Baltimore Orioles: Mark Trumbo Trails Betts in AL East Positional Rankings

2 . Baltimore Orioles – Mark Trumbo, Joey Rickard, Nolan Reimold

Preseason prediction, 3rd – Dexter Fowler, Nolan Reimold, Dariel Alvarez, Joey Rickard

Alright, soDexter Fowlernever signed with the Baltimore Orioles. But, the Orioles still got enough production from their RF, which most of the time was Mark Trumbo. Trumbo hit .256/.316/.533 with a major league leading 47 HRs, 27 2Bs, 108 RBIs and 94 runs.Mark Trumbowas an All-Star and a Silver Slugger at the position, enjoying a career year at the plate.

The problem was the defense. Trumbo’s offensive WAR was 2.8. His dWAR was an ugly -2.1. That is awful. Add it together, and his offensive year only netted him a WAR of 1.6. The blame should be on the Orioles, for trying to put him in RF. IfJoey Rickardhad stayed healthy, he would have likely seen most of the starts in RF afterHyun Soo Kimemerged, with Trumbo at DH. However, Rickard’s injured thumb while playing RF cost him his season, leaving Trumbo to man most games in RF.

Some other players, includingMichael Bourn,Drew Stubbs,Steve Pearceand others made several starts in right field, as the Orioles tried to put their best defense on late in the year. As for who will play the position in 2017 for Baltimore, that remains to be seen. The team wants Trumbo back, but it appears they would prefer him at DH, and not a permanent fielder.

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