Baltimore Orioles: Four players who under-performed in 2018

Orioles shortstop Tim Beckham wasn’t projected to be an all-star, but his 2018 season leaves questions about his future in Baltimore

As the first overall pick in 2008 for the Tampa Bay Rays, shortstop Tim Beckham has always had lofty expectations for his career.

Acquired by the Orioles at the 2017 trade deadline, Beckham provided solid defense and hit well in his first 50 games with the Orioles. He posted a career-high .871 OPS with 10 homers after coming to Baltimore, skyrocketing his expectations for the 2018 season.

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Orioles fans were higher on him than projection systems, but he was still pegged as an everyday shortstop with plus-power and good bat control.

FanGraphs Depth Charts projections had him for a .733 OPS with a 92 wRC+ and 22 homers. As 2018 came to a close, those numbers stood at .661, 79 and 12 respectively.

Beckham did miss a good chunk of time in 2018 due to core-muscle surgery, however the time he spent on the field wasn’t encouraging. The hope here is that Beckham was ineffective due to the injury, not despite it but we wont know for sure until 2019 gets under way.

The real problem with Beckham is that he’ll be heading into his age-29 season next year, and the Orioles don’t project to be good for at least another three seasons, at best.

Beckham is eligible for an arbitration raise that’ll put his annual salary just north of $4 million. That shouldn’t be an issue for the Orioles who are expected to run one of the lowest payrolls in MLB next year.

But what it does do is decrease the usefulness of Beckham on the Orioles roster. He won’t be here the next time the Orioles make a playoff run. Ideally, he’ll be a good everyday player on the 2019 Orioles and the team can swing him in a trade either around the 2019 deadline or in next year’s off-season and get back some prospects who can help future Orioles teams win meaningful games.

The list of disappointing 2018 Orioles could go on and on, but it doesn’t do to dwell on the past. The Orioles need to focus on building this team for the future, starting with a new front office and new leadership in and around the clubhouse.

2019 shouldn’t be as bad as this year was for the Orioles, as most of the players on this team will see some positive regression. But the Orioles can’t rely on their current leadership to get the job done. Changes need to be made, and fast, if this organization wants to pull out of this tailspin anytime soon.