Orioles' lineup logjam is already a problem and it’s getting worse fast

Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz has a difficult job. He has 13 players who could start for most teams and only 9 spots in the lineup. This is Albernaz's first time as a manager, so nobody knew exactly what to expect from how he would divvy up the playing time, but after just three series, it is apparent that he wants to do so as evenly as possible.

So far, the top three in the batting order have been the same every game: Taylor Ward, Gunnar Henderson, and Pete Alonso. After that, it's anyone's guess. In general, this is a good thing. With how many solid-to-good players the Orioles have, it is a credit to Albernaz that he has managed to get the majority of his position players into almost every game.

The only issue is that, in his eagerness to play everyone (which again is mostly a good thing), Albernaz has been too willing to take the best bats out of the lineup and the best gloves out of the field, making it so the Orioles are regularly going into games unnecessarily disadvantaged.

So far this season, most of the Orioles' hitters are off to a slow start. One of the only players who has performed well at the plate is star catcher Adley Rutschman. Rutschman is slashing .333/.440/.524, which makes him the team leader in on-base and slugging percentage. Despite his hot start, he has fewer plate appearances than Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers, who thus far are negative WAR players on the season, and just a handful more plate appearances than Coby Mayo and Tyler O'Neill, who have also combined for negative WAR so far this season.

Adley Rutschman's name should be as constant a presence in the Orioles' lineup

If the Orioles want to keep Rutschman healthy by limiting his catching reps, that is totally fine and probably smart, but while he is healthy and hitting like this, there is no reason he should only be playing a handful of times during the week. He should catch most games, and when he's not catching, he should DH. If the Orioles want to give him a day off once a week or every other week, that's fine.

This isn't really an Albernaz problem; he is just the one who has to deal with it. The real culprit for this is Mike Elias. All offseason, it was evident the Orioles had logjams at multiple positions. Fans and media waited for the Ryan Mountcastle and Coby Mayo trades to materialize, and the front office opted for inaction. They also added Ward, knowing that they already had three outfielders who expected to play every day. Once they did that, it seemed possible they might dump O'Neill, but once again, inaction ruled the day.

It's also worth noting that the Orioles are facing this without Jackson Holliday or Jordan Westburg currently on the active roster. Their returns will only complicate the playing time conundrum.

When building a roster, having depth is important. You don't want to get into a situation where an injury forces you to put sub-replacement-level players on the field. However, an overcrowded roster of position players is not always beneficial, especially when the pitching staff is so obviously lacking, as the Orioles are.

It's too late now, and with Holliday and Westburg returning later in the season, it will only get worse, so Albernaz has his work cut out for him. In the meantime, more Rutschman, less everyone else, would do the team a world of good.