Baltimore Orioles Interested in Outfielder Jarrod Dyson
By Ben Palmer
The Baltimore Orioles have reportedly checked in on former Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarrod Dyson, as the team continues to look for an outfielder.
The Baltimore Orioles have reportedly checked in on former Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals outfielder Jarrod Dyson, according to MASN’s Roch Kubatko.
The Baltimore Orioles have been strongly interested in acquiring an outfielder to patrol right field, and especially a left-handed bat to balance out their lineup, as the only lefties currently projected to be in the Opening Day lineup are catcher Chance Sisco and first baseman Chris Davis.
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The Orioles were linked to Dyson last offseason as well, but elected not to sign him, though that could change this year.
Dyson would bring a set of skills to the Baltimore Orioles that the team is in desperate need of. Specifically, speed. Dyson has had at least 25 steals every season since 2012, and has the ability to be a 30 steal guy if given the playing time.
Steals are something the Baltimore Orioles have seriously been lacking the past few seasons. In 2017, the team was last in the major leagues with just 32 stolen bases on the year, and in 2016, they had just 19.
Dyson’s main draw is speed, he’s an otherwise mediocre hitter, slashing .251/.324/.350 last season with five home runs, 56 runs, and 30 RBIs in 111 games.
He is, however, a solid fielder, having logged a defensive rating in the double digits three out of the last five years. He also finished last year with 10 defensive runs saved (DRS) and an ultimate zone rating (UZR) of 5.4.
For reference, the Baltimore Orioles finished the year 23rd in the league in DRS with -15 and 29th in UZR with -21.1.
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Dyson would more than likely be inexpensive and his skill set fits a lot of the needs that the Orioles have. Even if they platoon him with someone else (he hit .271 against righties last year and .145 against lefties), he could still be very useful and would bring something to the Orioles that they seriously need.