Why isn't Ortiz in Baltimore instead of Mateo?

[IPlayGM]

Just now, baltfan said:

Do you really think it is glaringly obvious to the vets on this club that Ortiz will be better than Mateo for the next two months?  What about his performance that MLB level would lead them to this belief?  What about the performance in the first few months of every top prospect with the Orioles would lead them to this conclusion?

I don’t count anything he has done at MLB as anything….it was 30 sporadic at bats, shouldn’t count.
 

Glaringly obvious might have been a bit over zealous, but not in the fact that he is hurting the team. That is glaring. 

[wildcard]

31 minutes ago, Sanfran327 said:

Ortiz will be the first guy here in September, and Mateo will likely not start another game for the rest of the season. I don't remember what the postseason roster rules are, but with Ortiz having his cup of coffee earlier this year, does he already qualify for a post-season roster spot? I could see the FO trying to limp through this situation until September, bring up Ortiz immediately and plug him in for the rest of the way, and let the Mateo situation resolve itself naturally at the end of the season. 

I just don't see any team taking him in a trade at this point because right now, he's not even good at the things he's supposed to be good at.

My bet is that when the roster goes for 26 to 28 in September the O's add two pitchers.

[wildcard]

17 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I wonder what his numbers have been against lefties since April.  He has a .788 OPS vs. LHP overall, but I’m thinking it’s probably something closer to .600 since April (his overall OPS is .407 since April).

I think Mateo has had more than enough time to get his bat untracked and has been unable to do it, and he’s also shown that his defense suffers when he’s not in the lineup every day.  I don’t think the “hits well against LHP” rationale would stand up if you look at the last three months.  

I do understand why the O’s have given him every chance to regroup, but he hasn’t, and we have an excellent prospect sitting in Norfolk who could be helping us much more than Mateo is.  If Mateo is still on the roster on August 2 when the trade deadline has passed, I’ll feel that Elias is doing his team a disservice.  

 

The thing is that Mateo still has a 300 average vs lefties.   If he has been as bad as you say vs lefties I doubt the average would be at that level now.

Earl used to say he didn't worry about what a guy could not do.  He concentrated on what a guy could do.   Thus Andres Mora.

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, wildcard said:

The thing is that Mateo still has a 300 average vs lefties.   If he has been as bad as you say vs lefties I doubt the average would be at that level now.

Earl used to say he didn't worry about what a guy could not do.  He concentrated on what a guy could do.   Thus Andres Mora.

Weaver had the luxury of a longer bench.

Edited July 28, 2023 by Can_of_corn

[wildcard]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

Weaver had the luxury of a longer bench.

The thought still applies.   Concentrate on what a player can do. 

[Hank Scorpio]

2 hours ago, Greg Pappas said:

For me, the best lineup we could put on the field is Gunnar at 3B, Ortiz at SS, and Westburg at 2B.  Having Urias at 3B and Gunnar at SS isn't bad, but I think Ortiz is/would be a better player than Urias.  Again, the deadline may be the answer... time will certainly tell. 

Preach... a lot of us have been saying this since the beginning of June.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, wildcard said:

The thought still applies.   Concentrate on what a player can do. 

I don't think it does.

You don't have room on the roster for a guy that can hit OK against 25% of the pitchers out there but you can't trust to field his position.

[accinfo]

32 minutes ago, wildcard said:

My bet is that when the roster goes for 26 to 28 in September the O's add two pitchers.

I think 100% they add one catcher.

[Aristotelian]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

There is no reason for Ortiz to be riding the bench. He can easily start 3-5 games a week, which is plenty to justify him being here.

 

Gunnar SS, Westburg 2B, and Urias 3B are all productive offensively and defensively. If you see Ortiz as equal to those guys, he doesn't make the team better and you keep him in AAA until someone plays their way out. Sure, he deserves to play, but "deserves got nothin' to do with it." If you think he is better than the current group, then you bench one of them and call up Ortiz. I don't think we're at that point yet. We haven't even tried our current top three on a consistent basis yet due to presence of Frazier. 

[Fan4Life]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

They aren’t looking to upgrade the offense.

8 hits or less 19 times in the last 30 games. Should they be standing pat offensively or there isn't really any reasonable upgrades available?

[Sports Guy]

4 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Gunnar SS, Westburg 2B, and Urias 3B are all productive offensively and defensively. If you see Ortiz as equal to those guys, he doesn't make the team better and you keep him in AAA until someone plays their way out. Sure, he deserves to play, but "deserves got nothin' to do with it." If you think he is better than the current group, then you bench one of them and call up Ortiz. I don't think we're at that point yet. We haven't even tried our current top three on a consistent basis yet due to presence of Frazier. 

Ortiz is equal or better than Urias or Westburg. 
 

They absolutely can find time for him.

[Just Regular]

44 minutes ago, wildcard said:

My bet is that when the roster goes for 26 to 28 in September the O's add two pitchers.

I think September the pitcher roster limit only moves 13 to 14.

Idea being the game is more exciting if Terrance Gore or Enrique Bradfield plays, and not if you give the Brewers a zillionth lefty specialist to throw at Joey Votto.

[Sports Guy]

3 minutes ago, Fan4Life said:

8 hits or less 19 times in the last 30 games. Should they be standing pat offensively or there isn't really any reasonable upgrades available?

Well, assuming Mullins is coming back, I’m not sure what you can do to upgrade.

The problem is, and we are finally seeing it with Hays, is that you have some entrenched vets that you aren’t going to take PT from right now but they have basically not shown high level consistency over a full season.

And you aren’t trading Santander or Hays because of the Mullins injury.

So, I just don’t see any upgrades. The young guys just have to get better, which I think they will.

[clapdiddy]

4 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Well, assuming Mullins is coming back, I’m not sure what you can do to upgrade.

The problem is, and we are finally seeing it with Hays, is that you have some entrenched vets that you aren’t going to take PT from right now but they have basically not shown high level consistency over a full season.

And you aren’t trading Santander or Hays because of the Mullins injury.

So, I just don’t see any upgrades. The young guys just have to get better, which I think they will.

The only upgrade I could see is DFA'ing Mateo and brining up Ortiz at this point.  Or, if they don't bring up Ortiz, using Mateo's spot to bring in a veteran bat of some sort.

[Aristotelian]

19 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Ortiz is equal or better than Urias or Westburg. 
 

They absolutely can find time for him.

You did not respond to my argument. Equal does not improve the team. They can find time for him but there is no incentive to do so. To call him up now he has to be better. Do you want to go on record and say which of Westburg and Urias he is better than?