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Hot Take Tuesday: Ryan Flaherty Has Little Value to the Orioles

Ryan Flaherty stretches and watches.
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For quite some time, I have tried without success to understand the love affair many Orioles fans seem to have with the man they call Flash.

Ryan Flaherty was a Rule 5 selection prior to the 2012 season and has spent the majority of the last four seasons on the Orioles’ 25-man roster. Despite never posting a batting average above .224 or getting on base at a rate higher than 29.3% in a single season, Flaherty has stuck around due to his defensive versatility and ability to play multiple positions.

Flaherty has been able to fill in following injuries to Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop, and J.J. Hardy and has even seen some time in the corner outfield positions and at first base. Players like Ryan Flaherty have become a hot commodity across baseball. Ben Zobrist, Brock Holt, and Josh Harrison are a few examples of “super-utility players” who have made names for themselves thanks to their versatility.

Here’s my problem. Ryan Flaherty is not very good.

Or maybe I just lack R3SPECT for Flash.

I already mentioned his lack of offensive prowess. Flaherty may knock one out of the park every once in awhile but, in general, he is a liability at the plate. A career .215/.282/.364 hitter, Flaherty provides no speed on the bases and has just 73 extra base hits in over 1,000 plate appearances. The longest hitting streak of his career (counting only games in which he started) is just six.

Defensively, he is not nearly as good as many claim. A common misconception about Flaherty is that he is good at playing multiple positions. The reality is that second base is the only position he plays at an above-average level.

According to Fangraphs, Flaherty has posted negative career DRS and UZR at every position, with the following exceptions:

– Second base (7 DRS, 8.2 UZR in 1394.1 innings)
– Third base (2 DRS, 0.4 UZR in 433.1 innings)
– Right field (0 DRS, 0.4 UZR in 127.0 innings)

Here’s the problem. The Orioles have a Platinum Glover at third base in Machado and a future Gold Glover at second base in Schoop. The outfield is a logjam of depth, both on the 25-man roster and at Triple-A Norfolk. Unless one of the starters goes down with an injury, Flaherty will not see much playing time this season at all.

In my opinion, Flash doesn’t have enough of a bat to balance out mediocre defense and doesn’t have a good enough glove to balance out poor hitting.

I’m not saying we need to cut Flaherty or even send him down to the minors. We shouldn’t and we won’t. That said, there are a few other players I personally wouldn’t mind seeing get an opportunity.

Garabez Rosa is in his tenth season in the Orioles organization but has never made it past Double-A Bowie. Still just 26 years old, Rosa was impressive this spring, posting a .571 average in 21 plate appearances, homering once and knocking in eight runs. He was a postseason hero last year for the Baysox, who won their first Eastern League championship. Rosa may end up being a career minor leaguer but we have been surprised before. Looking at you, Caleb Joseph.

Paul Janish is another guy already in the organization who could be beneficial to the club, not exactly in terms of his stats but in what he can teach guys like Machado and Schoop. Janish has been a steady defender throughout his career. Hardy is already one heck of a teacher for the young infielders and Janish would make another great veteran presence. Plus, if any infielder is more likely to miss time than the others, it’s the aging Hardy, who missed time last season with multiple ailments and has had to sit twice already this season due to calf tightness.

I was going to suggest Emilio Bonifacio as a potential speedy free agent signing but apparently he signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves after being cut by them at the end of Spring Training. Oops.

The bottom line is this: At this point, Ryan Flaherty is simply a placeholder on the 25-man roster. He won’t see much playing time with Schoop, Hardy, and Machado healthy. He’s making $1.5 million this year and may not eclipse 100 at bats unless one of the starters goes down with an injury.

As I said earlier, I’m not suggesting we cut our beloved Ryan Flaherty. I’m only pointing out that he is not as valuable as many feel he is to this team. After all, he’s posted a career 1.3 fWAR. That’s stat nerd speak for “not all that great.”

If the response to this post is anything like my first two “Hot Take Tuesday” posts, many of you will call me a “Debbie Downer.”

I know, I know. But you should try looking up what “hot take” means.

9 Responses

  1. Your backup utility player is ABOVE AVERAGE at ANY positions and you’re saying he has little value? Let that sink in for a second.

    He’s not SUPPOSED to see playing time. He’s SUPPOSED to ride the bench and be called upon when someone gets hurt.

    1. How do you figure he’s above average? He plays multiple positions, but isn’t above average at any of them. And is bat is well below average at every position exempt pitcher if you want to throw him a bone.

      If he was making a league avg salary fine, but 1.5 mil for Flash is a waste

      1. If any player was “above average” at ) different positions, they wouldn’t be a utility player- his manager would find a place to put him in the lineup everyday. The thing about the Flaherty hate is that people compare him to every day players. They also make an assumption that all utility guys can play every position at at least an average level when called upon, which is not true. Take a look at stats across the league for “utility players”- most will not stretch across a six position board like Flaherty’s do.

  2. The outfield is a logjam of depth…

    What team are you watching?! We have yet to field a completely competent defensive outfield. Trumbo lacks depth perception, Kim has a noodle arm, and Reimold (and I really hope I am wrong here) is a sneeze away from the 60 day DL.

  3. Let’s not forget that there was a point in time when Steve Pearce had to fill in at 2b. Flaherty is valuable because you can put him in 6 positions and feel comfortable that his fielding won’t lose you the game. He’s not expected to be a good hitter, if he was, he’d be starting somewhere. Without a super utility guy like Flaherty, you probably can’t roster Reimold, Kim, and Alvarez. He provides you a lot of flexibility to play around with the last few roster spots.

  4. I understand you were trying to make Ryan Flaherty out to be as bad as possible to support this passive aggressive opinion of yours. An opinion might I add, that is not shared by Buck Schowalter. There’s a lot more to Flaherty than listing some obscure, even mythical fielding stats. Is his DRS really a UZR now. …
    BUT you know doubt took this way to far to extent of being downright disrespectful:
    Is calling up Garabez Rosa how the Orioles should deal with Flaherty, really? Perhaps the ever crafty baseball professor Paul Janish. He would be a great fit. He could use his decades of minor league experience to join the Birds and teach a Gold Glove shortstop and third basemen how to play the infield the right way.
    You got do a little proofreading and thought proofing before hitting the submit button for something anyone with internet access could read.
    If you ever get close enough to Buck ask him what he thinks about Flaherty. I mean, he’s no Garabeza Rosa, but it’s true Schowalter does love having Flaherty on his team.
    Eric Carson

  5. See, the issue with this article is that you compare a Utility Player to stats that include qualified starters around the league. No one is asking or expecting Flash to put up “starter” numbers. If you took a great deal of time to compare his defensive stats with players that saw a similar amount of playing time/defensive chances, you’d see that he is on par with the fielding percentage of players that see the field as much as him. And then, you factor in that Flaherty can play any position for this team, an accolade that is hard to find among the guys around the league. Sure, his percentages may be average at some positions (I would hardly say below average- 3B is a special beast. The league average drops significantly compared to SS or 2B), but with the versatility he brings, I’m sure that’s ok with Buck. I think you would be hard pressed to find that role with a Paul Janish or even an unproven Garabez Rosa could fill. Flash brings a confidence to the table that your suggestions don’t fill.

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9 Responses

  1. Your backup utility player is ABOVE AVERAGE at ANY positions and you’re saying he has little value? Let that sink in for a second.

    He’s not SUPPOSED to see playing time. He’s SUPPOSED to ride the bench and be called upon when someone gets hurt.

    1. How do you figure he’s above average? He plays multiple positions, but isn’t above average at any of them. And is bat is well below average at every position exempt pitcher if you want to throw him a bone.

      If he was making a league avg salary fine, but 1.5 mil for Flash is a waste

      1. If any player was “above average” at ) different positions, they wouldn’t be a utility player- his manager would find a place to put him in the lineup everyday. The thing about the Flaherty hate is that people compare him to every day players. They also make an assumption that all utility guys can play every position at at least an average level when called upon, which is not true. Take a look at stats across the league for “utility players”- most will not stretch across a six position board like Flaherty’s do.

  2. The outfield is a logjam of depth…

    What team are you watching?! We have yet to field a completely competent defensive outfield. Trumbo lacks depth perception, Kim has a noodle arm, and Reimold (and I really hope I am wrong here) is a sneeze away from the 60 day DL.

  3. Let’s not forget that there was a point in time when Steve Pearce had to fill in at 2b. Flaherty is valuable because you can put him in 6 positions and feel comfortable that his fielding won’t lose you the game. He’s not expected to be a good hitter, if he was, he’d be starting somewhere. Without a super utility guy like Flaherty, you probably can’t roster Reimold, Kim, and Alvarez. He provides you a lot of flexibility to play around with the last few roster spots.

  4. I understand you were trying to make Ryan Flaherty out to be as bad as possible to support this passive aggressive opinion of yours. An opinion might I add, that is not shared by Buck Schowalter. There’s a lot more to Flaherty than listing some obscure, even mythical fielding stats. Is his DRS really a UZR now. …
    BUT you know doubt took this way to far to extent of being downright disrespectful:
    Is calling up Garabez Rosa how the Orioles should deal with Flaherty, really? Perhaps the ever crafty baseball professor Paul Janish. He would be a great fit. He could use his decades of minor league experience to join the Birds and teach a Gold Glove shortstop and third basemen how to play the infield the right way.
    You got do a little proofreading and thought proofing before hitting the submit button for something anyone with internet access could read.
    If you ever get close enough to Buck ask him what he thinks about Flaherty. I mean, he’s no Garabeza Rosa, but it’s true Schowalter does love having Flaherty on his team.
    Eric Carson

  5. See, the issue with this article is that you compare a Utility Player to stats that include qualified starters around the league. No one is asking or expecting Flash to put up “starter” numbers. If you took a great deal of time to compare his defensive stats with players that saw a similar amount of playing time/defensive chances, you’d see that he is on par with the fielding percentage of players that see the field as much as him. And then, you factor in that Flaherty can play any position for this team, an accolade that is hard to find among the guys around the league. Sure, his percentages may be average at some positions (I would hardly say below average- 3B is a special beast. The league average drops significantly compared to SS or 2B), but with the versatility he brings, I’m sure that’s ok with Buck. I think you would be hard pressed to find that role with a Paul Janish or even an unproven Garabez Rosa could fill. Flash brings a confidence to the table that your suggestions don’t fill.

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