Baltimore Orioles Shortstops: The Veteran Helping the Youngster

For a handful of seasons, the Baltimore Orioles struggled with shortstops staying healthy. Then, they traded away one of the better defensive gloves in the league.

In 2019, Baltimore Orioles gave young Richie Martin a chance to flash his glove at the all-too-important position.

He wasn’t bad, but certainly wasn’t great. With a 2019 WAR of -1.3 and a season slash of .208/.260/.322, there is definitely room for improvement. And, now he’s got a veteran mentor to help him get there.

To fill in the gaps on the left side of the infield, the Orioles signed veteran shortstop Jose Iglesias to a one-year contract. And, according to Roch Kubatko with MASN, the veteran has taken the Martin under his wing. This is good news for Orioles fans, as Iglesias has studied the defensive position under the tutelage of players like Omar Vizquel. With the Detroit Tigers, Iglesias and Ian Kinsler were considered the best double-play tandem in the game.

Iglesias is a career .273 hitter who has seen annual improvement in his batting stance since 2016. He spent 2019 with the Cincinnati Reds, after joining the Tigers in 2013. The Cuban player was originally signed by the Boston Red Sox at the age of 21.

It’s clear that the Orioles expect Iglesias to be their everyday shortstop; otherwise, they wouldn’t have signed him. This leaves the Orioles with a bit of a situation with Martin. A 2020 MLB season seems more likely than a minor league season, so Martin might end up being an infield utility player for the Os. He was a Rule-5 players, but he no longer holds that status.

Rumor has it that MLB teams might have larger rosters in 2020, due to the lack of minor league baseball. So, Martin’s spot on the team could be secured. Because of his likelihood of being a utility player, he was learning to play second base before the shut down.

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In his article about the shortstop, Kubatko quoted the O’s infield instructor José Flores on the relationship between the two shortstops. He said:

"“I know the work that I’ve done with Richie and Josie together, it’s been really good. Josie shares a lot of his ideas, we share with Richie, and he seems to take all that into play. And I think Richie has actually become a better infielder just by having Josie working out with him during the course of spring training.”"

Iglesias is now 30 years old, and he is still agile defensively. However, at age 30, he is one of the older shortstops. Francisco Lindor is 26, Javier Baez and Xander Bogaerts are 27, and Trevor Story is 28. Marcus Semien is 29, and Brandon Crawford is one of the oldest at 33.

For comparison, Cal Ripken Jr.played shortstop daily until he was 35, when he began the transition to third base. Vizquel played shortstop daily through age 40. If Iglesias can stay healthy and keep improving his batting stats, he could play for many more years.