The Orioles have designated corner infielder Pedro Alvarez for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to infielder Steve Wilkerson, whose contract was selected.
Also coming up to the O’s is catcher Caleb Joseph, who was recalled from optional assignment. He’ll join his younger brother, Corban Joseph, on the active roster.
Alvarez, 31, has slumped badly of late. Through 127 plate appearances, he owns a .180/.283/.414 slash with eight home runs. He has likely been unfortunate to carry a .179 BABIP, and has shown a solid walk rate (12.6%) and robust power output (.234 ISO), so there ought to be some interest from other organizations.
The real difficulty for Alvarez, of course, is his lack of defensive ability. Though the O’s have plugged him in at third base from time to time, few organizations will be really comfortable doing so. As a lefty who has traditionally done damage against right-handed pitching, there could yet be a niche for Alvarez, but there just hasn’t been much demand for that sort of player of late — as the plight of Adam Lind demonstrates.
another stupid move!!!
Nah, he has no future with the team and he’s a replacement level player. No reason to have him taking ABs from younger players.
Yeah, we have 4 guys on the active roster as is whose best position is first or DH. Certainly didn’t need a fifth. Let wilkerson play.
Another stupid comment!!!
Why is it a stupid move to part ways with a one-dimensional player whose one dimension isn’t very good anymore?
Pretty sure this guy got popped for juicing. He was on track to be next “Ryan Flaherty” before the suspension came down.
He never got busted for peds.
baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bs-sp-orioles… Amphetamine.
Perfect clears room for Chris Davis. He’s on pace for the worst season ever, it’s only fair the orioles let him play to achieve greatness.
Seriously Alvarez was in a huge group of older players who can’t play positions anymore and these are the guys the simpletons were crying about not having any jobs and could be on a playoff team made up of free agents gtfo. These are the players people want to DH in the NL. Loafs…
Well said.
I would love to see the NL adopt a DH. I hate the guaranteed out (unless its Bumgarner) and would love to see deserving players like Lind get shots.
The playoff team of free agents is certainly far fetched, however if you looked into Triple-A rosters and free agents (excluding top prospects) you might be able to get a club that could at the very least post serviceable results (.500 to a bit more).
You are living in a fantasy land if you think most teams would sign the Adam Lind types to DH the whole year. Most of the AL teams don’t even have full time DHs. They use the spot to keep players fresh.
I didn’t say that, but it would open the door for a player like Lind to be signed given the option for a player to add value to the lineup without having to play defense.
You 100% would not field a .500 team on major leaguers who are playing in AAA.
I’ve seen some horrendous opinions on here before, but saying a team made up of FAs and AAA guys could put up .500 over a season, or even a little better than that, is flat out nuts.
If there were enough guys in that bucket to perform that well, they wouldn’t be FAs or AAA fodder in the first place.
Maybe a team full of AAA guys and FA could post a better record than say Baltimore or KC has to this point based on pure motivation to play the game. But If you think a team of Adam lind’s And Seth smith’s with a starting 5 of Jake peavy, Edwin Jackson, Matt Cain, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Last but not least Ricky nolasco is going to win 80 games you’re insane. Have to think that one through before you post something ridiculous.
Why waste time with Chris Davis Alvare did more than him and not all that money
Chris Davis has a higher ceiling as he has hit 50+ HRs.
At his pace, Davis is on track to record the worst season by a position player in the history of the game. If you said “he is too pricey, they either have to play him or release him” then maybe someone would agree.
Davis has the higher ceiling, but his floor is knocking on Hell’s door.
And he was just “coming into his own”!
Pedro was a decent third baseman with the Pirates before he got the throwing yips.Then the Pirates needed a first baseman in the worst way,and Pedro was that and proved that not everyone can play first base.The Orioles tried him in the outfield with no success.His only hope is to go to AAA and play 3rd base for a year and get a decent groove back.He is still a pretty good hitter,especially in a platoon, if given near full time work.
Nope. He made approximately 25 errors EVERY year at 3rd. First it was his glove and then his arm.
I did not realize he made that many errors which is a lot.I do remember some nice plays,and how absolutely horrible he was at first base.He made a mistake when he would not go to the instructional league to learn to play first base after the 2014 season.His only hope then really is as a designated hitter.
Pedro Alvarez gave me PTSD because of how many times he overthrew the 1B. Now every time any player on The Pirates throws from third to first I get a bit nervous. The Pirates could have Nolan Areando, and I’d still hold my breath.
The Davis contract was a nightmare waiting to happen. At no point since it was signed (including the offseason days preceding it’s first active season) has it ever looked like a deal that could be considered close to palatable. A prime example of Peter Angelos continually spending illogically resulting in the poor situation that the O’s are currently in.
I have a Pedro Alvarez Bobble Head when he was with Pittsburgh. One of my favorite bobble heads!
And this is comment worthy?
Probably because the article refers to Pedro Alvarez, as does this comment