Baltimore Orioles: Ranking The Likely Trade Candidates

Jonathan Villar has been a bright spot for the Baltimore Orioles in 2019.

Jonathan Villar joined the Baltimore Orioles via last year’s Jonathan Schoop trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, which also netted the Orioles pitcher Luis Ortiz and infielder Jean Carmona. We’re a long way out from determining Carmona’s value, but Ortiz has struggled with his command this season in Triple-A. Villar, however, has been a steady presence at the big league level.

Villar is currently tied with Dwight Smith Jr.for the second highest fWAR on the 2019 Orioles with a 0.8 fWAR (Trey Mancini leads the way at 1.2). He’s hitting .275 with three home runs and has produced a wRC+ of 103, right at league average. That’s exactly what Villar is, a league-average player who will provide a little pop, play decent defense, but explode on the basepaths.

The switch-hitting middle infielder provides a bit of versatility with his ability to play both second base and shortstop, but his real value comes on the basepaths. Since 2016, Villar has 217 stolen bases, seven of those coming this season.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to find a contending team in need of a second baseman, at the moment. Injuries can always change this, but for right now, I don’t see a real glaring need anywhere, which may hurt his value. However, he is under team control in 2020 and is only 28.