Addition of Shed Long gives Baltimore Orioles possibility of infield depth

The Baltimore Orioles and Shed Long have agreed to a minor league contract. The agreement won’t be official until after the lockout ends.

Orioles general manager Mike Elias has added a little bit more depth to one of his minor league rosters, with the possibility of adding depth to the Orioles 40-man roster. Long is an infielder/outfielder so he could give Rougned Odor some days off if Odor is the Orioles primary second basemen heading into the 2022 season.

The former Seattle Mariner has only played in a total of 110 games since the 2019 season. His total games played have been 42, 34, and 34. Injuries have been an issue for Long which is why he was outrighted by the Mariners and chose to be a free agent.

Shed Long could give Rougned Odor competition at 2B for Baltimore Orioles

The competition at second base during spring training should be fun to watch, whenever this lockout ends. If Long comes out strong, he could ultimately win the job as starting second baseman on Opening Day 2022.

Either way, Long and Odor are still relatively young at 25 and 28 and haven’t hit their prime yet. Both have struggled due to injuries and with some down years, but they have plenty of opportunities to get things back on track while being with the Orioles.

It would not be a surprise if Long has a solid first half, which would allow the Orioles to trade him for prospects. If they hold onto him, Long could also give Jorge Mateo some days off as well.

The Orioles roster is young so they have the potential to give each and every player time to play and see who might be ready to take their games to the next level and be part of a possible winning organization that Elias is creating from the top down.