The World Baseball Classic is about to begin and with that, the Baltimore Orioles are set to lose a handful of players to the tournament. The first to go will be second baseman Jonathan Schoop as the Netherlands team will travel to South Korea for his first national team action.
The rest of the Orioles will continue to play Spring Training games as some of their teammates take part in the tournament. The O’s have the luxury of having players that can play multiple positions. Chris Davis is locked in at first base, but can play outfield or third if need be. In that case, Mark Trumbo could man first. Manny Machado can play third and shortstop. Ryan Flaherty can be placed just about anywhere.
But let’s go hypothetical here: what would the O’s do if Schoop was out for extended time?
Let’s imagine Opening Day was tomorrow and Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette had to make the decision of what to do at second base. Also factor in that J.J. Hardy is dealing with back spasms right now, and we can be sure they will flare up again at some point this season. They would have an interesting decision to make.
The Hardy-Schoop combo is one of the more underrated duos in baseball. Each is terrific defensively and offer power to the lineup. The Orioles would be missing a huge chunk of their offense without their middle infield.
As I am writing this piece, Johnny Giavotella just committed an error in today’s matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies. You know that has the skip uneasy as Buck loves defense and that plays a factor in many of his decisions. However, if the O’s were to lose both Hardy and Schoop, they might need Giavotella’s bat in the lineup, despite the errors.
Giavotella would be in a battle with Flaherty, Paul Janish and Robert Andino as the infield replacements. None of them are on the same level as Johnny Baseball or Hardy, but someone would have to step in. Just imagining one player missing extensive time is scary. If both had to, it would be a disaster.
One logical choice would be Flaherty as he has been the utility infielder for much of Showalter’s time in Baltimore. However, it’s no secret that while he is versatile on defense, his bat isn’t up to par. He’s a solid backup, but counting on Flaherty on a consistent basis would put a hole in the lineup.
We all remember Andino for his clutch hit in Game 162 that knocked the Boston Red Sox out of the playoffs. He’s a crowd favorite, but there is also a reason why he was out of the Majors in 2014 and 2015, and played just 13 games last season.
Janish is another great defensive player who brings little to the plate. The Orioles would likely be willing to sacrifice defense for offense at one position, but not both. This is a team built on offense, and going with any other approach would be a lost cause.
These are the types of situations Duquette and Showalter must think about as the year plays out. Hardy is likely in his last season in Baltimore and there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of Machado. The Orioles do not have much hope down in the minors and a few ill-timed injuries this season can drastically change a lot in the upcoming years.
Again, this is putting the worst-case scenario into action. Schoop is not injured, barring a disaster at the WBC, and Hardy isn’t expected to miss much time with his back issues. However, the Orioles are counting on several veterans during Spring Training as they lack the depth in the minors.
There is plenty to be excited about, but let’s hope that the double-play combo remains largely healthy in 2017.
