Ghiroli: Orioles may be interested in former Cub Theriot

[mweb]

Theriot wouldn't be awful. He actually profiles quite similarly to Nishioka.

Both are solid defenders, but neither has an arm that plays up on the left side. Both could probably hack it at short, as far as range goes, but would be better off at second, all things considered.

Both have good contact rates and have the potential for a high OBP. Neither has much power, though I suspect Nishioka will show more pop than Theriot.

Basically, Theriot is a safe bet to be just under my 50% projection for Nishioka, but with less upside and a couple of years older.

The 2007-2009 Theriot was quite valuable, and if he comes on the cheap I wouldn't mind taking a flyer on him and hoping he bounces back to those levels and can still be rangy enough to justify playing at short. It'd be a better idea than trading David Hernandez or Jim Johnson for a year of Bartlett at a ~6 MM arbitrated salary.Still, we'd have to bank on him getting that walk rate back up in to the 8ish range or he won't really be an upgrade over Izturis. I'd guess that he could get that ISO-P back up around .070 just by luck of the draw. .043 is just obscenely low.

We should still be trying to snag Hardy or one of LAN's shortstops in a trade. But, with Uribe off the market Theriot would probably now be my 3rd or 4th option on the list. He could also provide insurance in case Roberts goes down again. He'd have to come cheap.

Good post. It's hard to understand why people would strongly disagree with the line in bold.

Like you say at the end, it depends on the cost, but if he's cheap, he'd be useful as the SS or UTI IF.

[wildcard]

I am fine with signing him as a UIF. He doesn't have enough range to be an everyday SS.

[Satyr3206]

I'll take Theriot over Izturis every day of the week.

This is the winner.

[AZOriole]

I'll take Theriot over Izturis every day of the week.

True - but that's not quite like making a bold statement.

[Sports Guy]

If he puts up good numbers you can forget about him extending. Would he be a type A with a good year after last season? Essentially you are trading DH for one year of Hardy and a draft pick.

You have no idea if he would extend or not..and they could look to extend him to a 2-3 year deal quickly.

[JTrea81]

Jerry Hairston is available and would be a better signing than Theriot IMO if we are looking for bench help.

[MatthewW]

Theriot would be a HORRIBLE sign no matter where he ends up.

A very poor defender with a declining bat. He has no place anywhere on the Orioles roster.

I'll take Izturis and his (probable 2011) ~.600 OPS with a plus glove over Theriot and his ~.650 OPS with NO glove.

[wildcard]

Jerry Hairston is available and would be a better signing than Theriot IMO if we are looking for bench help.

Depends on what you are looking for. Hairston can play more positions but his OBP has declined to the point that he does not belong near the top of the order. And at 34/35 the odds are not good that he gets better in that area.

Theriot has a decent shot at a good OBP and he is young enough to mantain it for a few years. That is important to the O's because Roberts could miss time and leave a hole at the top of the order.

[BrunoCherrytown]

Theriot was a pretty big fan favorite in Chicago. Every Wrigley game I went to you'd see a ton of his jerseys in the crowd. People loved his effort. A BRob-lite of sorts.

I wouldn't be against this. Our big acquisition wasn't going to be a SS this year unless we were somehow getting Reyes so Theriot would be cool with me.

[Arthur_Bryant]

Theriot would be a HORRIBLE sign no matter where he ends up.

A very poor defender with a declining bat. He has no place anywhere on the Orioles roster.

I'll take Izturis and his (probable 2011) ~.600 OPS with a plus glove over Theriot and his ~.650 OPS with NO glove.

He has one season below .712 OPS and you're pencilling him in for .650? You're pretty tough.

[Guest rochester]

AM is brilliant BRILLIANT! This would be his best move since the Bedard trade. Are you kidding me? Theriot? Without giving up Matusz and maybe Weiters!?!? If he blows this one his offseason grade goes down to A (from A+) in my book... The man is a genius with a capitol G...man, this one came out of nowhere - wonder what kind of wine AM and Theriot drank...

[Capn Vivi]

Jerry Hairston is available and would be a better signing than Theriot IMO if we are looking for bench help.

Let me preface this by saying that I think Hairston would be a solid bench option for MI, but I disagree that he would be better than Theriot. Clearly Theriot is versatile enough defensively to play full time, but he's also better offensively than Hairston. Despite Hairston's career .041 advantage in ISO over Theriot, Theriot has a career wOBA of .319, 9 points higher than Hairston's career.

Theriot has had only one year (2010) since 2006 where he has failed to put up a wOBA of .309 or higher, whereas Hairston has accomplished the feat only twice in the same span, including his phenomenal 80 games with Cincinnati in 2008 which was most definitely an aberration.

On top of that, Theriot will be 31 all of next season while Hairston will turn 35 in May.

While I think Hairston would be a better bet to sign as a bench player (if only because he's simply not as valuable as Theriot), he's far from a better player.

[Capn Vivi]

I see no reason why we shouldn't attempt to sign Theriot if he becomes available. If anything, he would be terrific depth and a great On-base threat relative to the rest of our roster. Even in his down year last season he would have ranked 4th amongst Oriole starters (and only .004 points behind Adam Jones) in OBP. If there's something this team needs bad it's players who get on base.

Jake Fox is a bench player with some pop, Wigginton is (theoretically) a bench player with some pop. Give me a bench player who can take a walk and work the count. I would be disappointed if we sign Theriot as the regular SS, but I would much rather have Theriot and Hernandez on the roster than Bartlett for 1 year.

I'd still prefer Hardy, though, he would give better defense and has much more potential offensively.

My plan if I'm AM: pick up Theriot ASAP, leverage his place on the roster with the Twins and let them know we're very interested in Hardy. They may be hesitant to trade him until they've got Nishioka locked up. Theriot and Hardy would be huge additions to this roster. Technically, Theriot wouldn't be a FA until 2013 and if Hardy walks, we could pick up a draft pick or two (he could definitely get Type A status if he has a good year with a weak MI FA crop in 2012).

[El Gordo]

You have no idea if he would extend or not..and they could look to extend him to a 2-3 year deal quickly.

It's his first shot at FA, if he's coming off a good year, he'd be nuts not to test it. They aren't going to offer him an extension right away, he has too many question marks, and it's not their MO.

[Capn Vivi]

It's his first shot at FA, if he's coming off a good year, he'd be nuts not to test it. They aren't going to offer him an extension right away, he has too many question marks, and it's not their MO.

I agree. Hardy is a bit of an injury threat and I really doubt MacPhail would lock him up without seeing him for a year. Especially now that Uribe signed the deal that he did, Hardy probably thinks he's 1 good season away from $35m+.

The best FA SS's in 2012 are basically: Reyes, Hardy, Bartlett & the field, in that order.