PERCEPTION IS REALITY: Roster Crunch About to Amp Up?

REALITY: J.J. Hardy was set to start a rehab assignment this weekend, but the team deemed him “not quite ready” for games.

PERCEPTION: It was reported Wednesday night that Hardy expects to not need any more than about 20 at-bats on his minor league rehab, meaning that, hopefully, within the next couple weeks, Hardy could be recalled to the Orioles. If he is, what happens?

Jonathan Schoop has proven himself to be the Orioles “every day” second baseman. I say every day in quotes because Orioles manager Buck Showalter will still give him a rest more often than the normal every day player, but Schoop is your starter at 2B.

That means one of two things could happen:

– Super utility player Ryan Flaherty, who has an option left, gets sent down to Norfolk and waits for the next injury before being called back up to help.

– Utility infielder Everth Cabrera, who has also has an option left, gets sent down instead.

So far Flaherty has played in four games, and is 2-for-13 at the plate. Cabrera has played in seven games and is 7-for-26. Flaherty can play more positions, but Cabrera is faster. They both are very solid defensively.

Buck loves Flaherty, but he and Cabrera will likely be “competing” until Hardy gets back. The one that’s playing better should stay.

So it seems to make sense that when Hardy returns, Flaherty goes to Norfolk. We’ll have to wait and see if Dan Duquette and Showalter agree.

REALITY: Jimmy Paredes is on a rehab assignment as he prepares to come off the DL.

PERCEPTION: Sometime in the next month, Paredes will be eligible to return to Baltimore. He is out of minor league options, so he will be forced to join the major league team after his rehab assignment or be cut.

Paredes is listed as a 3B, but Manny Machado isn’t going anywhere. He also plays outfield. If he returns, what options do the Orioles have?

Adam Jones and Travis Snider aren’t going anywhere. Steve Pearce and Delmon Young aren’t going anywhere. Alejandro De Aza is striking out too much, but he is still a quality player who is most likely not going anywhere.

That leaves David Lough, who is out of options. I believe you will see David Lough get more opportunities over the next month to prove his worth. Wednesday night was not a good start as he went 0-for-3 at the plate. Lough continues to shine in the field as he ran down a hard hit ball for an out, that I’m not sure any other Orioles LF would have caught.

Lough needs to show the Orioles why they traded for him last offseason. He needs to prove that he is a better option off the bench than Paredes. If not, he’ll be cut when Paredes returns.

Nolan Reimold might throw the Orioles another curveball as he is playing well in Norfolk and hitting .360. The Orioles won’t be able to ignore that if he keeps it up. But then what? Cut Lough and Paredes? I think another “injury” happens before that.

REALITY: The Orioles bullpen, as a whole, have allowed at least one run in each game this season.

PERCEPTION: As a pitching staff, the Orioles rank 26 out of 30 teams in MLB, with a team ERA of 4.61. They have allowed the 7^th most runs in baseball, the 8^th most home runs, and the 9^th most walks in MLB.

But even with all that, the Orioles are 5-4. Let’s get some more games under our belt before we really worry about the pitching staff. If at the end of May, they are still struggling like this, then maybe changes are needed. But right now, even with a struggling pitching staff, we are winning ballgames.

This weekend is an important series to pitch and hit well.