Baltimore Orioles: Matt Duffy Could Become That Veteran Option

Could veteran infielder Matt Duffy be an option for the Baltimore Orioles?

Last Wednesday, teams across the league shuffled their 40-man rosters around to make room for Rule 5 draft-eligible prospects, leaving many valuable veterans in roster limbo and available to other franchises via waiver claims or trades. We found plenty of interesting names who are worth a look for the Baltimore Orioles, you can read about all five pitchers we like here.

One of the names on our list, RHP Jharel Cotton, was sent to the Chicago Cubs yesterday, so we can scratch him, but there are still plenty of other low-risk, higher-reward type options that could help fortify a pitching staff in need of help. There may also be a veteran infielder who can help the Orioles in 2020, and maybe beyond.

Is infielder Matt Duffy worth a look in the next few days, if he’s available? He makes for an interesting case. A contending team isn’t likely to see much value in Duffy, until he reestablishes himself, but he’s certainly worth a look for rebuilding teams.

A five-year veteran with the San Francisco Giants and Tampa Bay Rays, Duffy was recently designated for assignment by Tampa Bay. He’s been a fan favorite at both stops in his career and highly regarded for his clubhouse presence. This is what Tampa Bay general manager Erik Neander had to say about Duffy’s removal, via Marc Topkin of Tampa Bay Times.

"“He really is a special player and there’s the obvious stuff you can measure in how he impacts a game. His intangibles, his leadership, his influence on a younger impressionable clubhouse like we have is worth a lot. And that especially made this a very difficult decision and we’ll certainly miss him in that regard.’’"

Entering his age-29 season, Duffy should be entering the prime of his career, instead, he’s coming off a season in which he appeared in just 46 games due to hamstring issues. Injuries have been a constant issue for the infielder since his rookie season in 2015 with San Francisco.

Playing in 146 games that year, Duffy slashed .295/.334/.428 with 12 home runs, 28 doubles, and 77 RBI. He also swiped 12 bags without being caught. Duffy would finish second in National League Rookie of the Year voting.

He took a big step back in 2016, slashing .258/.310/.357 with significantly less power (5 home runs, .099 ISO) and was traded midseason to Tampa Bay for LHP Matt Moore.

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Duffy missed all of 2017 with an achilles injury, but rebounded well in 2018. In 132 games, Duffy was worth 2.5 Wins Above Replacement (Fangraphs) and continued to see his power numbers drop, but did see an increase in his walk rate, reached double-digits in stolen bases again, increased his line-drive rate and started hitting the ball harder than he had at any point in his career. He finished with a .294/.361/.366 slash line.

Playing primarily third base, Duffy does have experience at second base and shortstop, giving him a bit of flexibility. The Orioles are in the market for infield depth, specifically help up the middle, but adding Duffy could make a lot of sense.

He’s a cheap option with a chance of returning to his 2-4 WAR self. A right-handed hitter, Duffy has had much more success against RHP than LHP. Luckily for Baltimore, they have Hanser Alberto to crush left-handed pitching. Duffy is a career .290 hitter for RHP and .263 vs LHP.

Other than his abysmal -4.4 Defensive Rating last season, Duffy has been valuable on defense, earning ratings of 8.7, 8.0, and 4.9 in each of the last three seasons, per Fangraphs. We haven’t seen many numbers like that in Baltimore recently.

With Duffy being primarily a third baseman, it may not make the most sense, but as anxious as I am to see what Rio Ruiz can do, I’m not sold yet on his ability to stick. Duffy’s ability to play around the infield, his success against RHP, and potential to rebound at the plate are all promising and would be worth the small price tag.

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