Mayo to play first and third this spring..preparing for RF

[Just Regular]

The other layer where RF Mayo I think helps management's LTR with players is that RF is the next step down the defensive spectrum.    Mayo and his agent will always have 1B if he can't do RF, but Mayo has a lot more arrows in the quiver than say Trey Mancini did years ago.

It'll be interesting to see what the Club comes up with if Kjerstad, Mayo and Basallo all end up world class hitters but none of them can do anything but 1B/DH.

7 years out - Kjerstad RF games v. Mayo 3B games v. Basallo C games ends up where?

[btdart20]

34 minutes ago, Frobby said:

3B strikes me as a position where experience counts for a lot.   Of the 30 players who started the most games at 3B last year, 11 of them were 30+ year old.  That compares with 8 at SS, 10 at 2B, 12 at 1B.  

The reviews on Mayo’s defense are pretty mixed, so I’m taking a wait and see attitude.  
 

Is it experience?  Or lack of range?  Or a spot that allows a bat in the lineup?  A few of those 3B are established from a young age.  A few were moved from other positions.  Multiple inputs got us to the 2023 output data.

Agreed n the TBD on Mayo.  Max offense lineups has 3B Mayo as an option.  Not that Elias wants a butcher at 3B in a Deversian sort of way but that’s a wing of the decision making.  A Riley profile plays nicely!

[btdart20]

3 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

The other layer where RF Mayo I think helps management's LTR with players is that RF is the next step down the defensive spectrum.    Mayo and his agent will always have 1B if he can't do RF, but Mayo has a lot more arrows in the quiver than say Trey Mancini did years ago.

It'll be interesting to see what the Club comes up with if Kjerstad, Mayo and Basallo all end up world class hitters but none of them can do anything but 1B/DH.

7 years out - Kjerstad RF games v. Mayo 3B games v. Basallo C games ends up where?

Agreed.  Happy path is that at least one of them sticks at their current position.

[Frobby]

6 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

Is it experience?  Or lack of range?  Or a spot that allows a bat in the lineup?  A few of those 3B are established from a young age.  A few were moved from other positions.  Multiple inputs got us to the 2023 output data.

Agreed n the TBD on Mayo.  Max offense lineups has 3B Mayo as an option.  Not that Elias wants a butcher at 3B in a Deversian sort of way but that’s a wing of the decision making.  A Riley profile plays nicely!

I’ll just say, I think having an excellent defense tends to be underrated by fans.  The correlation between the best Oriole teams and the best Orioles defensive teams is quite high.   

I’ve seen Brooks Robinson and Manny Machado play 3B, and I’ve seen Mark Reynolds and Tyler Nevin play it.  I don’t want a below average defender at 3B on any kind of regular basis, even if he’s a good hitter.   So for me, Mayo needs to be average or better; if not, find another spot for him.  
 

[Jim'sKid26]

On 2/17/2024 at 11:07 AM, Frobby said:

I’ll just say, I think having an excellent defense tends to be underrated by fans.  The correlation between the best Oriole teams and the best Orioles defensive teams is quite high.   

I’ve seen Brooks Robinson and Manny Machado play 3B, and I’ve seen Mark Reynolds and Tyler Nevin play it.  I don’t want a below average defender at 3B on any kind of regular basis, even if he’s a good hitter.   So for me, Mayo needs to be average or better; if not, find another spot for him.  
 

Run suppression can be quite entertaining if you ever saw Brooks or Mike Schmidt, Scott Rolen or Graig Nettles or even Manny in his prime platinum glove days. Indeed, defense on the left side of the infield matters. But it also helps to be able to hit the baseball. Justin Turner, Troy Glaus, Mike Lowell, and Pablo Sandoval were never thought of as defensive wizards but all manned the Hot Corner with some success. I think any of us would happily take a Justin Turner or even Troy Glaus career result for Coby Mayo.

Edited February 18 by Jim'sKid26

[Frobby]

5 minutes ago, Jim'sKid26 said:

Run suppression can be quite entertaining if you ever saw Brooks or Mike Schmidt, Scott Rolen or Graig Nettles or even Manny in his prime platinum glove days. Indeed, defense on the left side of the infield matters. But it also helps to be able to hit the baseball. Justin Turner, Troy Glaus, Mike Lowell, and Pablo Sandoval were never thought of as defensive wizards but all manned the Hot Corner with some success. I think any of us would happily take a Justin Turner or even Troy Glaus career result for Coby Mayo.

Both those guys were decent at the hot corner.  But I’m talking about guys like Miggy Cabrera and Rafael Devers.  They hit well enough to put up good overall WAR numbers at 3B, but IMO their teams were/would be better off putting them at 1B or DH and giving 3B to a better defender.  The Tigers did that by the time Miggy was 25; the Red Sox are stubbornly sticking with Devers at 3B so far.