AL East Breakdown: Baltimore Orioles
By Brian Phair
As Boston is locked-down in a ridiculous cold-stretch (-8 air temperature when I left my house this morning, wind chill at -23), it is time to begin looking forward to warmer weather and with warmer weather comes baseball. Every season, the AL East is a force to be reckoned with and in turn, leads to some interesting inter-divisional match-ups. In order to shake the ice from my beard, it is time to begin a not-so-creatively-named series called AL East Breakdown. Over the next week or 2 I will spend time breaking down each of the 4 AL East teams the Boston Red Sox need to contend with in 2011, looking at additions and departures of personnel, as well as the overall club make-up. Keep in mind, moves are still made throughout the Spring, so think of these as snapshots of the club as they stand now. Without further ado, let’s begin with the Baltimore Orioles.
One of the biggest surprises for me this winter was the activity surrounding the Orioles. It seemed that the club was at least peripherally involved with most big name free agents, even though the likelihood of landing a big catch was small. That being said, the Orioles managed to bring in a few big name guys to help their club out in 2011, but let’s begin with their list of departures.
RHP Matt Albers
LHP Mark Hendrickson
RHP David Hernandez
2B/SS Julio Lugo
RHP Kevin Millwood
1B Ty Wigginton
The only name that stands out for me is Ty Wigginton. Considering the Orioles don’t have a deep team, a power-hitting infielder like Wigginton is extremely valuable. He played in 154 games last season, seeing time at 1B, 2B and 3B as well as in the DH slot. Although Wigginton hit just .248 in 2010, he did belt 22 home runs and drive in 76 rbis on a team that struggled to put runs on the board. The Orioles last season finished 27th in baseball and 2nd to last in the AL in runs scored and total rbis, making Wigginton’s numbers look even more impressive. In an effort to take advantage of the thin air in Colorado, Wigginton signed a 2-year, $7.5 million deal with the Rockies with an option for a 3rd year.
The loss of Matt Albers, Mark Hendrickson, David Hernandez and Kevin Millwood is hardly something to cry about if you are an Oriole fan, but they do leave a significant void in the pitching staff from a numbers point of view. Albers was arguably the most reliable of the bunch in 2010, finishing with a 4.52 era and a 5-3 record in 62 games pitched. He since signed with the Red Sox and will likely have a chance at making the big-league roster, although there is some stiff competition. Hernandez had a solid campaign last season as well, posting an 8-8 record and a 4.31 era in 41 games (8 starts). His batting average against was .242 and his 72:42 K:BB ratio was solid, especially for a 25-year old. He was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for 3B Mark Reynolds.
One of the remaining names on the departure list is all too familiar for Red Sox fans. Julio Lugo spent 2007, 2008 and part of 2009 on the Sox roster and he basically stunk-it-up defensively and in the batter’s box. Unfortunately for the Orioles, they experienced the same poor play in 2010 and for that reason, Lugo is still a free agent. Needless to say, the Orioles are better without him, unlike Corey Patterson, the final significant departure. Patterson hit .269 with 8 home runs and 32 rbis in 90 games with the Orioles last season. He wasn’t anything overly special, but he was a solid outfielder who would occasionally look good at the plate (despite 75 Ks).
Now that we have examined the departures for the Orioles, let’s look at the impressive list of new additions to the club.
1B Derrek Lee
RHP Kevin Gregg
SS J.J. Hardy
RHP Jeremy Accardo
As I mentioned earlier, I was impressed with the aggressive approach the Orioles took this off-season. They were genuinely trying to improve as a franchise, despite not having the money to compete with the big-shot AL East teams. The Orioles payroll was the lowest of the AL East teams in 2010 and was 17th overall out of 30 teams in baseball. Their payroll was slightly less than half the Red Sox and just under 40% of the Yankees total in 2010, so to be competitive in 2011, ownership knew they were going to need to invest some money this off-season in adding key personnel.
Arguably the best deal this winter for the Orioles was the signing of 1st baseman Derrek Lee. Lee is a 13-year veteran who will bring a big, powerful bat into the clean-up spot for the O’s, something they have been desperately needing over the past few years. He is a great defensive 1st baseman as well, winning Gold Gloves in 2003, 2005, and 2007 and his leadership skills will go a long way towards helping a young team grow. Lee’s 2010 struggles (.260, 19 home runs, 80 rbis) caused him to be traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Atlanta Braves and ultimately paved the way for the Orioles to swoop in and sign him to a very reasonable $7.25 million deal. Considering Lee had made $13.25 million each season from 2007-2010, the Orioles pulled him out of the bargain-bin.
The other notable additions to the Orioles in 2011 are Kevin Gregg and J.J. Hardy. Gregg is a real solid closer with a strong 4.03 career era and 121 saves in the past 4 years with the Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins and Chicago Cubs. At age 32, he has had 7 full seasons under his belt and will be able to guide a likely young pitching staff, especially in the ‘pen. He is familiar with the AL East thanks to his time north-of-the-border last season, so his veteran know-how and knowledge of the divisional hitters will help him succeed. Hardy is a guy that has some upside, but hasn’t been able to put his career together just yet. He has had some great years and some bad years in his 6 years in the league, but the Orioles are hoping he just needs to be in the right environment to shine. He will likely provide some stability at the shortstop position for the Orioles and if he can find his .275+ average and 25 home run stroke that he had in 2007 and 2008 with the Milwaukee Brewers, he could prove to be a nice compliment to Lee in the middle of the lineup.
In an interesting trade, the Orioles acquired Mark Reynolds from the Arizona Diamondbacks for David Hernandez. The interesting piece is Reynolds and his uncanny ability to both hit for power (averaging 30+ home runs a season) and strikeout at alarmingly high rates (200+ Ks each of his last 3 seasons). The great upside for Reynolds is his age, because at 26, he has already accumulated 121 home runs in 4 seasons and has played in 563 games in his young career. With the proper coaching and guidance, the Orioles are hoping Reynolds can become a bit more patient at the plate and anchor the hot-corner all season. He certainly has shown shades of brilliance in the box, he just needs to gain consistency.
The final notable addition for the Orioles is Jeremy Accardo, the former Blue Jays reliever. He is an interesting character because he has a career 7-17 record with a 3.95 era and 38 saves, but his numbers are scattered. He has pitched in as few as 5 games in a season (2010) and as many as 65 games, but has not had any sense of consistency with time or quality of his pitching throughout his 6 years in the league. He is a perfect Oriole type player however, because he has potential, is still only 28 and has struggled, so his salary was very reasonable ($1.08 million). We’ll see if this move amounts to anything, but the back-end of this Orioles bullpen has the potential to surprise some teams this season.
Overall, I feel the Orioles got better this off-season. They added some big names and beefed up their lineup to attempt and compete with the Red Sox, Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays, but is it enough? No, but it is a step forward for a franchise that has been at the bottom of the AL East for a few years now. The rebuilding process is not easy or quick, so baby-steps and patience are the keys. The ownership is clearly committed to trying to make this team better within the confines of a relatively-small payroll and the understanding that free agents don’t usually choose a bottom-feeder team if they have other options. Just look at how much the Nationals needed to overpay Jayson Werth to get him to come to the nation’s capital.
All in all, the Orioles will have a more potent lineup in 2011 and could put more pressure on their division foes. The big question is whether the Orioles pitching staff can keep the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Rays off the board, because if they can’t, it could be another long season in Baltimore.