Orioles Second Basemen – 2022 Review and Beyond
Present:
The 2022 season featured a mixed bag of players, led by Rougned Odor, brought in for some “veteranosity,” along with a typically solid defensive reputation. Odor ended up garnering most of the 2B at bats, with other players like Ramon Urias, Chris Owings, and later in the season after a successful run in AAA, Terrin Vavra.
| Name | Age | G | PA | HR | SB | BB% | K% | ISO | BABIP | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | BsR | Off | Def | WAR |
| Odor | 28 | 135 | 472 | 13 | 6 | 6.80% | 23.10% | 0.15 | 0.244 | 0.207 | 0.275 | 0.357 | 0.278 | 80 | 1.4 | -9.4 | -1.9 | 0.4 |
| Vavra | 25 | 40 | 103 | 1 | 0 | 11.70% | 18.40% | 0.079 | 0.31 | 0.258 | 0.34 | 0.337 | 0.303 | 97 | -1.7 | -2 | -1 | 0 |
| Urias | 28 | 118 | 445 | 16 | 1 | 6.70% | 22.00% | 0.166 | 0.287 | 0.248 | 0.305 | 0.414 | 0.313 | 104 | 0 | 2.1 | 8.5 | 2.6 |
While barely garnering a positive WAR, due to his defense, Odor, to his credit did provide steady defense and leadership. A deeper dive though shows that Odor was the fourth worst defensive second basemen in OAA, with -9 runs. Vavra provided at least average level offense and defense, with a -1 WAR. Urias, with solid offense, along with stellar defense at 3rd Base, provided a +1 OAA in his time at the keystone. Looking at Statcast rankings, Odor, as expected had well below average numbers, Urias was average across the Board, with excellent hard hit% in what was a little of the down year vs. 2021. Vavra put solid numbers up in the minors, which suggests that he has more power than he was able to show in his limited PA’s this season.
Future:
There are some extremely intriguing second base eligible players high in the system:
| Name | LVL | Age | PA | BB% | K% | BB/K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | Spd | BABIP | wSB | wRC | wRAA | wOBA | wRC+ |
| Norby | AAA | 22 | 42 | 7.10% | 11.90% | 0.6 | 0.359 | 0.405 | 0.718 | 1.123 | 0.359 | 1.9 | 0.333 | -0.5 | 10 | 5 | 0.474 | 190 |
| Westburg | AAA | 23 | 413 | 10.70% | 21.80% | 0.49 | 0.273 | 0.361 | 0.508 | 0.869 | 0.235 | 5.7 | 0.318 | -0.4 | 70 | 15.6 | 0.379 | 129 |
| Vavra | AAA | 25 | 208 | 13.50% | 17.30% | 0.78 | 0.324 | 0.435 | 0.451 | 0.886 | 0.127 | 5.5 | 0.4 | 0 | 39 | 12.1 | 0.403 | 144 |
The Orioles had no less than three players put up strong numbers in AAA, with all three of the above names players having significant PAs at 2B. Norby led the minors in HRs, has a great approach at the plate, but has an average defensive reputation. Vavra has more of a bat first, multiple-position utility players but has excellent walk rates, and showed the ability to get hits when needed, and take a walk, unlike the typical orioles hitter of the last two decades. Westburg was second in the minors in HRs, with 39 doubles to go along with his 25+ home runs. He shows average defense at short, with the ability to provide potential plus defense at third or second. Adding Urias to the mix, the Orioles have a massive number of very strong internal options, where an outside candidate seems like something the organization can confidently skip over.
Outside options and Free Agents:
Free agent second basemen this offseason include (with ages):
Hanser Alberto (30) – $2MM club option with $250K buyout
Robinson Cano (40)
Aledmys Diaz (32)
Brandon Drury (30)
Adam Frazier (31)
Josh Harrison (35) – $5.625MM club option with $1.5MM buyout
Cesar Hernandez (33)
Rougned Odor (29)
Chris Owings (31)
Jonathan Schoop (31) – $7.5MM player option
Jean Segura (33) – $17MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Andrelton Simmons (33)
Jonathan Villar (32)
Kolten Wong (32) – $10MM club option with a $2MM buyout
Some formerly big names, but no one that really stands out as an obvious candidate, particularly with the current internal options.
What to do?
If the team feels confident enough, starting Westburg at second to start the season would be a bold move to get a potential big bat in the lineup. Westburg would be backed up by both Urias and Vavra, who both have the positional flexibility to play other positions, as does Westburg. Norby would continue to develop in AAA, waiting in the wings to see if his offensive explosion in AA and AAA was real.
