History will show that this White Sox team that just left Camden Yards is worse than even the most pitiful club the Orioles fielded during their rebuild, when they collapsed in 2018 and then spent the next three seasons fulfilling their obligation of existing as a Major League Baseball team with a group of cast-offs and young players as the organization laid the foundation for this current competitive run.
Before they left with a win Wednesday, the White Sox’s visit to Baltimore was in many ways a reminder of the bad old days: the errors, the endless walks and the feeling there’s little that’s going to change the outcome of that night’s game.
No amount of winning — which the Orioles entered Wednesday’s game doing at a .571 clip in the last three seasons — is going to erase the memories of those years, nor the lessons we learned about how Mike Elias and his front office were going to run the team.
What feels notable as the Orioles have taken a pair of series wins from Rockies and White Sox teams that are trying to dig out of that hole the same way the Orioles did is a particular aspect of those early days that feels like it’s taken on an added importance over the last month or so: the way they’ve found contributors from unlikely places.
No one blamed their pro scouting department during those lean years for bringing in players who weren’t up to the standard. The Orioles just needed bodies, on the mound and on the infield, and for every one who stuck around (Ramón Urías, Jorge Mateo, Cionel Pérez, to name a few), there are five whom I quite literally forgot, as a recent poor attempt at remembering all the 2021 Orioles demonstrated.
Now, though, the department under senior director of pro scouting Mike Snyder has helped identify players that at a minimum are helping the Orioles stay afloat in the division race as they’re missing regular contributors on the infield and on the mound — and a handful that feel like they could be useful come October.
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Without them, this season might look a lot different.
We already know about Albert Suárez, whose wonderful backstory is one of the best in baseball and puts him in the mix for comeback player of the year. He’s come back to the majors to pitch over 100 quality innings for one of the game’s top teams after spending years pitching overseas.
The trade deadline yielded meaningful help on the mound beyond that in Zach Eflin, Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto, but there were also additions at the margins that have helped ease the burden on the rest of the staff. Burch Smith was signed to a minor league deal in late June and was added to the roster a few weeks later; he allowed four home runs in a span of four outings in August but has allowed five earned runs in 18 outings otherwise, with a 0.96 WHIP and better expected numbers.
There was a good cameo out of the bullpen from cash acquisition Colin Selby and, more recently, Matt Bowman, another minor league free agent, has allowed one earned run in 7 1/3 innings with a 1.09 WHIP.
It’s felt more valuable, however, to have the contributions from recent additions in the lineup, where trades and injuries have left the Orioles thin on the depth front otherwise. Austin Slater, a cash acquisition at the deadline from the Cincinnati Reds, has seamlessly filled the team’s right-handed-hitting outfield role after Austin Hays was traded, with an .836 OPS in 20 games and an ability to grind out at-bats that the team has lacked at times.
Eloy Jiménez falls in a gray area between a scrap-heap pickup and a real acquisition, given the Orioles traded a decent pitcher for him in Trey McGough, but having him as a right-handed bench bat has been particularly helpful as the club has tried to give Adley Rutschman days off and is now dealing with Ryan Mountcastle’s injured list stint.
Connor Norby probably would have had a place on this team had he not been dealt for Trevor Rogers, who to this point hasn’t panned out. But instead, when he was added to the Marlins roster, they designated Emmanuel Rivera for assignment — and he’s helped fill a need for the Orioles without Urías. Rivera has played good defense at third base while providing an .833 OPS in nine games.
None of this is any substitute for the star power this team boasted early in the season and, in some instances, hopes to get back before the postseason. There might be one who has a meaningful moment to help decide the AL East or swing a playoff game for the Orioles, though it’s just as likely they’ll be lost to history. Worse yet, they could turn out to be symbols of just how battered this team ended up that they have roles in September for a team that has championship aspirations.
They’re doing a job, though, because they’re part of a good team and aren’t being overexposed. It’s hard to find such players midseason who can help, and if they were on a bad team, they’d likely play regularly for long enough to see their results crater. The Orioles have identified them well, are using them well — and will probably be as happy as anyone to have the regulars they’re covering for back in the mix.
