Pedro Alvarez is Living My Dream

Joe Reisel's Archives

One of the biggest surprises of the Norfolk Tides 2017 season – last season – was that Pedro Alvarez didn't exercise his contractual opt-out to become a free agent. Alvarez is a power hitter, whose best position was designated hitter, in a system loaded with defensively-limited power hitters. It seemed obvious to us in Norfolk that Baltimore may have been his worst opportunity for major-league time, so why not try to move elsewhere? But he chose to stay in Noforlk

Flash-forward to 2018. Pedro Alvarez re-signed with the Orioles, and made the opening-day roster. He played in 45 games. At that point, the Orioles realized that he wasn't helping the team win now and, at age 31, wasn't likely to help the team win in the future. So, on June 19, the Orioles designated him for assignment and the following day outrighted him to Norfolk.

We would like to think that every team has nothing but major-league prospects at every level of its farm system. But in reality that's the exception. Almost every AAA team has a player like Pedro Alvarez – well, not all that much like Pedro Alvarez, a one-time all-star and #2 overall draft pick – but a 30+ year old with no real chance to play in the major leages (again). Gwinnett (Braves) has Sean Kazmar; Charlotte (White Sox) Jake Elmore; Durham (Rays) Brandon Snyder; Louisville (Reds) Hernan Irribarren, So while we in Norfolk are disappointed that Pedro Alvarez may be taking a Norfolk roster spot from a promising player, his presence with the Tides has virtually no effect on the Orioles' future.

The more surprising thing is that Alvarez accepted his minor-league assignment. At least last season the Orioles were a pretender; there was a chance that they would need his power in the chase for a wild-card berth. But this year, the Orioles are a non-contender; they're unlikely to (be able to) trade a veteran whose spot Alvarez could fill. Again he could have become a free agent with the chance of finding a better organizational fit. He didn't do it and again, it made no sense.

Until I learned a few things about Pedro Alvarez, the specifics of which I am choosing not to share to respect his privacy (other than to say that none of these things are negative.) I can state some generalities. According to baseball-reference.com, Alvarez has made over $21 million in his baseball career. I do not know if he has squandered his money, but I have reason to believe that he has not; if he has been even moderately prudent with his earnings he should have enough to live on for the rest of his life. The Norfolk – Williamsburg – Virginia Beach area is a nice place to retire to – reasonably nice weather, a fairly low cost of living. I don't know Alvarez' interests, but there's the Virginia Beach waterfront, a thriving local music scene, lots of golf courses nearby.

So now I see Pedro Alvarez as someone who might be truly living the dream. Ideally, he's got no money worries. He's living in a congenial environment. He gets to do what he wants – play baseball – and gets to hang out with friends. He even gets paid for his hobby! He's performed at the highest level of his profession. He's almost living my dream, anyway – although instead of playing baseball almost every day I'd settle for datacasting baseball.

Pedro Alvarez, I'm rooting for you. Enjoy.

Mike Yastrzemski and the Orioles' Future

Joe Reisel's Archives

Mike Yastrzemski doing what he does best. Photo courtesy of Elaina Ellis / Norfolk Tides

So, Yastrzemski. Is this as good as it gets for him?

After I have finished datacasting a Tides game, I usually walk to the parking lot with Mike, the official scorer, and Paul, the gentleman who runs the pitch timing clock. Mike and Paul are former sportswriters, but they've nevertheless accepted me (I do not claim that my contributions to Camden Depot make me a "sportswriter") and we often talk about the game we've just seen, the Tides, or baseball in general as we make our way to our cars - and, occasionally, as we loiter in the parking lot.

Paul is a long-time Red Sox fan, with fond memories of Carl Yastrzemski. He's also interested in the career of Mike Yastrzemski - Carl's grandson - who has spent much of 2016 and 2017 with the Tides. Mike Yaz started 2018 at AA Bowie, but was eventually promoted to Norfolk when Alex Presley and Michael Saunders opted out of their Orioles contracts. He's made several spectacular defensive plays and is now second in the International League in triples, despite having played only 19 AAA games.

Twenty years ago, when teams carried one or two fewer pitchers, there would definitely be a major-league role, at least for a few years, for a Mike Yastrzemski. In those days, most teams kept a fifth outfielder-type player, a player who may not have been a good batter but was a good defensive player and baserunner. That's Mike Yastrzemski

Of course, that argument doesn't really apply to the 2018 Orioles, who are carrying Craig Gentry, who has the same basic skills as Yastrzemski but (1) hits right-handed, (2) is older, and (3) a few years ago had a couple of years in which he hit fairly well as a part-time player. I'm sure people would disagree, but I don't see any reason to think that Yastrzemski wouldn't outperform Gentry in 2018. That assumes that neither Yastrzemski nor Gentry would be anything more than a backup outfielder.

I replied to Paul that Yastrzemski is not likely to make the Orioles based on his own performance. Of course, he could always be promoted as an injury replacement if an outfielder went down. Or - and this is where things get controversial - if the Orioles do trade away outfielders, I think Yastzemski might get called up to help the Orioles get through the season.

I'm sure that if the Orioles do trade away many of their major-league players, fans want them to promote the future - outfielders like Austin Hays and Cedric Mullins. But, in my opinion, they'd be better off keeping Mullins, Hays, and even DJ Stewart in the minor leagues while playing out the major-league season with fringe minor-league veterans like Mike Yastrzemski. This isn't a wholly-cynical "let's win as few games as we can so we can get a better draft pick" play, although it certainly is relevant. But there's also a very real risk of negatively impacting a player's future career if he's promoted and playing in the major leagues before he's fully developed and ready.

This may be frustrating to Orioles fans, who naturally want the down time to be as short and as painless as possible. And it will no doubt be non-entertaining to watch the Orioles lose games playing the likes of Mike Yastrzemski, Drew Dosch, and Yefry Ramirez instead of players with exciting upside like Austin Hays, Ryan Mountcastle, and Keegan Akin. But the minor-league system exists so that players will be fully developed and ready. There's no point in promoting players to play on a bad team before they are ready. And there's a good reason not to promote them - they may feel pressure to be the "future of the franchise" and fail to perform as well as they should. It could be argued that Jake Arrieta, Brian Matusz, Zach Britton, and even Chris Tillman were promoted to the major-league team before they were fully developed; when they ran into problems, they weren't able to handle it until they had failed three times, found another role, or were traded away. If at all.

So, Mike Yastrzemski may indeed get a career in the major leagues. Even if he doesn't, he's about at the point where, if he wants to, he can make a little money as a minor-league free agent or in a foreign league. With his name, of course, he could probably have a job for life as a coach in the Red Sox' system. I have no idea what he wants to do with the rest of his life; but he can have a satisfying - if not set-for-life lucrative - career in professional baseball.

Pre-Opening Day Norfolk Tides Thoughts

Joe Reisel's Archives

The Norfolk Tides, the AAA affiliate of the Orioles, open their season Friday night at home against the Gwinnett Stripers. The Orioles' minor-league spring training camp broke up earlier this week, and consequently a preliminary opening-day roster has been named for the Tides (and the other Orioles full-season affiliates.) Of course, it's a preliminary roster because transactions can still be made even up to the day of the first game. It's possible the Orioles will sign another low-level free agent, like Michael Saunders, and assign him to Norfolk.

Nevertheless, there are a few features of the preliminary roster that intrigue me (as someone who sees the Tides a lot) and may be of interest to you. In no particular order:

• Only six of the Tides pitchers are on the 40-man roster. In the past few years, the Orioles have used the Tides staff as a source of additional arms when the parent team had a need. Of these six, Chris Lee is currently on the DL; David Hess, Yefry Ramirez, and Tanner Scott are making their AAA debuts and are not likely to be early call-ups. Only Donnie Hart and Jimmy Yacabonis fit the stereotype of the recent Tides pitcher who can readily ride the Baltimore - Norfolk shuttle.
• In a recent tweet, the Tides announced that Jimmy Yacabonis will be the third man in their starting rotation, following Yefry Ramirez and David Hess and preceding Jayson Aquino and Tim Melville. It seems strange that Yacabonis, who has never started a professional game, would be converted to a starter at the AAA level. It's more likely that Yacabonis is being stretched out for future use as a multi-inning relief option. As mentioned above, Yacabonis is already on the 40-man roster, and he would be more valuable if he could pitch multiple innings if he's promoted to the O's. 
• Both Tides catchers - Andrew Susac and Austin Wynns - are on the forty-man roster, and neither is particularly young. If Chance Sisco proves himself major-league ready, and the Tides need a 40-man roster spot, either Susac or Wynns would be a possible candidate to be removed. As could Chris Lee or, I suppose, Yefry Ramirez.
• The player I'm most looking forward to seeing is DJ Stewart. I didn't realize just how good his 2017 year at Bowie was. Granted that Bowie is a good hitters park and Norfolk isn't, there's still a chance he'll be a productive hitter. It might be fun to have him be the leadoff hitter; it would definitely be fun to see a 6'0:, 230-lb player who has stolen 46 bases in two seasons.
• In Joely Rodriguez, Garabez Rosa, Engelb Vielma, and Jaycob Brugman, the Tides have four players who are the only players in professional baseball history - at least as far as I have been able to find out - to have their respective first names.