Baltimore Orioles Interested In First Baseman Chris Carter
By Ben Palmer
The Baltimore Orioles have called on former Milwaukee Brewers first baseman/outfielder Chris Carter. Carter is a major power hitter, but doesn’t offer much more than that.
The Baltimore Orioles sure do love their home run hitters don’t they? According to Jon Heyman, the Orioles have called on former Milwaukee Brewers first baseman/outfielder Chris Carter, a player who is the very definition of the three true outcome hitter.
What’s especially odd about this news is that, according to Eduardo Enciina, Baltimore Orioles GM Dan Duquette stated that he’d prefer to pursue an outfielder or a catcher rather than a DH-type player like Carter.
Carter has logged a lot of time in the field, especially considering he spent all of last year in the National League, however he’s more likely best suited as a DH. In the field however, he’s spent time both as a first baseman, and a left fielder, so conceivably, if the Orioles signed him, they could use him there.
There is no doubt about how good of a home run hitter Chris Carter is. He lead the NL in home runs last year with 41, and hit 24, 37, and 29 in the seasons prior. The only problem is, last season he batted .222/.321/.499 with a strikeout rate of 32%, good for second-worst in the league behind only Baltimore’s own Chris Davis.
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While yes, Carter would replace the power the Orioles could lose if they don’t re-sign Mark Trumbo, and yes he’d be cheaper than Trumbo with offense that isn’t really that much worse (the difference between a .220 hitter and a .250 hitter is fairly negligible), the issue is that Carter is someone the Orioles don’t necessarily need.
Carter is essentially Chris Davis but with virtually no potential for a decent average. There’s something to be said for three true outcome hitters, they can have very important roles on a major league team, but you can’t build your whole team around them, and that’s what the Orioles seem to have done.
If the Orioles can get Carter for cheap, than perhaps he might be worth a shot, but personally, I don’t see the logic in this move, especially considering they just claimed outfielder Adam Walker off of waivers. Walker has essentially the exact same skill set as Carter, but he’s four years younger. So why bother signing him and then also sign Carter?
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We’ll see what they do, but I think Carter is better suited for another team. The Orioles have enough power hitters that strike out every third at-bat, I don’t think they need another.