Jump to content

Is McKenna's spot in jeopardy?

interloper

By interloper
in Orioles Talk

 Share

Recommended Posts

Tony-OH Hangout Grand Counsel

Tony-OH

Posted
Posted

McKenna has several things going for him that would make it hard for him to not make the team. 

1) He's the best defensive CF on the team not named Mullins
2) He may be the 2nd fastest player o the team behind Mateo which makes him a good PR late in games.
3) With Mullins, Stowers, Vavra and Frazier left-handed, he makes for a good handicap as a right-handed hitter late in games.

I do see some of your points, but I think they want that right-handed CF/5th outfielder and the only competition for him was Daz Cameron who has not hit well this spring. 

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 100
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

btdart20
btdart20

My theory:  I do think the intent is to get some AAA injury depth.  The mad scramble claiming any "body" who checked various boxes was basically stacking odds of a) someone sticking and b) actually am

Tony-OH
Tony-OH

McKenna has several things going for him that would make it hard for him to not make the team.  1) He's the best defensive CF on the team not named Mullins 2) He may be the 2nd fastest player o

Can_of_corn
Can_of_corn

More like the battle of the Titians, am I right?  

interloper Hangout Grand Counsel

interloper

Posted
  • Author
Posted
24 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

McKenna has several things going for him that would make it hard for him to not make the team. 

1) He's the best defensive CF on the team not named Mullins
2) He may be the 2nd fastest player o the team behind Mateo which makes him a good PR late in games.
3) With Mullins, Stowers, Vavra and Frazier left-handed, he makes for a good handicap as a right-handed hitter late in games.

I do see some of your points, but I think they want that right-handed CF/5th outfielder and the only competition for him was Daz Cameron who has not hit well this spring. 

And for the record, I hope this is the case. For one of these LH 1B types to make the team, someone more deserving has to get cut (barring injury). I've warmed up to McKenna these days as a bench guy. And certainly guys like Vavra and Stowers deserve to make this team. 

I just have this feeling that Elias has a weird roster decision in store for us involving one of the NRIs. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
oriole Veteran All-Star

oriole

Posted
Posted

If the team is managed to win as much as possible (not a guarantee) then Mullins needs a platoon partner. McKenna is Mullins-lite in that he plays good defense and has some speed so he seems like a natural platoon partner. 
 

Honestly, the Frazier signing is probably going to end up being one of the worst things to have happened to the O’s this year. He’ll be taking at bats away from Vavra and Stowers and leaving the bench short handed considering if we wanted a lefty off the bench then guys like Cordero and O’Hearn will be in AAA in lieu of Adam f’in Frazier. Granted, all three are all likely to be non-consequential in any meaningful way anyways so the nihilist in me says it really doesn’t matter. But I’d like to have McKenna AND a power lefty off the bench but it seems we will have to choose one or the other. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
interloper Hangout Grand Counsel

interloper

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
9 minutes ago, oriole said:

If the team is managed to win as much as possible (not a guarantee) then Mullins needs a platoon partner. McKenna is Mullins-lite in that he plays good defense and has some speed so he seems like a natural platoon partner. 
 

Honestly, the Frazier signing is probably going to end up being one of the worst things to have happened to the O’s this year. He’ll be taking at bats away from Vavra and Stowers and leaving the bench short handed considering if we wanted a lefty off the bench then guys like Cordero and O’Hearn will be in AAA in lieu of Adam f’in Frazier. Granted, all three are all likely to be non-consequential in any meaningful way anyways so the nihilist in me says it really doesn’t matter. But I’d like to have McKenna AND a power lefty off the bench but it seems we will have to choose one or the other. 

At the risk of turning this into another Frazier thread, I just have to say that he has been - by an overwhelming margin - the most boring player in spring training. He's 4-25 with 1 BB, 1 K, 1 2B, and 1 HR. At least 2 of his 4 hits were extra bases? Lol. 

Unless he proves otherwise, it unfortunately appears he is a $8 million Chris Owings. And Owings could at least play SS. The only thing to hope for is that the lights come on and he's a decent line drive hitter and defender. The signing reminds me less of Odor and more of the 2010 MacPhail classic: Garrett Atkins, who was an instant $4 million sunk cost and removed from the team after 152 PA. 

Edited by interloper
Link to comment
Share on other sites
btdart20 Hangout Veteran Council

btdart20

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, oriole said:

If the team is managed to win as much as possible (not a guarantee) then Mullins needs a platoon partner. McKenna is Mullins-lite in that he plays good defense and has some speed so he seems like a natural platoon partner. 
 

Honestly, the Frazier signing is probably going to end up being one of the worst things to have happened to the O’s this year. He’ll be taking at bats away from Vavra and Stowers and leaving the bench short handed considering if we wanted a lefty off the bench then guys like Cordero and O’Hearn will be in AAA in lieu of Adam f’in Frazier. Granted, all three are all likely to be non-consequential in any meaningful way anyways so the nihilist in me says it really doesn’t matter. But I’d like to have McKenna AND a power lefty off the bench but it seems we will have to choose one or the other. 

At the end of the day, I'm glad they have other options ahead of O'Hearn's and Cordero's career OBPs of .293 and .290 respectively.  Their sub-.400 SLG doesn't bring the power to justify the OBP lack either.  They are good dice-rolls/insurance policies.  Nothing more at this point. 

I tend to think the lefty bench bat will be whoever sits (Adley, Santander, Frazier, Stowers, Mullins, Vavra).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rm5678 Major Leaguer

rm5678

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, interloper said:

At the risk of turning this into another Frazier thread, I just have to say that he has been - by an overwhelming margin - the most boring player in spring training. He's 4-25 with 1 BB, 1 K, 1 2B, and 1 HR. At least 2 of his 4 hits were extra bases? Lol. 

Unless he proves otherwise, it unfortunately appears he is a $8 million Chris Owings. 

Owings is 6 for 23 this spring with an OPS of .892, so you might be right.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wildcard Hangout Grand Counsel

wildcard

Posted
Posted (edited)

Elias' former 1st round pick Daz Cameron may be making a run at McKenna's backup outfielder job.  Both are fast.   Both can play all three outfield positions.  And Cameron is beginning to hit.    Just something to watch.

Edited by wildcard
Link to comment
Share on other sites
wildcard Hangout Grand Counsel

wildcard

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Nothing to see here.

Im not sure why so many people are in such a hurry to move on from McKenna. 

McKenna has options so I am not sure moving on is the right way to think of it.   Its competition that hopefully makes the team better.   Whoever offers more to the team gets more playing time.

The last 9 days of ST could be interesting.  Because both can play defense very well its kind of if you hit you stay.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Posts

    • Tony-OH
      Where are the pollyannas?

      By Tony-OH · Posted

      Hard to argue with a lot of your points. He's had two 1-1 and should have taken Witt over Rutschman and has a poor defensive second baseman with hitting issues with his other one.  He gets one more offseason with bigger pocketbooks. He gets one more year to put up or shutup.
    • tntoriole
      Sometimes I regret being an Oriole fan

      By tntoriole · Posted

      Baseball is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops. A. Bartlett Giamatti, Take Time for Paradise: Americans and Their Games
    • Oriole4Life
      Offer Anthony Santander 3 year 60 million contract

      By Oriole4Life · Posted

      Let him walk. That pop up with the bases loaded and no outs sort of encapsulates the entire postseason for us. It was a pathetic effort and we ended up with squat in a clutch situation.  The HRs are cool but he doesn't hit for average and is only getting older. And he sucks in the playoffs. Goodbye.
    • ShoelesJoe
      10/2 Orioles vs Royals Wild Card Game #2

      By ShoelesJoe · Posted

      Is Brandon Hyde going to pull out the “ we just need to do a better job” boilerplate or is he coming up with another way to say the same thing?    It’s easy to be snarky right now. There’s choking under pressure and there’s whatever the team has done over the last couple months. “Choke” doesn’t begin to cover the gag they threw up the last two nights when the season was on the line. Fans leaving the stadium right now aren’t just disappointed, many of them feel betrayed. Hard to blame them. I wonder if Elias might feel the same way. 
    • capyy
      Brandon Hyde 2024

      By capyy · Posted

      none of the above.
    • Tbone83
      Season in a microcosm

      By Tbone83 · Posted

      I just can't comprehend how the 2023 team PLUS Corbin Burnes devolved into this pile of excrement. This may be a .500, non-playoff team next year. I didn't expect any sort of magical run this playoff season, but I didn't think they'd get embarrassed AGAIN on the national stage. 
    • Sanity Check
      Where are the pollyannas?

      By Sanity Check · Posted

      Better yet, where was Adam Frazier when we needed him most.....oh, wait, in the other dugout.    Bases loaded, no one out....sure could have used that guy that Hangouters had to jettison out of here favor of Jackson Holliday.  

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...