2:08pm: CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Rich Dubroff (Twitter link) and Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun each have a slightly more optimistic take on Hardy’s timeline, as both cite sources in reportingt hat Hardy will miss four to six weeks, as opposed to six to eight weeks. Connolly tweets that he’s been told both four to six weeks and six to eight weeks.
1:32pm: Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy has suffered a small fracture in his foot and is heading to the disabled list, Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com first reported (Twitter link). MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko adds more context, calling the injury a hairline fracture and reporting that Hardy is expected to miss six to eight weeks of action. Hardy suffered the injury in yesterday’s game after he fouled a ball off of his left foot.
Per Kubatko, the Orioles are expected to recall Ryan Flaherty from Triple-A Norfolk to take Hardy’s spot on the roster, and veteran infielder Paul Janish could also be an option once he returns from paternity leave (he’ll leave the Triple-A club Wednesday for the birth of his child). Janish isn’t currently on the 40-man roster and would thus require an additional 40-man move to be made. It’s also worth noting that Manny Machado could slide over to shortstop in Hardy’s absence, as he did for a bit in 2015 when he played seven games. Machado was originally drafted as a shortstop but moved over to third base due to Hardy’s presence when he was initially promoted to the Major Leagues.
Losing Hardy for up to two months is a notable blow to the Orioles, as the 33-year-old’s bat had bounced back somewhat early in the season, resulting in a .244/.291/.410 (90 wRC+) batting line in 86 plate appearances. While that production isn’t up to par for a league-average hitter, it’s a notable step up from the .246/.306/.372 (83 wRC+) batting line of the average big league shortstop and is more than serviceable when considering Hardy’s elite defensive contributions. While the Orioles should be able to maintain a quality infield defense with some combination of Machado, Flaherty and Janish comprising the left side of the infield, it’s likely that the net outcome of that trio — both on offense and defense — will fall shy of the would-be combination of Machado and Hardy on an everyday basis.
Machado to SS, Chris Davis to 3B, Trumbo to 1B and then you can put Hyun Soo Kim in the outfield and see if he really can´t hit a lick, or give Nolan Reimold a chance while he´s healthy.
Agree with that
Trumbo at first and Davis at third is a bit of a nightmare defensively, no? And with the two knee surgeries I’m guessing Machado at shortstop isn’t happening.
Machado is perfectly fine. He played every game and still going strong. He runs hard, slides, and steals bases the same as before. He’s a 23 yr old kid who has put knee surgeries are in the past.
Sure….right now. Third base is much easier on the body than SS. I’d be wary of moving him back there for more than a few games here and there. This is one of the best players in baseball; avoiding another season-ending injury is easier at an easier position.
I think for the moment move Manny to SS, and Davis to 3B is adequately fine, it’s not for the WHOLE season, it’s for the time being, and with Trumbo at 1B – I do not think its a major defensive liability. In fact this will probably more productive hitting wise.
If BAL were to try Kim and he still fails, well that’s a really bad ($7 mil I think it was) investment; then better to look for a super utility guy like Baez from CHC in a trade, aka A Zobrist type guy who can play 6 of the 7 days and keep the team fresh.
And what exactly does Baltimore have that the Cubs would want? Oh wait, never mind, give them one of those pitchers who haven’t lived up to the hype! Bosio will have him winning a Cy young in two years!
I guess Trumbo being much worse in the outfield cancels Chris Davis move from 1B to 3B out. But, as it´s being pointed out, it would just be a temporary measure, and you can always use defensive replacements late in games.
Are you kidding? Davis would be an undesirable answer at 3B, albeit better than Alvarez. Flaherty will do as a fill in, and Janish can at least play Hardy-level defense. There are a few other short-term options in the minors (Steve Tolleson, for one), and the team will have to take someone off the 25-man (probably a pitcher) and 40-man (my guess is Despaigne who has been terrible at AAA) rosters to make room for Janish.
How is .244/.291/.410 a “notable step up” from .246/.306/.372?
83 wRC+ vs. 90 wRC+. Suppose I can add that context to the post.
Hey steve just wondering if you think if machado was a full time SS would he be the both the best offensive and defensive shortstop in the majors?
Trade for Aybar. Would literally cost them nothing. Probably a lower level prospect like Fenter or Hess. Aybar hits 9th till Hardy comes back then he’s a bench option.
Or possibly Leyva
You can have him, but you eat his whole salary
Why trade for Aybar? Janish is a better defender, Aybar isn’t better offensively right now, and Janish doesn’t cost $8.5MM.
Most likely they will deal with it by bringing up Flaherty or Janish to fill in and occasionally use Machado at SS. Then they could play Alvarez at 3rd when Machado plays SS.
They won’t let Alvarez near a glove at this point. – he was horrible at 1B much less 3rd.
Costs them virtually nothing, perhaps, Gives them virtually nothing either.