Now that the opening day roster is set, we can discuss how the Orioles plan to use their 25 man roster, as well as the rest of the players in their system whether they’re on the 40 man roster or not. Last season, we saw Orioles GM Dan Duquette make a stunning amount of roster moves shuttling players between AAA Norfolk and Baltimore at a dizzying pace. Duquette seems to view the AAA roster as a convenient place to store depth for the major league team rather than a place to develop prospects. Except for Jonathan Schoop, all of the team’s top prospects are at the lower levels of the system.
With that in mind, it makes sense to view the top of the Orioles system almost as an extension of the major league roster. Since we know that Duquette won’t hesitate to reach down to Norfolk at a moments notice, lets take a look at the Orioles organizational depth chart.
A lot of this information comes from the high quality website MLB Depth Charts, which is now owned by Baseball Prospectus. The site is now found on Baseball Prospectus’s website, and I recommend checking it frequently to stay on top of all of the latest roster machinations. Here’s the depth chart from the Orioles official website as well.
Players on the major league roster are listed with nothing after their names. Starters are listed first. Players in the minors are listed with their minor league level in parentheses after their name.
Catcher
Matt Wieters
Taylor Teagarden
Luis Exposito (AAA)
Luis Martinez (AA)
Matt Wieters is a switch hitter who takes very few days off. A workhorse behind the plate, he plays as many games as any catcher in the league. He started 132 games at catcher last season and will probably play 130 games this year barring injury. If the Orioles have to dip into the minor leagues, they have a couple guys they’ve claimed on waivers.
First Base
Chris Davis
Steve Pearce
Wilson Betemit (DL)
Travis Ishikawa (AAA)
Russ Canzler (AAA)
Conor Jackson (AAA)
Chris Davis will start against righties and lefties for the team this year, stepping in for Mark Reynolds who signed with the Cleveland Indians. Should he need a day off versus a tough lefty, Steve Pearce will fill in. When Betemit comes back from the DL he can play first base in a pinch, though not very well. On the other hand, Ishikawa is a defensive specialist who has worn out his welcome with other teams because he doesn’t hit enough to hold down the position on an every day basis.
Second Base
Brian Roberts
Alexi Casilla
Ryan Flaherty
Yamaico Navarro (AAA)
Jonathan Schoop (AAA)
The team has three options on the major league roster who can play second base. This is by design since the starter Brian Roberts has to answer a multitude of questions as to whether he can stay healthy enough to remain on the field. Navarro and Schoop will both play second base for Norfolk. If Roberts goes down, Casilla and Flaherty will both get a shot before the team reaches down for Schoop. In all likelihood, the team would like Schoop to be their second baseman for most of the 2014 season. If all three of Roberts, Casilla, and Flaherty fail or get injured Schoop could be up some time this year.
Shortstop
JJ Hardy
Ryan Flaherty
Alexi Casilla
Manny Machado
Jonathan Schoop (AAA)
Hardy played in 158 last season but has had injury problems throughout the rest of his career. If Hardy has a short term injury, the team will fill in with a mix of Flaherty and Casilla. However, if Hardy has a season ending injury it’s likely we’ll see Machado move over to short and Danny Valencia fill in at third. Schoop is scheduled to play a large amount of short stop in AAA, so he’s at the bottom of the depth chart here.
Third Base
Manny Machado
Ryan Flaherty
Danny Valencia (AAA)
Wilson Betemit (DL)
Russ Canzler (AAA)
Jonathan Schoop (AAA)
On the official Orioles depth chart, Manny Machado doesn’t have a true backup on the major league roster. But if he needs to take a rest, it’s likely we’ll see utility man Ryan Flaherty fill in. If Machado needs to miss more than a few days, we’ll see Danny Valencia called up from AAA. Betemit plays a miserable defensive third base when given the opportunity. Russ Canzler really isn’t a third baseman either. Though he’s not scheduled to play third much in the minors right now, Schoop can play third as well if necessary.
Left Field
Nate McLouth
Nolan Reimold
Steve Pearce
Trayvon Robinson (AAA)
Conor Jackson (AAA)
LJ Hoes (AAA)
Xavier Avery (AA)
Nate McLouth will play left field versus right handed pitching. He has rather large platoon splits so this is probably for the best. Versus left handed pitching, we’ll see Nolan Reimold. If one of them gets hurt, we’ll likely see the other take on a full time role. Steve Pearce is also hanging around but should see most of his playing time at DH. If the Orioles don’t get enough production from this group, they have a plethora of outfielders at the minor league level who can fill in.
Center Field
Adam Jones
Nate McLouth
Chris Dickerson (AAA)
Trayvon Robinson (AAA)
Xavier Avery (AA)
Adam Jones rarely takes a day off, and at 27 years old this season I wouldn’t expect him to take any more days off than he has in the past. He has been very durable throughout his career, and played in 162 games for the first time last season. If he does need to take a day off, Nate McLouth will shift over to center field while Reimold will play left. The team also has Chris Dickerson (who is a nice 4th outfielder) and Trayvon Robinson available in AAA. In Bowie, Xavier Avery also provides another option to play center.
Right Field
Nick Markakis
Chris Davis
Steve Pearce
Conor Jackson (AAA)
Trayvon Robinson (AAA)
Chris Dickerson (AAA)
Nick Markakis had been a picture of perfect health until the 2012 season. Then we saw an abdominal strain, a hammate bone break, and a broken thumb. Already this season, we’ve seen him have extensive problems with his neck. Chris Davis is listed next on the depth chart, though I have no interest in seeing him ever play the outfield again. As fun as it was he really does not have the skill set to play the outfield. After Pearce, there are a ton of options to play right down in the minors.
Designated Hitter
Ryan Flaherty
Steve Pearce
Nolan Reimold
Wilson Betemit (DL)
Despite not looking at all like a typical DH, Flaherty is listed atop the depth chart at the position for the Orioles. Steve Pearce and Nolan Reimold will also see a lot of time at the position. I doubt Flaherty will stay at DH for long; odds are he’ll be needed to play the field somewhere given his ability to play almost anywhere on the field. Betemit will serve as the DH versus righties when he comes off the DL.
Starting Pitcher
Jason Hammel
Wei Yin Chen
Miguel Gonzalez
Jake Arrieta
Chris Tillman (DL)
Steve Johnson (DL)
Zach Britton (AAA)
Jair Jurrjens (AAA)
Freddy Garcia (AAA)
Tsuyoshi Wada (DL)
Kevin Gausman (AA)
Dylan Bundy (AA)
Jake Arrieta won the 5th starter competition in spring training though he’ll pitch in the fourth spot in the rotation with Chris Tillman on the DL until April 6th. Tillman will come off the DL to pitch against the Rays next Saturday. Steve Johnson is also on the DL with a lat strain. If the Orioles need a starter, they have plenty of options in AAA including Zach Britton, Jair Jurrjens, and Freddy Garcia. Britton is still working through issues related to his new delivery. Jurrjens and Garcia both are working through their issues of not being very good. If needed, the Orioles top two prospects in Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy will be ready and waiting in AA Bowie for a mid-season call up. Don’t forget about Tsuyoshi Wada returning from Tommy John surgery some time this season.
Relief Pitcher
Jim Johnson
Pedro Strop
Darren O’Day
Troy Patton
Luis Ayala
Tommy Hunter
Brian Matusz
TJ McFarland
Steve Johnson (DL)
Scott Proctor (AAA)
Mike Belfiore (AAA)
Daniel Schlereth (AAA)
Manny Delcarmen (AAA)
Mark Hendrickson (AAA)
Zach Braddock (DL)
The closer’s role will be filled once again by Jim Johnson. He has two years left of team control and could be moved mid-season if the team isn’t competitive. If that occurs, Pedro Strop would step up to fill the vacancy. We saw him dominate in the World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic, and there is more upside to his strikeout rate than we’ve seen so far. With his mid to upper 90’s heat and devastating slider, all that stands between him and dominance is his command and control.
The Orioles have more depth in their bullpen than at any time in recent memory with guys like O’Day, Patton, Ayala, Hunter, and Matusz. In a surprise move, the team decided to keep TJ McFarland as a long reliever. He’s a soft tossing lefty who relies on command and control to get outs. The team recently traded for Scott Proctor of the Giants, who adds to the bullpen depth in AAA. It is very likely we’ll see some of the guys on this list up with the team this season.
Since Dan Duquette was hired, he has made a point of improving the depth on the roster. The reason for doing that is so that the team doesn’t suffer a large drop off when it faces the unavoidable injuries during the season. As you see from the depth charts above, the team has solutions at each position if guys go down. Last year, we saw many of these guys on the fringes of the roster contribute in meaningful ways to the team down the stretch. Duquette has improved the organizational depth again this offseason so that he can replace players at the major league level if need be. Odds are we see a lot of these depth guys with the Orioles this year too.
Kevin was the owner of the Orioles blog Eutaw Street Blues. He had operated the site since the beginning of the Orioles magical 2012 season. He tends to focus on sabermetric analysis of the Orioles and their minor league affiliates. He balances his analysis between what he sees with his eyes and what the analysis of the data says. The Columbia, MD native attended the University of Colorado at Boulder while obtaining a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration. He also attended Loyola University Maryland obtaining the degree of Masters of Business Administration. When Kevin is not reading or writing about baseball, he finds time to work at M&T Bank.