Welcome to the latest edition of the Orioles Beat newsletter. The O’s made the headlines on Thursday, when they signed veteran Adam Frazier to a one-year deal for 2023. Now that they have the left-handed-hitting second baseman they were hoping to add, it creates a bit more uncertainty for the role of another infielder on their roster …
At last week’s Winter Meetings in San Diego, general manager Mike Elias indicated that Ramón Urías was unlikely to spend as much time at third base for the Orioles in 2023, even though he won the American League Gold Glove Award at the position in ‘22. Instead, Urías appeared to be tabbed for another starting spot in the infield.
“Urías projects to play a lot of second base with the current roster construction,” Elias shared.
The makeup of Baltimore’s roster is different now, though, with Frazier brought into the fold. The 31-year-old -- who will make $8 million next season, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand -- has spent the bulk of his seven-year big league career at second base, making 515 of his 643 career starts there.
Sure, Frazier may contribute to the corner-outfield mix, allowing Austin Hays and Anthony Santander to get off their feet a bit more and make additional starts at designated hitter. But Frazier could be pegged for a role similar to the one Rougned Odor had for the O’s last season. (Odor, now a free agent and unlikely to return, made 111 starts at second in 2022.)
So, where does that leave Urías heading into ‘23?
Last spring, Urías didn’t have a set position heading into camp, either. He was mostly splitting time with Jorge Mateo at shortstop early in Grapefruit League action, and it wasn’t even a guarantee Urías would break camp with the big league team.
Urías has more of a track record after playing a career-high 118 games this past season, including 98 at third base. But the arrival of Gunnar Henderson makes it unlikely Urías will spend nearly as much time at the hot corner in 2023.
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Henderson, Baltimore’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 2 prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline, reached the Majors on Aug. 31 and impressed over the final month of the 2022 season. The 21-year-old is best on the left side of the infield, and he committed no errors over 172 2/3 innings while playing third for the O’s. He should be a great fit there for the long term.
Mateo is likely to remain at shortstop, where he won a Fielding Bible Award this past season. He had 14 defensive runs saved, the third most in MLB at the position.
Perhaps Urías, a right-handed hitter, ends up in a platoon situation at second with Frazier, who posted a career-low .612 OPS over a career-high 156 games in his lone season with the Mariners in 2022. But Frazier has a much higher ceiling than that, as he proved in ‘21, when he was named an All-Star while batting .305/.368/.411 with five homers, 36 doubles and 43 RBIs over 155 games with the Pirates and the Padres.
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If Frazier, Mateo and Henderson all lock down starting jobs, Urías might end up serving in a utility infield role, something he clearly could handle.
“I’m really comfortable putting Ramón in a lot of different places, to be honest with you,” manager Brandon Hyde said at the Winter Meetings. “That’s what’s so great about Ramon, is the versatility. And the more guys we can have like that, that can move around the field, it just benefits us.”
Earlier this offseason, Urías was already aware that he might be asked to do that, even after a stellar year in which he rarely played anywhere other than third base.
“My belief is obviously that this is the best performance that I have had in the infield,” Urías said after winning the Gold Glove in November. “But [in] my playing time with the Orioles, I’ve always been moving around the infield. So I’ll be ready for anything.”
Now that Rawlings introduced a utility category for its Gold Glove Awards in 2022, maybe Urías could even still find a way to win some more hardware in ‘23.
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Who is the most recent Orioles second baseman to win a Gold Glove?
A.) Roberto Alomar
B.) Rich Dauer
C.) Brian Roberts
D.) Jonathan Schoop
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Kyle Gibson, the Orioles’ first Major League acquisition this offseason, recently had a Zoom call with reporters after signing a one-year contract for 2023. The 35-year-old right-hander gave thoughtful answers throughout the 15-minute session and shared great insight on a variety of topics.
One interesting response came following a question regarding the timing of Gibson’s deal, which was reportedly agreed to on Dec. 3, just before the Winter Meetings. Since then, the starting-pitching market has boomed. But Gibson doesn’t seem to regret signing quickly.
“We had an offer that we thought was more than fair and a situation that was going to be really good for my family,” Gibson said. “We thought the time was right, and the tricky part about some of this is you just never know when teams need to pivot and go to other players. They can’t wait on any given player for as long as that player wants. In this situation, we thought Baltimore was a great fit, and we wanted to make sure that we didn’t take a chance a week later and then that fit wasn’t a possibility.”
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EARLY 2023 MLB DRAFT OUTLOOK
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At the inaugural MLB Draft Lottery, the Orioles learned they’ll have the No. 17 overall pick in the 2023 Draft. It will be the latest that Baltimore has selected in the opening round since ‘17, when it took left-hander DL Hall at No. 21.
The Draft doesn’t take place until July, but the MLB Pipeline crew is already hard at work, as it just released its Top 100 Prospects list for the upcoming class. And it may be early, but Jonathan Mayo dropped a first-round mock in which he has the Orioles taking University of Maryland shortstop Matt Shaw, the No. 20 prospect in the class.
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A.) Roberto Alomar
Alomar won two of his 10 career Gold Glove Awards during his three-year stint in Baltimore, receiving the honor in both 1996 and ‘98.
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