Baltimore Orioles Have Decision to Make on Dariel Alvarez

By Nate Wardle | Dec 29, 2016

Mar 17, 2016; Fort Myers, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles outfielder Dariel Alvarez (12) runs for a triple during the game against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park. The Boston Red Sox won 9-5. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports /

The Baltimore Orioles are in the search for outfielders, yet there is talk of converting one of their AAA outfielders from 2016 into a pitcher.

What should the Baltimore Orioles do with Dariel Alvarez?

Alvarez was signed on July 26, 2013 as an amateur free agent by the Baltimore Orioles. He is not arbitration-eligible until 2020, not a free agent until 2023.

However, Alvarez is also 28 years old, so he is playing with younger competition in the minor leagues.

Alvarez has all of 35 plate appearances in the majors, occurring in 2015 and 2016. In those, he has five hits, two doubles, a home run and an RBI, to go along with eight strikeouts. Obviously, a very small sample size.

In the minor leagues, Cuban leagues, winter and fall ball, Alvarez is a career .291/.332/.434 hitter who will hit for doubles and marginal power. In his six years playing in Cuba, from age 17 to age 22, Alvarez hit .292/.345/.440. As you can see those numbers are very close to career averages, and his minor league numbers of .293/.324/.434 fall into line similarly.

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He also has an outfield assist in that limited time, showcasing the best part of Alvarez’s game, his arm.

Alvarez is known as having one of the best arms in the minor leagues, and maybe the best throughout the Baltimore Orioles’ system, including the major leagues. When he has the chance to show it off, he has rarely disappointed.

That is where the talk of converting him to pitcher begins to make sense.

A look at his Cuban past shows that Alvarez did pitch a little for the Cuban National Series team Ganaderos de Camaguey. He pitched 32.1 innings between 2006, 2007, and 2009 with a 1-4 record, a 3.62 ERA in 22 games. As a reliever, his WHIP was 1.18, and his strikeouts per 9 innings ratio was 5.0. Not terrible numbers, but the quality of opposition is to be questioned.

The Orioles have been successful in converting Mychal Givens to a pitcher, so they could be successful with Alvarez as well.

If the team does not believe that Alvarez is destined for the major leagues this year, he probably never will be. With Joey Rickard, the Rule 5 picks of Aneury Tavarez and Anthony Santander, as well as Adam Jones, Hyun Soo Kim and likely an unknown free agent, the team is looking for someone to fill a hole.

If Alvarez is not thought to be capable of doing it, then see what he can do as a pitcher. He is under team control for several years, so why not work to maximize his value.

With an arm like Alvarez has, it will be fascinating to see what he can do if the Orioles convert him to pitcher.

Next: Five cheap pitchers the Orioles should target

Do you think the Orioles should keep the Cuban outfielder in the outfield, or move him to the mound?

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