Should O’s Add New Blood to Stagnant Offense?

While the Orioles pitching has been very good, especially the young guys, the Orioles offense is struggling.

Chris Davis has struck out in 42.6% of his at-bats this season. He is only hitting .212, the worst of any player on the Orioles roster who has played in over half of their games, except for Steve Pearce. Is it time to move on?

Davis’ trade value has to be at its lowest since he has been on the Orioles, but some team has a need. He is a free-agent after the season. He is not coming back, so why not try to get something… anything… for him now?

As I said earlier this week in my “Perception is Reality” column, the Orioles have some hot-hitting guys in Norfolk right now. Chris Parmalee, Nolan Reimold, and Henry Urrutia are all options to fill a spot on the roster. Could you bring one of them up, and then slide someone else over to 1B? When Matt Wieters returns, he could potentially move to 1B, which would help with his health issues.

So… do you stick with Davis, knowing he gives you that slight threat still, or do you look to replace him in the lineup? At the minimum, Buck has to move him down in the lineup.

I sarcastically tweeted Sunday that maybe we should trade our roster for Norfolk’s.

Maybe we should just trade our roster for Norfolk's. Those guys actually produce. #Orioles

— Joe Polek on Sports (@JPonSports) May 24, 2015

Sarcasm aside, I believe some changes need to happen. Not whole-sale changes, as the Orioles are still just three games out of first place in the AL East. But I think we are seeing some things that none of us wanted to admit… over the last two seasons, we have seen the very best of some players who were playing above their head.

Pearce and Davis are two of the big ones. They are the worst hitters on an Orioles roster that includes David Lough, Ryan Flaherty, Everth Cabrera, Alejandro De Aza, Caleb Joseph, and Rey Navarro.

The biggest issue for the Orioles is a lack of flexibility with the roster. Davis, Pearce, Jimmy Paredes, Travis Snider, Delmon Young, De Aza, and Lough are all out of options. If they bring up Parmalee or Reimold, they are also out of options. So if the Orioles want to replace any of them on the 25-man roster, they would have to pass through waivers, and more than likely lose them to another team. Now, if they truly stink, it’s not a big deal. But if they are in a tough slump, it could hurt to lose them, as it did with Reimold last year (when he went to Toronto).

The Orioles aren’t passing Davis, Pearce, Paredes, Snider, or Young through waivers. I don’t think they will try it with De Aza either. Buck loves Lough’s work ethic, but sooner or later something will have to give there… either he starts hitting or he’s gone.

Basically, any player the Orioles might even consider replacing with a hot-hitting player from Norfolk they would lose to waivers… and I’m not sure you will see the Orioles do that.

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I also understand that those guys in Norfolk are not currently on a Major League Roster for a reason. Reimold has never put together a full healthy season in the majors that proved he can do it. Parmalee couldn’t keep a job on a team, that’s why the Orioles got him during Spring Training. So I understand they are not the answer. But I wouldn’t mind taking a look at someone, when the offense has been struggling like it has.

As Buck says, “I like our guys”, and he is going to stick with who got them to the Division Title last year.

Fans are just going to have to stay patient. After all, the Orioles are only three games out of 1st place.