Where Does Pedro Alvarez Fit on the Orioles Depth Chart?

The Orioles signed Pedro Alvarez to a one year deal worth $5.75 million dollars. The second overall pick in the 2008 draft is coming off a season with a batting average of .243, while hitting 27 home runs. The addition of the young power hitter can only add to the already powerful lineup, but the question remains: where will he play? Alvarez has played first base and third base throughout his career but both those positions are already filled. There are a couple options that the Orioles have: one is the most obvious which is to put Alvarez in the DH spot. This would allow Chris Davis to play first and Manny Machado to stay at third but this would mean that Mark Trumbo, an unproven outfielder, is slated to play in right field. Another option is to put Alvarez at 1B and put Davis or Trumbo in RF, but both Davis and Trumbo are unproven outfielders which is a risky move. My personal favorite option is to put Machado at short stop, which he has played throughout his career in the minor leagues. If this were to happen then the Orioles could put Alvarez at 3B, where he has played most of his career. In this option Davis would play 1B and Trumbo would play in the DH position, but that leaves the RF spot up for grabs. I would like to see an open competition for the RF spot in spring training. That would leave Joey Rickard, Nolan Reimold, and Dariel Alvarez to fight for the last starting spot. The only problem with this option is that J.J. Hardy would lose his starting position at SS, but would the Orioles lose as much as we think we would? Hardy’s batting average last season was .219 with 8 home runs. Alvarez’s bat is a clear upgrade over Hardy while still having a gold glove potential, Machado, at SS. If this were to happen, the Orioles would be able to have J.J Hardy come off the bench and provide some depth on their bench.

Orioles Comeback Season

The Orioles had a sub-par year last season with a record of 81-81, while still being in contention to make the playoffs at the end of last season. The Orioles have made a couple key additions to the roster, while still maintaining the key players from last season. The Orioles were able to maintain Chris Davis, Darren O‘Day, and Matt Wieters, but could not retain Wei-Yin Chen. The Orioles were diligent throughout free agency by adding Hyun Soo Kim, Mark Trumbo, Yovani Gallardo and are still trying to add another outfielder to their already stellar lineup. If the Orioles do not add anyone else this offseason, then starting lineup will include: Chris Davis 1B, Jon Schoop 2B, Manny Machado 3B, J.J. Hardy SS, Hyun Soo Kim LF, Adam Jones CF, Mark Trumbo RF, and Reimold or Jimmy Paredes DH. That lineup has plenty of power and surely will be able to lead the league in home-runs in the hitter friendly Camden Yards. Manny Machado is a proven player at the young age of 23. Another young guy who had a great season was Jon Schoop. Jon Schoop was able to achieve .279, which is one of the highest among second baseman. Hyun Soo Kim was one of the best players in his home country, but no one knows how he will translate in the MLB. I feel that he can make the translation to the majors, because of his excellent speed and his ability to get on base. The Starting Rotation could be hit or miss this season. The Starting Rotation will include: Yovani Gallardo, Chris Tillman, Kevin Gausman, Miguel Gonzalez, and Ubaldo Jimenez. While Gallardo is a proven stud, he does not make-up for losing Chen. Chen had an amazing season, hands down the best pitcher on the Orioles roster last season. Tillman and Gonzalez had an off seasons, but that could have been due to injury. Guasman has proven he can throw speed, but he needs to develop a third pitch if he wants to become a stud. If Guasman can develop that third pitch he could have a sub 3 era. Overall the Orioles current roster is good enough to finish 2^nd in the stacked AL East. Everything is pointing to the Orioles having a comeback season this year, whether that is a wildcard or divisional spot in the playoffs.

 

Jared Dudley Saved the Wizards Season?

Wondering how Jared Dudley saved the Wizards season if they might not even make the playoffs? The Wizards last season, a mid-tier playoff team, but now they are fighting for the last seed in the weaker eastern conference. Whether that is due to the plague of injuries the Wizards have endured throughout the season. Injuries that affected critical players, such as, Bradley Beal, who has been in and out of the lineup throughout the season, and Alan Anderson, who has only played three games all season. Or due to Otto Porter not living up to his potential, he played like an all-star in the 2014-2015 Playoffs where he averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds per game, his defense was even better than offense in the playoffs. This season, Otto Porter is known as a soft player, even though he has kept up his offense, his defensive has greatly suffered. The hype for Otto since last playoffs was so high for this season, as expected, there was no way he could have carried that level of all-star play over to the next season. This season, the Wizards were hopelessly looking for leadership on the team, for someone to step up and perform at playoff level. That’s when Dudley stepped up to keep them in competition to make the playoffs. Though his numbers are not stunning, averaging 9.1 points per game, he has averaged 46% from the three point line, which provided enough help to the team when there seemed to be no hope. Dudley has provided consistent shut down defense while still known as a sharpshooter around the league. In the next few games, Dudley  will not being getting as many minutes of play time, due to the addition of Markieff Morris and the now healthy Beal and Anderson back on the court. Even though he was the one player that helped carry the team  and put the Wizards into playoff contention.