If the Orioles are, indeed, done with the position side of their roster beyond maybe some minor league signings, we can begin crafting lineups against right-handed and left-handed starters.
Why? Because what else are you gonna do besides eat leftovers and talk about Corbin Burnes?
The chatter now has him seeking at least $245 million. I’ll gladly wear it if wrong.
(Update: Burnes is in agreement with the Diamondbacks on a six-year, $210 million contract, allowing him to pitch close to home. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman was first with the news. The deal includes an opt-out after two seasons. The Orioles reportedly were aggressive in their pursuit but remain without a No. 1 starter via free agency or trade.)
I’m correct when I say that the Orioles can go with many combinations and the lineup construction often hinges on who’s hot and who’s not. An extended Gunnar Henderson slump, for example, can lower him from the leadoff spot. Same goes for a middle-of-the-order bat. And there are multiple choices for a designated hitter against a right-handed starter.
Here’s one possibility.
Gunnar Henderson SS Adley Rutschman C Tyler O’Neill RF Colton Cowser LF Ryan Mountcastle 1B Ryan O’Hearn DH Jordan Westburg 3B Cedric Mullins CF
Jackson Holliday 2B
There’s a nice altering between right-handed and left-handed hitters until you reach the bottom.
My only hesitation is at DH, where Heston Kjerstad is deserving of consistent at-bats. Manager Brandon Hyde could sit O’Hearn or put him at first base in sort of a platoon with Mountcastle, though I’d still expect him to play less than the two-time Gold Glove finalist.
Now comes the lineup against lefties, which offers more choices for Hyde because he’s had Ramón Urías and Jorge Mateo on the bench.
Gunnar Henderson SS Adley Rutschman C Tyler O’Neill RF Ryan Mountcastle 1B Colton Cowser LF Jordan Westburg 2B Gary Sánchez DH Jorge Mateo CF
Ramón Urías 3B
There’s the obvious temptation to move up Westburg, though I’m not touching the top two in the order until a slump necessitates it. Holliday deserves to play every day unless he reverts back to his 2023 struggles, at which time the Orioles could option or platoon him. They expect him to be much better after his adjustments at the plate.
No small sample sizes are allowed here. Keep him in the lineup and see what happens. That’s how you treat a one/one and the former top prospect in baseball. You don’t already shy away from him.
Urías was the club’s hottest hitter until spraining his ankle on Aug. 31 and missing three weeks. It was the latest blow to a team torn apart by injuries but still standing. His defense at third appeared to slip a notch from his Gold Glove year but he’s still good and the bat should keep him from rotting on the bench. This is where he’d play, with Westburg shifting to second. But again, you’d have to weigh it against the impact on Holliday.
Mullins won’t necessarily platoon, largely because of the ground he covers in center and his ability to swipe bases, but he batted .196 with a .506 OPS and one home run against left-handers. Mateo is a seventh infielder on the roster who is expecting to back up in the outfield. Hyde and executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias have talked about it. And there’s no Austin Hays or Austin Slater or Ryan McKenna to back up in the middle.
Sánchez won’t always be the DH while Rutschman is catching, but it works here.
Nine players served as DH this past season, led by O’Hearn with 51 starts and followed by Rutschman with 42. That latter stat bodes well for Sánchez.
Anthony Santander made 25 starts at DH and Eloy Jiménez made 24, and they’re no longer in the organization. Kjerstad made 10, Mountcastle five, Kyle Stowers and Henderson two and Westburg one.
Anyway, feel free to share your lineups.
