Welcome back to “The Rundown.” Over the course of the season, we will try to tackle the most important topics surrounding the Orioles on a weekly basis. Spring Training is in full force with the Grapefruit League schedule starting on Friday, so hopefully many of these questions will be answered over the next month.
A Very Crowded Outfield
Even with the injury to staff ace Chris Tillman, the starting pitching may not be the top storyline to follow this spring.
Between the subtle shots between Adam Jones and Dan Duquette, to the two late additions of Craig Gentry and Michael Bourn along with two Rule 5 selections and Hyun-Soo Kim working on hitting left-handed pitching, the storylines surrounding the outfield are plentiful.
The picture is a lot clearer when a right-hander is on the mound as Kim will find his place in left field and Seth Smith will occupy right field. It gets foggier when a left-hander is on the mound as Buck Showalter can go in a lot of different directions.
Gentry seems to have made an early impression and could find a way to crack the 25-man roster to start the season. We haven’t even discussed Joey Rickard, who many have believed was a lock to make the team. I still believe he cracks the opening day roster as he brings something to the team that not many else can.
I think the Orioles have to have two right-handed bats to platoon with Kim and Smith. Even though the team is hoping Kim can prove he can hit lefties, they are at least covering themselves if he can’t. I’m in the camp that thinks he will struggle, so it’s good to know that if he does, there appears to be a backup plan.
If Gentry, Rickard and Bourn all make the team, that will make it nearly impossible that any of the Rule 5 selections crack the roster and Trey Mancini will likely be hitting home runs in Norfolk again.
This also would secure Mark Trumbo to be the designated hitter no matter who is on the mound.
I still wonder who will occupy the top two spots in the batting order, but that’s a debate for another day.
Hardy’s Recurring Back Issues
One of the reasons I was against the Orioles settling for Ryan Flaherty to once again be their utility infielder was because of J.J. Hardy’s injury history. Flaherty is not a great defensive shortstop, and the team can’t afford to shuffle Manny Machado from short to third when they want to give Hardy a day off.
Showalter has to find ways to give Hardy more days off throughout the season, and I imagine they will hope that Flaherty won’t hurt them on the days that he plays short. Showalter has said he wants to rest his regulars more which is a great idea as we have seen many of them struggle in the second half in recent years. The question is, can you trust Flaherty to play possibly three days a week?
I think we all know the answer to that.
