Too Many Options Is Not A Bad Thing, But Change Must Happen
For most of the first two months of the 2014 baseball season, the Orioles were in flux in left field. In the offseason, it seemed liked just about anyone who had ever played left field was picked up by the O’s and given at least a minor league contract. The options for left field were numerous, but the favorite was obvious.
The Orioles traded for David Lough because he was a younger version of last year’s left fielder, Nate McLouth, who seemed to have more upside. That hasn’t worked out the way the Birds had hoped.
Lough is hitting .193 in 56 games this year and has really hurt the team in crucial moments at the plate. Defensively he has been what the O’s wanted, and he has helped the team with his speed when he does get on base… but getting him there hasn’t been easy.
It seemed that Buck Showalter gave him a solid month and a half before pulling the plug on that experiment… at least as an everyday player. Now, Lough still gets a few opportunities (more than most fans would like) but they are limited.
After the Orioles thought they had their left fielder in Lough, they designated Steve Pearce for assignment. But when Chris Davis went on the DL, they needed Pearce back to play first base, and Pearce was the ultimate team player and stayed with the O’s.
It has paid off.
Between playing a little first base, and a lot of left field and designated hitter, Pearce has been superb! He is hitting .321 in 43 games, with 7 home runs. He also leads the team in On-Base Percentage and is second to Cruz in Slugging Percentage. He has struck out 33 times, but Pearce is a patient hitter who makes those pitch counts climb. To me, he has shown this season, that he can be an everyday player. Even better, Pearce can play multiple positions.
The Orioles also picked up Delmon Young in the offseason. He has been a surprise at the plate as he has hit .327 in 38 games with 3 home runs. He is third on the team in OBP and fifth in SLG. But recently it seems that he has come up big in key moments. He is 7-for-13 as a pinch hitter for the Orioles this season, which has included a home run and a couple doubles.
There has been a lot of talk on Twitter that Young needs more consistent playing time with the Birds. But I don’t see how it can happen. Young can only play left or right field and DH. You aren’t going to bench Nick Markakis for Young. You aren’t going to bench the Major League Leader in Home Runs (Nelson Cruz) for Young. And Pearce is still hitting better than Young, so to me you leave Pearce in more often. Lough has more value than Young as a pinch runner or a late inning defensive replacement.
So right now, Young is on the outside looking in.
It’s been a long time since the Orioles have had a quality bat, that scares opposing pitchers, on the bench. Young is that hitter. Saturday afternoon, he showed his value for the Orioles. In the 8th inning, when the Orioles were trying to come back, Young pinched hit for Caleb Joseph and came up big for the Birds.
Has Young shown the team he could help them by getting more at bats? Yes. But not more than Steve Pearce or Nelson Cruz. He’s a great bat off the bench. But he could also really help another team… giving the Orioles trade bait.
Something else to consider is that Monday, the Orioles have to make a tough decision on what to do with Nolan Reimold. Injury after injury has kept Reimold from being a real part of the Orioles team, but he is hitting well in the minors right now. The Orioles have to do something with him Monday. So let’s look at the options.
If they bring Reimold to the major league team, the Orioles have to then make room for him by cutting someone else, or by sending someone else down to the minors. Many O’s fans would say to cut Lough and give Reimold his spot. Sorry, but that is just NOT going to happen.
Buck and Dan Duquette like Lough too much. He has too much upside for this team, and can be of help in the late innings right now. Lough is out of options, so cutting him would be the only way to give Reimold his spot… it’s not happening. Since Reimold only plays outfield, there are no other options of people to cut or send down. So I’m not sure this option works.
Reimold is out of options, so they can just cut him. But to me that seems odd. After all they have been through with him fighting back after injuries, why cut him now after he’s worked hard to get back? I can’t see the team giving up on him now. If they were going to give up on him, they would have done it before he rehabbed this latest injury.
Finally, another option is for the Orioles to try and trade him. I’m not sure how many teams would be interested in giving up anything of significance for a guy who just can’t stay healthy. So I’m not sure what his value is in the trade market. The Orioles need a quality starting pitcher and a quality hitting second basemen. I don’t see Reimold bringing either of those in return.
Reimold and Young are essentially the same player. So could the Orioles bring up Reimold and trade Young?
Young is proving this year to be a quality player for a team. Reimold could be, but he can’t stay healthy long enough to show us.
Tomorrow will be very interesting to see how the Orioles work this. There are quite a few options of things to do with the Left Field position for the team, but which one do they choose?
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