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Baltimore Orioles: Five Possible Offseason Outfield Additions

By Ben Palmer

Jul 6, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones (10), left fielder Hyun Soo Kim (25) and right fielder Mark Trumbo (45) head in from the outfield after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in14th innings at Dodger Stadium. Orioles won 6-4 in the 14th inning. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 6, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones (10), left fielder Hyun Soo Kim (25) and right fielder Mark Trumbo (45) head in from the outfield after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in14th innings at Dodger Stadium. Orioles won 6-4 in the 14th inning. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 8, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres center fielder Jon Jay (24) bats with two outs against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park. Jay would reach first on this play on an error by Colorado Rockies shortstop Cristhian Adames (not pictured) scoring Padres baserunner Luis Sardinas. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 8, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres center fielder Jon Jay (24) bats with two outs against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park. Jay would reach first on this play on an error by Colorado Rockies shortstop Cristhian Adames (not pictured) scoring Padres baserunner Luis Sardinas. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Jon Jay

Jon Jay looked like he was on the comeback trail last season with the Padres, batting .291/.339/.389 until he broke his forearm in June. That slash line was drastically different than the line he put up with the Cardinals in 2015, when he batted .210/.306/.257.

Jay has never been an incredible player, but he’s typically been a very useful one. His best year likely came in 2012 when he batted .305/.373/.400 with 4 HRs, 70 R, 40 RBIs, and 19 SBs. The speed has all but vanished with Jay’s age (he’ll be 32 in March), but he has proven he can still be a useful hitter.

If Jay can show that 2015 was just a hiccup and go back to being a .280-.300 hitter, the Baltimore Orioles could absolutely use him in a leadoff spot. The other major bonus to Jay is that he’ll likely be extremely cheap because of his age and his injury last year. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if we could sign him for something like $5-6M a year.

The downside to Jay is that average is virtually all he offers you. There’s little to no speed, virtually no power, and his fielding is average. But, he could be a very useful fourth outfielder for the Orioles, and a high-average hitter is something the team could use.

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There are plenty of other free agents the Orioles could go after, but I believe these are the five top outfielders that would fit on the team. Did I miss anyone? Let me know in the comments!

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