg say 3B was his worst position?

[wildcard]

9 hours ago, mlrhode said:

When did Westburg say 3B was his worst position?

Glad you made me go look it up.   It was from the interview right  after he was drafted. At the 4 min mark.  So that is old.

Over the last two years he has played SS 123 games, 3B  73 games and 40 games at 2B.   His lowest fielding percentage is at 3B with  .941.   SS - .963 and 2B - .974.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by wildcard

[interloper]

4 hours ago, wildcard said:

413 PA,  869 OPS at AAA.   He has passed Elias' criteria for being ready at about 200-250 PA.

Maybe, but the difference is there's no real need for him right away. They're going to let Frazier play and one of Urias or Mateo will be the RH UTIL bench guy.

A trade changes things though.

[sportsfan8703]

Our depth is a big strength going into the 2023 season. Only Westburg is arguably “ready”, but I think we’ll learn a lot from how ST shakes out. I’m looking forward to actually be able to dip into the minors for quality depth if there is an injury. 
 

I’d like to see us bring in one more SP(Wacha) and a 1B/DH type(Mancini). Then go to battle with what we have and make a deal if need be at the deadline. I don’t think n Mateo, Urias, Westburg, Norby, and Ortiz, are at peak trade value yet. Another half season could get them there. If it’s risky to wait till the deadline to start moving guys, then that is a risk I’m willing to take. 
 

Also, we get to put Means, Seth Johnson, and likely Vespi, on the 60 day IL as soon as that is possible (Feb 14th???). So that’ll free up three roster spots to grab some more pitching depth before OD. 

[Frobby]

11 hours ago, wildcard said:

Glad you made me go look it up.   It was from the interview right  after he was drafted. At the 4 min mark.  So that is old.

Over the last two years he has played SS 123 games, 3B  73 games and 40 games at 2B.   His lowest fielding percentage is at 3B with  .941.   SS - .963 and 2B - .974.

 

 

 

 

Major league average fielding percentages last year: .982 at 2B, .972 at SS, .967 at 3B.  3B Is the most error-prone position.  

I believe Westburg has given other, more recent quotes about the three positions but I don’t remember what he said and I’m too lazy to try to find all of them.  

Here’s one from June 2022: “I feel comfortable that if I get the call to get moved up at any of those three positions,” he said. “I’d be pretty prepared at any of those three infield spots. I’d be more than willing to do whatever I can to put myself in a good position to be on the field every day. If that means playing multiple positions, so be it. If it means playing one position, so be it.”  https://pressboxonline.com/2022/06/27/orioles-inf-prospect-jordan-westburg-going-to-be-a-lot-of-fun-in-baltimore-soon/

Here’s a bit more on the topic:

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by Frobby

[wildcard]

I am in favor on Westburg not only playing 3 positions but probably 6 plus DH.

[Frobby]

3 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I am in favor on Westburg not only playing 3 positions but probably 6 plus DH.

Well, he did play the outfield for two games for the Gaithersburg Giants in 2017, so he’s well qualified to play there. And he’s had plenty of practice throwing balls to the 1B, so I’m sure he’s ready to play that position despite never having played an inning there.  

[wildcard]

7 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Well, he did play the outfield for two games for the Gaithersburg Giants in 2017, so he’s well qualified to play there. And he’s had plenty of practice throwing balls to the 1B, so I’m sure he’s ready to play that position despite never having played an inning there.  

Guess we will see what happen in ST.

[Frobby]

7 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Guess we will see what happen in ST.

Sure.  Maybe they’ll have him practice at some of those spots this spring.   But honestly, if they are serious about him adding those positions to his repertoire, they’ll be sending him to Norfolk to work on it.   

[wildcard]

9 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Sure.  Maybe they’ll have him practice at some of those spots this spring.   But honestly, if they are serious about him adding those positions to his repertoire, they’ll be sending him to Norfolk to work on it.   

Well CoC made the point that if Westburg begins the season in AAA the O's get a seventh year.

[AnythingO's]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Sure.  Maybe they’ll have him practice at some of those spots this spring.   But honestly, if they are serious about him adding those positions to his repertoire, they’ll be sending him to Norfolk to work on it.   

Not to mention they already have a player with that flexibility on the OD roster (as of today) in Urias, a GG at 3B. We don't even know what we have in him yet after a little over 700 ABs in MLB after a decade in minors and Mexico. Westburg likely is 3rd best option at 3B (Gunner, Urias), SS (Mateo, Gunner), 2B (Frasier, Urias) defensively, maybe not at 2B but Ortiz is a GG candidate there and not far behind Westburg. ST shouldn't decide anything. ME wants him fully baked while Urias and Mateo are being further evaluated. Each of them only have about 700 MLB ABs. Then there is the development of Ortiz.

Edited January 8, 2023 by AnythingO's
correction