Hardy's batting line of .219/.253/.311 was among the worst shortstop seasons in the Expansion Era. And here's how Hardy's on-base percentage in particular ranked among players who played at least 75 percent of their games at shortstop and received at least 400 plate appearances since 1990:
| Rk | Player | PA | Year | Age | Tm | G | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Gonzalez | .229 | 407 | 2000 | 23 | FLA | 109 | .200 | .319 | .548 |
| 2 | J.J. Hardy | .253 | 437 | 2015 | 32 | BAL | 114 | .219 | .311 | .564 |
| 3 | Cesar Izturis | .253 | 468 | 2002 | 22 | LAD | 135 | .232 | .303 | .556 |
| 4 | Jack Wilson | .255 | 425 | 2001 | 23 | PIT | 108 | .223 | .295 | .550 |
| 5 | Juan Uribe | .257 | 495 | 2006 | 27 | CHW | 132 | .235 | .441 | .698 |
| 6 | Alvaro Espinoza | .258 | 472 | 1990 | 28 | NYY | 150 | .224 | .274 | .532 |
| 7 | Alfredo Griffin | .258 | 502 | 1990 | 32 | LAD | 141 | .210 | .254 | .512 |
| 8 | Alcides Escobar | .259 | 642 | 2013 | 26 | KCR | 158 | .234 | .300 | .559 |
| 9 | Angel Berroa | .259 | 503 | 2006 | 28 | KCR | 132 | .234 | .333 | .592 |
| 10 | Khalil Greene | .260 | 423 | 2008 | 28 | SDP | 105 | .213 | .339 | .599 |
| 11 | Cristian Guzman | .260 | 492 | 2005 | 27 | WSN | 142 | .219 | .314 | .574 |
| 12 | Neifi Perez | .260 | 585 | 2002 | 29 | KCR | 145 | .236 | .303 | .564 |
You had to figure Cesar Izturis's name would show up. And it's moderately surprising that Deivi Cruz's didn't.
Although many impact free agents remain on the open market, the Orioles still have several holes on their projected 25-man roster. They clearly have some question marks, and unfortunately Hardy has to be considered one of them.
Barring any kind of setback with his shoulder, which is something that can't be ruled out anymore, he'll be the shortstop on opening day and for much of the year. But any kind of offensive contribution may end up being a bonus. And even though the Orioles don't seem to have much interest in trying to trade Hardy, he obviously wouldn't be easy to move anyway. He'll make $12.5 million in 2016 and $14 million in 2017, and his $14 million club option in 2018 ($2 million buyout) is fully guaranteed if he's traded (per Cot's). Good luck getting another team to pick up that tab.
The Orioles have some positions to upgrade, so they don't really have the luxury of worrying about Hardy. But fans do. A bounce-back of sorts almost has to be coming, but it might not be as big as fans anticipate.
9 comments:
So why did they dump Janish? Quality defensive SS are not hard to find, but Janish was proven, played extremely good defense, and hit quite well. No reason to release him when the team has to go get another one.
You said it yourself: Players like Janish are not particularly difficult to find. He's also still a free agent, so the O's could still bring him back if they wanted.
Janish also had a wRC+ of 69 in limited duty last season, so I don't think it's fair to say he "hit quite well."
Maybe Hardy will bounce back like Uribe has over the past several seasons. His injury last year seems to have made us all more pessimistic than we should be.
Alex Gonzalez may be a good hopeful comparison too. At 33, he hit 23HR and 15HR at 34. I'd be happy with that from JJ.
Seems like the Orioles are indeed bringing Janish back: https://twitter.com/masnRoch/status/681879853528920064
The kind of injury he suffered certainly stacks the deck against him as we have shown with published scientific literature. Hope he is part of the lucky minority who come back to form.
I read that about 20 minutes after I posted my comment. Made me chuckle.
I guess he doesn't hit that well after all, but I saw him play several games with the big team last season and he seemed to get on base at a reasonable pace. Guess I was mistaken, but I'm glad he's back.
You were fooled by Janish's decent .286 batting average and his ability to give intelligent at- bats in clutch situations, such as sculpting a timely sac fly. The fact that Janish made such a good overall impression last year while playing only 14 games says a lot.
Jack Voight! Jeff Manto!
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