This appears to be one of the more compelling weeks of the season for the Orioles.
While the Angels series provided more pop culture level star power, this is the “sexy” series that all of the cool kids are more into. The Reds are hip. Elly De La Cruz is the “it” star of the moment. It’s like when your parents tried to connect with you by asking if you were going to see Taylor Swift’s big tour this summer and you appreciated the effort but informed them you were way more excited about seeing Noah Kahan at Merriweather.
(Does that work? In 2005 it was my friends asking me if I wanted to go see Pearl Jam when all I could think about was seeing The Killers.)
But it’s not just a uniquely exciting series. The arrival of Jordan Westburg is exciting but has implications. The corresponding roster move to send down Joey Ortiz isn’t explosive, but the questions run beyond that. Whose at-bats will Westburg be taking? The assumption is that he is here to play regularly. Is he set to become the primary shortstop with the Orioles moving Jorge Mateo into more of a utility role? Is the answer second base with the same happening to the $8 million man Adam Frazier?
Either seems plausible but for different reasons would be dramatic nonetheless. The Orioles have mostly avoided drama thus far in their turnaround. Trading Trey Mancini away certainly qualified as dramatic last summer. But for the most part nothing else they’ve done post-Chris Davis would be considered as “dramatic.”
Which is a reminder that Westburg’s arrival isn’t the only significant moment on the horizon. Colton Cowser still seems as though he should be on the cusp of the bigs and … well … then there’s the really awkward one.
At some point this week Ryan Mountcastle will (presumably) return to the Orioles. The question is … what will he be when he returns?
This is perhaps the most complicated question of all of the issues the Birds face in the near future. Mountcastle has been a quality, helpful player. He was a heralded draft pick and prospect who has actually panned out. Those are commodities! And he’s a super likable guy. As he got off to a hot start in April, it felt like the city should be embracing his charm and belting out every lyric to “Dear Maria, Count Me In” when he came to the plate.
The purpose of this column is not to denigrate Ryan Mountcastle, a quality baseball player and person. It is to consider how Mountcastle fits within the Orioles’ pursuit of building a World Series winner in the coming years. It is instead to consider whether a player with a career .307 on-base percentage can be a centerpiece player for a championship team.
An easier answer to the Mountcastle question is the immediate one. When he returns, he’ll probably be a platoon bat who starts primarily against lefties (1.017 OPS this season) while Ryan O’Hearn starts against righties (.932 OPS this season). It’s a limited role, which is particularly stunning for a player just two seasons removed from a 33-home-run campaign that made us believe he was on his way to being a long-term middle-of-the-order hitter.
But we know where he is at the moment. His .264 on-base percentage and (checks notes) THIRD percentile chase rate before being sidelined with vertigo are staggering. While these numbers are lower than his career averages, we had hoped to see improvement in these departments this season, not regression.
It’s hard to know how permanent O’Hearn’s success might be. But even if O’Hearn were to revert back to the mean, there are arguments to be made for more at-bats for Ramón Urías. Or Anthony Santander at first base if Cowser arrives (and Aaron Hicks continues to prove worthy of regular opportunities). Mountcastle would need to prove himself worthy of everyday at-bats again with limited opportunity by which to do so. And Heston Kjerstad appears primed to move himself into the conversation by next season.
So…what exactly is Ryan Mountcastle within this mix?
If it feels like this column asks more questions than it answers, you’re damn right. So far we’re at “you should listen to ‘Northern Attitude’ by Noah Kahan if you haven’t before” and not much else. The answer isn’t “try to trade Ryan Mountcastle.” There’s not much value there. You’d basically just be giving up on him and taking whatever you can get.
Which might inevitably be the answer but probably isn’t the answer just yet. Again, we’re not talking about late-career Chris Davis here. But the conversation about his role within all of this has to be had and if he gets regular opportunities again, he’ll need to take advantage of them to assure his part in all of this.
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