Answers needed as season draws near
Competition emerges in rotation, corner outfield
The former, thought to have been solved by the signing of Yovani Gallardo and the return of four members of last year's rotation, was cast into doubt Tuesday by manager Buck Showalter amid struggles by his projected starting five and impressive outings by those considered depth a month ago.
The latter has some clarity with Mark Trumbo on track to be the everyday right fielder, but Hyun Soo Kim's struggles at the plate have made left field harder to handicap.
Showalter, his players and the front office must balance the performances they've seen and the underlying statistics with what will come before camp breaks March 31 and hope five starting pitchers and at least two corner outfielders are ready to contribute by then.
“Spring training is a huge fooler,” Showalter said. “If you don't reach back to your experience about evaluating people in spring training, it will fool you. There's a lot of negative and positive momentum from one game. You've got to take a deep breath and sometimes talk everybody off the mountain in the van coming back.”
It's clear Showalter is taking precautions based on what has happened through 17 games to ensure those two positions aren't still uncertain when the season begins. He declared the competition for a rotation spot is underway to an extent “people don't quite understand” after an impressive outing by Tyler Wilson and subpar starts by other starters, including Miguel Gonzalez. The staff ERA fell to 6.86 after the Orioles' 9-3 win Wednesday over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Gonzalez struggled with injuries last season and has allowed 14 runs in 52/3 innings this spring. He said there was no need for Showalter to say publicly that rotation spots could be in jeopardy.
“We all know that, but he knows what he's doing out there,” Gonzalez said. “He wants us to do well. Right now, we're struggling a little bit, but that's what we're here for. This is spring training. ... We all know that we're capable of doing it — every single guy here has the talent, and has done it before. So, we're not worried about it.”
Gonzalez said he feels healthy, which is what's most important after missing time with groin, elbow and shoulder injuries last season. Every pitcher, he said, has “got to ride that roller coaster,” and he trusts he'll figure it out by the time the season starts.
Asked whether observers were wrong to assume Chris Tillman, Ubaldo Jimenez, Kevin Gausman, Gallardo and Gonzalez would make up the projected starting five, Showalter said: “You were led to believe it and rightfully so. But I think I look at the word ‘competition' differently. On paper? Yeah. But we have options we can go [with]. I mean, you watch a guy like Tyler Wilson, Mike Wright, [Ordrisamer] Despaigne and [Vance] Worley throw ... we're trying to win.”
Wilson was declared a candidate for the rotation when his 31/3 scoreless innings Tuesday brought his spring ERA to 2.89 in 91/3 innings (four appearances). Worley and Wright will pitch today, for the first time since Showalter said the competition is underway.
Worley, who will pitch in Fort Myers against the Boston Red Sox, has two scoreless two-inning outings in three tries and a 4.50 ERA. Wright has made three starts entering tonight's game in Sarasota after allowing five runs in 22/3 innings against the New York Yankees.
“I don't think it's changed anything in either [his or Wilson's] minds,” Wright said. “We came out here trying to do our best, and we're still here in camp. ... I'm just trying to show them I deserve a chance.”
Indications are he'll get one. The same can be said of any number of players in the conversation to be the team's primary left fielder. Many thought Kim would take that spot, and he has had every opportunity. But even with two singles Wednesday, his 0-for-23 start has put him in a difficult position.
Nolan Reimold, another player in the mix, has four hits in 27 spring at-bats and said it has been a “slow start,” without many indicators success is imminent.
“I've had good spring trainings where I started the year bad, bad spring trainings where I started good,” Reimold said. “If you're feeling good the last week of spring training, you've had a good spring training.”
The questions in left field have led to others getting opportunities. Outfielder Joey Rickard, the team's Rule 5 draft pick, has played mostly center field but has a chance to spend time at both corner-outfield spots if he makes the club.
Other outfielders remaining in camp include Jimmy Paredes, Dariel Alvarez, Alfredo Marte, Xavier Avery and L.J.?Hoes. Marte has earned good reviews from Showalter, while Paredes has been out with a wrist injury for nearly two weeks.
But without anyone having truly emerged at the spot, the Orioles debuted prospect Christian Walker in left field Tuesday. A first baseman by trade, he hit his third home run of the spring as a defensive replacement Wednesday against Pittsburgh and is one of the hottest hitters in the Grapefruit League.
That the Orioles made the move is viewed on the outside as dissatisfaction with the rest of the options, but Showalter disagrees.
“We like the options here, and we'll see where left field is at the end of the day.”
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