Thursday Thoughts: With Jones “Back” This is a Scary Lineup

This is a weekly column that dives into eight random thoughts about the Orioles/MLB. Why eight? It’s a nod to Cal Ripken Jr. of course. That, and doing 2,632 of these would be a little overboard. – A.S.

1. Is Adam Jones back? I think Adam Jones might be back. I don’t want to get too over-confident, but Adam Jones is back. The Orioles centerfielder has “simply” busted out in recent days, clobbering a couple massive homers and finding his way back into the good graces of fans. I think we all knew this was coming, it was just a matter of how soon.

When Jones is going right in the middle of the order with Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo, watch out. When those guys follow Manny Machado, opponents will have no chance. There was an interesting tidbit of information that came out about Jones from earlier this week. Following Monday’s rainout, Jones was in the batting cage as the team bus headed back to the hotel. He wasn’t going to sit back and accept the way he’d been hitting. It’s not like he didn’t know he was struggling. Let’s just hope Jones really is back and that these last few games weren’t just a blip on the radar.

2. One guy who definitely isn’t a blip on the radar is Machado, otherwise known as the 2016 AL MVP to this point. It’s interesting when looking at the way Machado’s season has started in comparison to Jones, and realizing that these two players are basically the life of the team. Sure, there’s Davis and other big pieces like Kevin Gausman or Zach Britton and Darren O’Day in the bullpen, but Machado and Jones are the players that make the O’s tick.

For years, Jones has been the best player and the heartbeat of the team. He no longer has to carry the “best player” mantra. He’s going to remain the heart and soul of the team for as long as he’s here, but Machado has taken the reigns and is now the catalyst for everything they do offensively. It’s really fun to watch.

3. The Orioles have been hit with a sucker punch by Mother Nature that’s going to leave a mark later in the season. It’s all detailed here by The Baltimore Sun, but it essentially leaves the O’s with a packed schedule, especially coming out of the All-Star break. You won’t hear Buck Showalter or any of the players complaining, but it is a tough break. Showalter is one of the best at protecting his players, especially his bullpen.

Doubleheaders are no fun, but the Orioles now have two scenarios this season where they’ll fly to play a game and then fly out that same day, on what was scheduled to be an off day. That seems even worse. No one is going to sympathize with baseball players who get paid handsomely and fly private charters, but it likely will take its toll.

4. The Orioles will likely have an interesting decision to make once Yovani Gallardo returns from injury. There’s no clear timetable, but the right-hander has started throwing once again. Gallardo’s return will leave the O’s with six starting pitchers since Gausman has returned. This means that either Mike Wright or Tyler Wilson is likely out. They either go back to the bullpen, or back to Triple-A.

I tend to favor Wilson keeping his job, but I know many who are more bullish on Wright. If both can improve to a point where it’s impossible to take them out of the rotation, which I recognize is a stretch, don’t be surprised if Gallardo gets treated like Ubaldo Jimenez did a few years ago. I could see a scenario where later in the season, Gallardo is pitching out of the bullpen in long relief. That’s especially the case if he pitches as poorly as he did to start the season.

GulfBird Sports/Craig Landefeld

5. I’ve been getting a serious kick out of watching Pedro Alvarez pulverize baseballs recently. It was well-documented how poorly Alvarez started the season, but he appears to be waking up a bit. I was really against the Orioles even signing Alvarez this offseason, because it seemed like such an unnecessary move to make. His numbers don’t warrant a heaping of praise so far, but there are signs of life. Seeing him crush a ball over the flag court and onto Eutaw Street is a joy, and I’m hopeful there will be a lot more of that once the weather in Baltimore warms up a bit.

Alvarez is quite obviously a liability in the field, so there’s no point in seeing him out there. But as long as he uses that quick left-handed swing to launch dingers, he’ll provide some nice bottom of the order power behind the other big bats in the lineup.

6. When the Orioles signed Chris Davis to a long-term deal this offseason, it created a lot of speculation as to what that meant for some of the team’s prospects. Specifically, Christian Walker and Trey Mancini’s roles were called into question. Over at Camden Depot, they did a pretty good job of diving into some of that this week. Moving either player to the corner outfield spots would appear to fix two issues. You clear the road block behind Davis, and find a new left or right fielder, which is an obvious weak spot for the Birds.

It really shouldn’t sound so simple though. Bowie Baysox manager Gary Kendall appeared on Glenn Clark Radio earlier this week and during the interview, discussed Mancini a bit and how he doesn’t feel confident in the ability of certain players to just switch positions like that. No matter how it works out for either player, their bats need to translate to the big leagues before anything else. Buck Showalter values defense more than most, but they’ll have to prove it offensively as well.

7. I’m a little excited about the recent scheduling run the Orioles are on. Aside from the rainouts, the Birds are seeing a ton of American League competition from outside the division. After playing the Athletics and Twins, the O’s now go on a tear where they play the Tigers, Mariners, Angels, Astros and Indians before returning to AL East action against the Red Sox. The O’s could very well be in the mix for a Wild Card spot this season, especially if they keep playing the way they have.

These next few weeks gives fans a chance to size up the competition. Unlike the National League where the Cubs seem to have the market cornered on dominance, there isn’t really one AL team that is killing it. The White Sox have been off to a great start but the O’s already split a four-game series with them. Not many people realize how red-hot the Mariners are either, leading the AL West to this point. The Angels and Astros have struggled while the Tigers and Indians have hovered around the .500 mark.

A three-week stretch in May obviously won’t make or break a season, but it’ll be fun to watch the O’s test their mettle against some of the teams they don’t see all that often.

8. Wrapping up this week, I want to mention Stephen Strasburg’s new contract. I don’t really care about the impact it has on the Nationals or their dispute with MASN and the Orioles. All of that has been hashed out enough. Instead, I was a bit stunned to see the comments from Jake Arrieta about it.

While I don’t disagree with his notion that he’s worth more than Strasburg, I don’t get the need to say it. His numbers back that up. To say that he’s not willing to give a hometown discount to the Cubs just seems strange. Arreita knows he’s good, and that confidence (not cockiness) is part of what makes him so good. He should let Scott Boras speak for him. Or better yet, continue to let his pitching do the talking.