Opening Day is about three weeks away and there are still many questions surrounding the Baltimore Orioles, one of the latest involving catcher Matt Wieters. This seems like it was more of a scare than anything else (as X-Rays and MRI were clean), but any setback this late in spring training could put a player’s status for the start of the regular season in question.
If Wieters is able to get back in game action next week he should be fine, but this is another reminder that no one knows exactly how a player will respond from any surgery, especially a catcher coming off of Tommy John surgery. His position demands he throw a baseball more frequently than any other player, including pitchers.
The good news is if Wieters does have to miss the start of the regular season – while it’s way too early to start thinking that way – Caleb Joseph has proven he can catch on an everyday basis and be a productive player.
GONZALEZ’S SPRING BRINGING BACK MEMORIES OF NORRIS
It was easy to overlook Bud Norris’ struggles last spring because of his track record, but the same can’t be said for Gonzalez. The right-hander had a terrible season in 2015 and needed to show up to spring training ready to perform well. That has not happened and after his latest start, Gonzalez’s ERA is now at 22.24.
What’s a bigger concern is he has pitched less than six innings this spring. Gonzalez needs to turn it around quickly or the Orioles will have to seriously start thinking about other alternatives in the rotation.
GulfBird Sports/Craig Landefeld
WALKER STARTING IN LEFT FIELD
The best case scenario for the O’s was Nolan Reimold or Hyun-Soo Kim running away with the left field job, but both hitters have struggled at the plate this spring. I don’t think Christain Walker wins this job, nor do I have any idea how he will be defensively. However, there’s no shot he ever plays first base with the Orioles (barring a barrage of injuries) and if he has any future with the organization he needs to make a position change. This is a storyline to follow early in the season. If Walker continues to hit as he has this spring and throughout his minor league career and proves he is an adequate defender, there’s a chance he could be playing outfield at some point with the big league team in 2016.
