The “dark years” tournament has been fun, but should also be an eye-opener for some of us.
Think about the “problems” we have this year in Spring Training compared to years past. The O’s are honestly trying now to fit what looks like seven starters into five slots. The guys vying for the spots in the rotation are legitimate starters! I can’t recount how many times heading into those 12+ losing seasons that we had two legit starters and needed three other reclamation projects to step up.
I think about how Henry Urrutia’s spring would have earned him a trip north in years past. Instead, the Orioles have too many major league outfielders, even with Henry’s departure for the minor league camp.
What about utility infielder? Ryan Flaherty is a Showalter favorite, but can you ignore what Jimmy Paredes has done? The O’s won’t be deciding which is the lesser of two evils, they’ll be trying to figure out how to keep both in the organization. It has already been noted on this website that Paredes is out of options.
The O’s have generally had 1st base hammered down by someone respectable. This year’s situation is not too shabby either: You’ve got Chris Davis who you hope can put up numbers somewhere between his last two seasons; you have Steve Pearce, who would be the everyday guy for plenty of teams; you also have a situation where it was okay that your stud 1b prospect was a dud in Spring Training because he’s got another year before his development may be critical to your success.
Second base is about as close to a bad problem that you’ve got. Last year’s final numbers were brutal for Jonathan Schoop, but I’m among those who think the upside is really good. The Everth Cabrera situation has muddied the waters, not only at 2nd, but also created a 25-man roster problem considering what I have already said about the utility position. Cabrera playing outfield doesn’t help either, because of all the talent assembled there.
Back to the outfield. Call me crazy, but I have thought to myself on more than one occasion that postseason hero Delmon Young may not really have a role on this year’s team. Adam Jones is in center and Travis Snider is a starter. Pearce is considered an outfielder when you look at the 25-man. You still have Alejandro De Aza and David Lough (who is out of options). Reading between the lines, it seems Buck has Nolan Reimold making the club. How about Dariel Alvarez? Just like Urrutia, his spring would normally equal a ticket to Camden Yards. That last point being said, I think it benefits Alvarez to go where he’ll see regular at bats (read AA/AAA).
I’m probably the only Oriole fan happy about how the catching situation has shaken out this spring. Matt Wieters’ injury is a bit of a blessing in disguise to me. Now everyone should be able to clearly see that Wieters will not be an everyday catcher at the end of his next contract and you simply cannot pay the money or give the years to what amounts to a .240/20HR designated hitter. Fans will be pissed, but giving bad contracts to underachieving players is something other teams do. For perspective, how many people were jumping off bridges because the O’s let Brian Roberts and Jim Johnson leave town…seems like that worked out to me.
Bottom line, the Orioles are in a pretty good darn spot and a much better run organization than they used to be.
