Pedro Alvarez turns O’s into your local beer-league softball team

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) In recent seasons, baseball teams have engineered huge turnaround by focusing on team defense. The Kansas City Royals rode a strong defensive club all the way to a World Series title in 2015, while the Tampa Bay Rays were better than expected and the Cleveland Indians made a run in the second half mainly due to defensive improvements.

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The 2016 Baltimore Orioles may have seen those developments, but they don’t seem to care. By signing Pedro Alvarez, Baltimore has turned into your local beer-league softball team.

The Alvarez signing isn’t a bad move on it’s own. Spending $5.75 million on a player with his pop is hardly anything in today’s game. It’s Alvarez’s impact on the other players on the roster that makes this a questionable add. The Orioles acquired super-slugger Mark Trumbo earlier in the offseason, and then proceeded to spend $161 million to bring back Chris Davis.

Alvarez is, in some ways, a similar player. It’s actually somewhat of an insult to compare Alvarez and Trumbo to Davis, as he’s superior in a number of ways, but take a look at how the trio performed last season.

Player	PA	HR	BB%	K%	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	wRC+	Def	WAR
Chris Davis	670	47	12.50%	31.00%	0.262	0.361	0.562	0.390	147	-5.5	5.6
Mark Trumbo	545	22	6.60%	24.20%	0.262	0.310	0.449	0.327	108	-9.7	1.1
Pedro Alvarez	491	27	9.80%	26.70%	0.243	0.318	0.469	0.333	114	-22.6	0.2

Again, Davis is far and away the best player above. His ability to walk at such a high rate, combined with his insane power numbers makes him far better than either Trumbo or Alvarez.

With that said, it’s easy to see that all three of these guys have similar strengths and approaches. All three will strike out a ton, but they provide exceptional pop.

While that seems like a fun, and maybe even a smart, way to build a lineup, there’s a glaring issue here. At least two of these players will be used defensively.

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) That’s where this whole thing falls apart, and where the Orioles start to look like that local softball team. Sure, they’ll hit a ton of dingers, but they’ll also feature huge dudes with no range running around trying to make plays on defense.

Alvarez should never come close to taking the field. The former third baseman shifted over to first base over the past few seasons, but that didn’t take. He was just as awful at first, causing the Pittsburgh Pirates to constantly sub him out late in games last season for a defensive replacement. Alvarez will likely be the team’s DH, so this isn’t a huge issue. On days where Davis or Trumbo needs a fill that spot, Alvarez will either hurt the team defensively, or will have to be out of the lineup.

The real issue is that the signing moves Trumbo to the outfield. Over his career, Trumbo has compiled a -13.4 UZR as an outfielder. His defense has been much better at first, but that’s not really an option with Davis seeing the majority of time there.

Of course, the team could get creative and use Davis as a hybrid first baseman/outfielder. The metrics seem to think he’s slightly above-average defensively at both spots. The problem there is that Davis’ 2.6 UZR in the outfield last season is based on a small sample, and that playing the outfield opens him up to more injuries. Having your $161 million man turn an ankle running down a ball, or injuring himself diving to make a catch would be a tough pill to swallow.

That means Trumbo will likely be a full-time outfielder heading into the season. Based on his past experiences at the position, that should make for a wild ride.

[Elsewhere: The Yankees were visited by a special guest Monday]

Sure, the Orioles may slug the ball better the anyone else in 2016, but defense will be optional. It will make them as endearing as your local beer-league softball team, but that’s not really a play style a major-league team should emulate in today’s game.

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