As the days get longer and the temperature rises, you can learn a lot about a baseball team. These are called the “dog days of summer” because it is hot out, the season drags on, and every win can feel like a grind. This is how the Orioles season has been going, a ginormous grind. Despite owning the second-best record in the American League and having a record of 47-29, almost every game has felt like a hard-fought victory or a close loss. Now some will say that this kind of victory builds character for a team and will prepare them for the playoffs when every at-bat matters, but the O’s have played way too many close games recently. The bulk of that is due to the ongoing offensive issues *almost* holding back the team. The starting pitchers aren’t perfect, and the middle relief has been gross to watch, but the more you watch this team, the more the offense continues to be a huge problem. Some hitters can get hot for stretches but are nowhere near consistent enough as a unit.
The majority of these issues are coming from the middle infield. Adam Frazier is one of the easiest targets for fan ire. He was brought in as a veteran presence but has struggled mightily. It’s come to a head during his horrid June, and if we rank the production of the second basemen around the League, the O’s as a whole would rank 27th. The teams below them are Oakland, Seattle, and the White Sox, who all sit under .500 as of today. WRC+ is one of the best ways to view an offensive player, and the Orioles rank 25th in MLB from the 2B position. The only team with a winning record lower than the O’s is the Brewers on that list. Frazier has been bad on defense and has a -9 Outs Above Average. In terms of pure value that the Orioles are getting from their second baseman, they have gotten -7.6, which ranks 28th in baseball again.
Frazier has simply been not good. Yes, he can get clutch hits when needed, and he doesn’t strike out, but do these numbers I’ve presented scream, “This guy should be the everyday starter at second for one of the best teams in baseball?”
The answer is no, and Frazier is just Rougned Odor, but doesn’t strike out. By the way, no, a veteran presence doesn’t excuse those numbers, either.
As for shortstop, the Orioles have Jorge Mateo, who has been just as bad if not worse than Frazier. The man has gone frigid since his amazing April and looks broken at the plate. He has terrible swings and horrible at-bats, and yet some fans will still defend him because he plays good defense, but that defense can only get you so far. Again, this team has the second-best record in the league; we, as fans, need to raise our expectations. Mateo ranks by wRC+ (66) 27th, and while his value is 21st, his offensive Value is -9.1.
Many older fans will say that we should consider Mateo a Mark Belanger type. Well, Belanger had a career OBP of .300 and OPS of .580. Since May 1, Mateo has an OBP of .193 and an OPS of .389.
Mateo and Frazier just haven’t been good, and together they create one of the worst middle infields by value in the league.
So what does all this mean, then? The Orioles, simply, need more offense from the middle infield, but where is it coming from?
The answer is finally here, and his name is Jordan Westburg.
Westburg has been one of the most discussed prospects on the farm this year. He has over a year’s worth of at-bats in AAA to his name so far, and this was long overdue. He’s batting .295/.372/.567 with eighteen home Runs and fifteen doubles this year. It took Westburg so long to get up here that some fans theorized he was being held down because he would be the team’s best trade target, and any struggles would hurt his value.
So the question becomes, what does this move mean long term?
The first thing the O’s have to do is clear space on the 40-man Roster. This should be easy, as some catchers aren’t needed right now. Then the conversation goes to where he will play. Westburg is a natural second baseman, but he has been playing all over the field in Norfolk because of Connor Norby, who can only play second. Westburg just fits up the middle, so someone like Frazier could be moved to the bench or cut completely.
Another thing that gives Westburg the edge over Frazier is that he bats right and can play against lefties.
So here comes the most important question: how much does Jordan Westburg play? Will he get the Kyle Stowers or Terrin Vavra or Joey Ortiz treatment and become a part-time player, or is he here to start daily?
If you read the tea leaves of the local reporters, Mike Elias wants Westburg and Colton Cowser to get consistent at-bats, so it won’t be as a bench piece. Does he start every day? Probably not, but he won’t ride the pine either.
This move could have massive implications on the roster itself because if Frazier gets benched/DFA’d, then that means these struggling veterans aren’t safe, and more drastic moves could be on the horizon to get the kids up and playing full time finally.
When the Orioles take the field on Monday, their opposition will be a team that has caught fire due to the young talents of Elly De la Cruz and Matt McClain leading an exciting young team to victory. The moves that the Reds made have led to this insane rise in production. They have benched guys like Kevin Newman for McClain and even released a veteran in Will Myers so that younger and better players can get more playing time. Westburg is not on Elly’s level as a talent, but this should serve as a message to the Orioles: play the young talent. The Orioles could easily bench Mateo, move Anthony Santander to 1B/DH, get rid of Frazier, and bring up Cowser. This team is good without those moves, but this move for Westburg shows that the Orioles want to get better and can easily do that.
There is a real possibility that Westburg will struggle early on, but please don’t give up on him. Frazier won’t be on the team in a couple of months, and it is time to get a look at these prospects because they deserve to play. They’ve earned it, and they can help.
