Baltimore Orioles – Delmon Young Signed to Minor League Deal
Sep 27, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Delmon Young (15) hits a solo home run in the second inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Early this evening the Baltimore Orioles announced the signing of Delmon Young to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Does this satisfy the critics within the fan base who have clamored for someone to be signed that they have at least heard of before? Probably not.
I will say that Young, who is still pretty young at age 28, is one of those guys who always seemed to be driving the ball hard somewhere whenever I saw him play.
Apparently the thought here is that he could perhaps be a right-handed bat in the vein of the departed Danny Valencia. He is a career .303 hitter against lefties.
Young’s best years were in Minnesota, where the outfielder batted .287 over four seasons. And in 2010 he batted .298 with 21 homers and 112 RBIs. He has never hit lower than .260.
Here is a quick chart of his career stats:
Year |
Age
Tm
Lg
G
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
2006
20
TBDAL
30
126
16
40
9
1
3
10
1
24
.317
.336
.476
2007
21
TBDAL
162
645
65
186
38
0
13
93
26
127
.288
.316
.408
2008
22
MINAL
152
575
80
167
28
4
10
69
35
105
.290
.336
.405
2009
23
MINAL
108
395
50
112
16
2
12
60
12
92
.284
.308
.425
2010
24
MINAL
153
570
77
170
46
1
21
112
28
81
.298
.333
.493
2011
25
MINAL
84
305
26
81
16
0
4
32
18
55
.266
.305
.357
2011
25
DETAL
40
168
28
46
5
1
8
32
5
30
.274
.298
.458
2012
26
DETAL
151
574
54
153
27
1
18
74
20
112
.267
.296
.411
2013
27
PHINL
80
272
22
71
13
0
8
31
14
69
.261
.302
.397
2013
27
TBRAL
23
62
8
16
3
0
3
7
6
9
.258
.329
.452
8 Yrs
983
3692
426
1042
201
10
100
520
165
704
.282
.316
.423
So is it a crazy idea to sign Delmon Young? Not really. Right now the other options for DH are Nolan Reimold and Steve Pearce (with the projection of David Lough in left field as a regular). Here is a chart that compares Young’s 2013 numbers (which were poor compared to all previous years) with those of the combined Orioles DHs:
Year |
Name
G
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
2013
Young
103
334
30
87
16
0
11
38
20
78
.260
.307
.407
.715
2013
O’s DHs
152
552
76
129
31
3
21
69
42
142
.234
.289
.415
.704
If the Orioles kept Reimold, Young, and Henry Urrutia, along with starting outfielders Lough, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, they could against lefties even put Nolan in left field with Young at DH. And then they could against righties have Lough in left and Urrutia at DH. This runs the infield a bit thin with only one reserve (alternating Ryan Flaherty and Jamile Weeks) along with two catchers, but that is workable.
Maybe I’m this optimistic tonight because I spent time today painting … you know, throw it on the wall and see what sticks. The problem with all of these options and marginal pieces is that one of them could get super hot in spring training, earn the job, and then turn to ice on the trip north. Two words for you: Jake Fox. But even if that happens, Duquette always has a line of others waiting to be the next Nate McLouth; and maybe the next of those is Delmon Young.