How much do we REALLY lose(and what do we gain) by replacing Urias at 3b with Mayo...or Norby going to 2b...and Westy back to 3B?

[Roy Firestone]

I see Urias(yes he did hit a HR on Sunday) struggling to get a bat on the ball in most cases, and I wondered if Mayo, even for an occasional defensive miscue isn't a much better and more dangerous option.Or , another alternative ,move Norby to 2b (his defense is shaky too) and move Westburg back to 3b. I think I'd much prefer another lethal bat than a solid glove with virtually no offensive upside.Mayo has more HR and RBI than anyone on the Orioles except Henderson .Yes, he's had some errors early, but two were rain related..and he's made some excellent plays too. Norby has been solid with 6 HR and 19 RBI too...dump Urias or make him a late inning defensive replacement...Let's make the Orioles an even MORE dangerous offense from top to bottom. Bring Mayo /Norby up.

Edited April 30 by Roy Firestone

[interloper]

Timing is a bit odd for this considering we don't win last night's game without superb defense the whole night, but sure. 

I think we all would like to see Mayo find some way to fit on this team. I'm not sure right now is the time? Urias is a steady hand and I think they value that. 

I also think they are much more worried about figuring out how this pitching staff shakes out with all these upcoming moves. I like having Urias here to provide these returning guys with some steady defense behind them. 

[Malike]

You likely lose games. I'm not sure how much that is worth. 

[Fiver6565]

Give me the defense Urias provides over the growing pains of either Norby or Mayo at the big league level, right now at least.  Mayo is just 21, the rush to get him up is not really there.  Have we learned nothing from the Holliday situation?  We don't want to bring up another younger than usual prospect and have him flailing up here, all while providing below average defense.  Its just not a good idea.

Why is Urias (or Mateo) batting ninth so bad in this lineup?  The lineup is strong - one relatively weak bat at the bottom is not going to kill this team, especially while that player is providing value on defense.

People are like cats, always distracted by the shiny new object.  Lets roll with what we've got for a bit (position player wise), because its pretty damn good.

[DenPA2002]

He won't be playing 3rd base once Holiday comes back up in a few weeks.

Who's looked worse lately, Urias or AS?

Edited April 30 by DenPA2002

[RVAOsFan]

I don't really care how its rationalized at this point, I would just like to see Norby get a cup of coffee before Holliday returns. 

[Bemorewins]

We will almost assuredly lose defensive runs saved and add chances for the opposition based on the serious defensive downgrade. However, what we may gain is the possibility for greater offensive productivity. 

I am not sure how much the risk is worth it given how good the overall offense is and will most likely be this season. We already have EIGHT very potent/capable hitters of doing damage at any time. That is more than almost any other team (sans the Braves and maybe Rangers).

I also think something to consider is that Mayo's offensive output more than likely will not have an immediate translation at the big league level. He may very well undergo "adjustment issues" like many of our other top prospects. What if he struggles out of the gate? How long do you stick with him? Do you worry about how that may effect his confidence? What if we have to send him back down to AAA like Holliday? What do you do then? Just turn back to Urias for a what 3rd time (if that were to happen)?

Given the conservative nature/approach of Elias' in terms of handling his prospects (and the results have proven that he has been correct on just about everyone) I don't think he will feel that it will hurt Mayo to stay in the minor leagues and continue to work on his defense (whether that be at 3B or RF).

What can it hurt to leave him where he is for a while? Like what is the rush to bring him up? He won't be 23 until December.

It looks like Elias feels in hindsight that he may have accelerated Holliday's timeline to the bigs too quick. I don't see him willing to repeat that with anyone else.

[Fiver6565]

4 minutes ago, DenPA2002 said:

He won't be playing 3rd base once Holiday comes back up in a few weeks.

Who's looked worse lately, Urias or AS?

People need to calm down on Santander too.  Last year at the end of April his OPS was .642.  By the end of May it was .857.  We've seen this before, and that is why Hyde continues to play him, and bat him in the top four of the lineup. 

[Bemorewins]

10 minutes ago, Fiver6565 said:

Give me the defense Urias provides over the growing pains of either Norby or Mayo at the big league level, right now at least.  Mayo is just 21, the rush to get him up is not really there.  Have we learned nothing from the Holliday situation?  We don't want to bring up another younger than usual prospect and have him flailing up here, all while providing below average defense.  Its just not a good idea.

Why is Urias (or Mateo) batting ninth so bad in this lineup?  The lineup is strong - one relatively weak bat at the bottom is not going to kill this team, especially while that player is providing value on defense.

People are like cats, always distracted by the shiny new object.  Lets roll with what we've got for a bit (position player wise), because its pretty damn good.

Just a slight correction - Mayo is 22. He was born in '01.

But I agree with your overall point. Nothing is broken right now, why are we trying to invent things to fix.

[Bemorewins]

7 minutes ago, DenPA2002 said:

He won't be playing 3rd base once Holiday comes back up in a few weeks.

Who's looked worse lately, Urias or AS?

As much as I love Holliday and believe in the young man's talents. I don't see him coming back to the bigs until after the AS break at the earliest. They need to give him at least 2 months to get in a grove and work on the things that they told him to work on. And most of all, get some meaningful experience at AAA.

If he's killing it at AAA in July/August and Urias is hitting under .200 still, that's when you will most likely see a move.

[btdart20]

Neither are on the 40.  Both would add risk to the floor.  Both have a higher ceiling with a good chance of not reaching it in the 2024 season.  Both could surpass Urias this year though, assuming we're committed to their MLB PAs.  In any case, I don't think the NYY series is the right timing.

I like the long-term thought, especially for Mayo, but think we're not there yet.  

[Frobby]

Simply put, the O's aren't going to bail on Urias this early in the year.  No question he has hit terribly, in limited playing time (11 starts in 28 games).   His track record says he is a much better hitter than this, with a career 103 OPS+, 98 last year.   So, the O's will give him every opportunity to get back on track.  These things aren't decided based on 47 PA.

As to Mayo, he has been less error prone as the season has progressed, and now has a .930 fielding percentage at 3B, about where he was at Norfolk last year (.925).   To be clear, .930 ranks Mayo 12th among 19 AAA starting 3B, so not very good.  Fielding percentage only tells you a limited amount, so I have to defer to the Orioles' opinion of how his defense looks overall.   Put it this way, if the O's thought Mayo was average or better, he'd be up in the majors now.

[deward]

I think either one would be a far better use of Kjerstad's spot on the bench.

[btdart20]

2 minutes ago, Bemorewins said:

They need to give him at least 2 months to get in a grove and work on the things that they told him to work on.

I know there was a lot of speculation,  but do we know they have asked him to work on anything?  Has anyone seen a change in his swing or whatever in AAA?  Or is mostly about AAA experience before trying to rip the rookie packaging off a second time?

[Bemorewins]

5 minutes ago, RVAOsFan said:

I don't really care how its rationalized at this point, I would just like to see Norby get a cup of coffee before Holliday returns. 

I get that and respect that you have an affinity for Norby.

However, I believe what is probably a factor in the decision to not bring him up is this - Bringing him up will only serve to make more problems than solutions. If he fails/does not succeed then you have to send him back to AAA and you potentially lower his trade value. But if he succeeds, he is still only going to be here a short while, until Holliday is ready to come up. And then what do you do?

I may be wrong on this. But I struggle to find an upside in a Norby call up. I want him to get his shot at the bigs. But I just don't see a great way of that happening here unless you are willing not to maximize his value you by reducing him to the short side of a platoon player. You are more likely to get more out of his value by using him in a trade for a piece/player that the team needs.