Orioles position review: Mike Elias considers the skill need ‘every day.’ The outfield is the most difficult to breach.
Orioles position reviews: The Baltimore Banner’s sports staff will be reviewing each position group’s performance in the 2023 season all week.
A similar issue exists when looking at the Orioles’ position player groupings. Of course, it’s a good problem — executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias always emphasises that — but there’s also the puzzle of how to fit all of Baltimore’s outfield choices on a 26-man roster and into a nine-man batting order.
The outfield trio of Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays, and Anthony Santander persevered through the rebuild to become the Orioles’ most common outfield grouping during their 101-win season. Ryan McKenna and Aaron Hicks also contributed.
Prospects like as Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, and Kyle Stowers will also battle for at-bats in the future. All three of those prospects have already debuted with varied degrees of success, encountering the stumbling obstacles that young players face in their initial step into the big.
But, with Mullins, Hays, and Santander all arbitration eligible again — and Santander, in particular, due for a significant raise (MLB Trade Rumours forecasts Santander near $12 million) — one of those veterans might be traded in a trade this offseason.
Santander’s name has frequently been suggested as a trade asset, but he has also led the Orioles in home runs for the past two years. Mullins’ attacking performance was down this year, but his defence, as always, would be difficult to replace. In addition to his.769 on-base-plus-slugging percentage (OPS), Hays is a Gold Glove finalist.
2023 statistics
Anthony Santander: 153 games (96 starts in RF and 47 starts at DH), 152 hits, 28 home runs, 95 RBI,.257 batting average,.797 OPS. He had the finest season of any Baltimore outfielder, and he cemented his place as one of the best power-hitting switch-hitters. His 95 RBIs led the Orioles, and he shared the team lead in home runs with Gunnar Henderson.
Cedric Mullins: 116 games (101 starts in CF), 94 hits, 15 home runs, 74 RBI,.233 batting average,.721 OPS. Mullins battled injuries during the season, starting the fewest games in centre field in a full season since 2019. Despite this, Mullins had the team’s fourth-most RBIs (74) and his OPS+ (a measure where 100 is league average) was still 101.
Austin Hays: 144 games (125 starts in LF), 143 hits, 16 home runs, 67 RBI,.275 batting average,.769 OPS.
Aaron Hicks, who had a difficult start to the season with the New York Yankees, hit.275 with an.806 OPS in Baltimore, and Ryan McKenna, who played exclusively against left-handed pitching or as a defensive replacement, hit.254.
Baltimore’s outfield prospects had limited action. Colton Cowser, 23, appeared in 26 games and hit.115. In 13 games, Heston Kjerstad hit.233 with two home runs. Kyle Stowers also played 14 games and hit.067.
Other possibilities
Ryan O’Hearn, who had the best season of his major league career, occasionally played in the corner outfield, though he was mostly used as a first baseman or designated hitter. The primary second baseman, Adam Frazier, also played in the corners on occasion.
2024 forecast
Hicks, who was signed late in the season to fill in for the injured Mullins, is a free agent who will most likely not return to Baltimore in 2024, given the team’s plethora of younger options.
McKenna, too, might be cut this offseason. He’s going through arbitration for the first time, and MLB Trade Rumours predicts he’ll earn around $740,000. His defensive ability in all three outfield positions, as well as his right-handed bat, work in his favour; the Orioles’ three young outfield alternatives all bat left-handed.
Still, Cowser should be on the opening day roster, and Mullins, Santander, and Hays remain the core bunch. Much might change to allow Kjerstad to get more at-bats, whether they come in the outfield, as DH, or at first base.
Prospects to keep an eye on Enrique Bradfield Jr. might be another speedy riser in the Orioles’ development system. Bradfield, a first-round choice out of Vanderbilt in 2023, plays centre field and made it to High-A Aberdeen at the end of the season. He appeared at ease in 17 games at Low-A Delmarva, hitting.302 with an.833 OPS before being called up.
Outfield prospects Jud Fabian and Dylan Beavers are also worth keeping an eye on, even if only as trade bait for pitching. In 2023, both 2022 draught choices advanced to Double-A Bowie.
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