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Baltimore Orioles: Who Has the Most to Prove in September?

By Cameron McGuire

Aug 13, 2022; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher DL Hall (49) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Dave Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 13, 2022; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher DL Hall (49) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Dave Nelson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Infielder Ramon Urias

Aug 31, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Ramon Urias (29) celebrates his two-run home run in the eighth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 31, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Ramon Urias (29) celebrates his two-run home run in the eighth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Ramon Urias and Jorge Mateo have formed a left side of the infield that has been surprisingly productive over the past season and change. Both players were waiver pickups that were essentially given up on by their former teams, the Cardinals and Padres respectively, and both have had productive seasons this year. However, with a young core of infielders in the minors and the arrival of Henderson, future infield spots may be hard to come by.

Mateo has played so well defensively and has elite baserunning skills that he seems to essentially be a lock to make the roster next year but things may be murkier for Urias. The assumption is that Rougned Odor will be gone at the end of the season as he is a free agent so it is perfectly plausible for Ramon to move over and play second base next year with Mateo at short and Henderson at third.

However, the O’s are looking to make a splash in the free agency market this year and the rumors of Carlos Correa signing in Baltimore could come to fruition and there are young infielders like Vavra, Jordan Westburg, Coby Mayo, and Connor Norby who have all been playing well and may see consistent playing time at the big league level sometime next season.

That being said, moving away from a player like Urias could be a possible move or it is even possible that he sticks around next year but does not play every day like he has this year. Urias played well for a couple of weeks after an IL stint but has since cooled off and has a season slash line of .247/.295/.422 with a 101 OPS+. Power has been an asset for him as he has hit 15 home runs in only 99 games, including one Wednesday night against Cleveland. He has accumulated an impressive 2 WAR in those 99 games according to Fangraphs and has had a strong defensive season with 10 defensive runs saved at third base. He has played well enough that it will be tough to justify moving away from him but he will need to keep the strong defense and power numbers going if he wants to safely be a member of the Orioles’ everyday lineup next season.

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