Baltimore Orioles: 5 Players Who Need a Big September to Make Playoffs
By Joe Serpico
Adam Jones
Adam Jones is the unquestioned leader of this team and his injury comes at a time when Baltimore needs their captain the most. The Orioles offense is at its best with Jones batting lead off and the rest of the lineup in its usual order.
The past week has seen the lineup in total flux as Jones has been out with a hamstring injury. Since that time, the Orioles have used Manny Machado, Steve Pearce, Jonathan Schoop and Hyun-Soo Kim have all batted lead off.
That has put Nolan Reimold into the lineup, batting ninth in each of his starts in center field. That also takes a Gold Glove defender out of the outfield that already has shaky play from Trumbo and Kim.
Jones was in the midst of a great August, batting .309 with four home runs. While it’s not the blistering numbers that he put up in June – 11 HRs and 27 RBI while batting .314 – he was setting the table for his offense before exiting Friday’s game against the New York Yankees.
The Orioles have brought in Stubbs and Bourn as insurance, but the Orioles are not making the postseason with those guys filling in. Jones is needed on and off the field for his team to make a run, and hopefully he is back in the lineup sooner rather than later.
Next: The Team MVP