Time To End The Craig Gentry Experiment

Let’s say you’re going to make a pizza at home.  You have all the ingredients to make a delicious pie: pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, onions, etc.  And then, for some reason, you have a box of yellow raisins.

This is not a knock against yellow raisins.  They’re all right by themselves; they’re just not a topping you’d probably ever want to see on a pizza.  They don’t complement the other ingredients. 

Craig Gentry is that box of raisins.

The Orioles signed the 33-year-old veteran, hoping he could provide outfield defense and speed on the base-paths.  Gentry has been in the league since 2009, and has posted a positive WAR in every season he has appeared in at least 64 games.  Thus, it seemed a reasonable dice-roll for a club that specializes in such off-season moves.  

The signing threw him into the backseat of the Orioles’ clown car of corner-outfielder/first-basemen/DH-types.  Buck Showalter deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for the way he’s been able to divvy up time between them, while still winning ballgames.  

They toyed with using Gentry as the weak-side of a leadoff platoon with fellow newcomer, Seth Smith.  It’s not a large sample size, but Gentry’s production (.290 OBP when leading off) is hardly anything to write home about.  

He’s seen his playing time shrink, accordingly.  When he does get into games, it’s usually as a pinch-runner or defensive-replacement - supposed areas of strength for the University of Arkansas product.    

That was another factor that led to Baltimore signing him in the first place – many of the Orioles’ outfielders do not share Gentry’s defensive prowess.  Merely from the eye test, we can see he’s faster tracking down balls than some of his lead-footed brethren.  Whatever acumen he provides is not enough, however, to avoid receiving negative fielding marks on sites such as ESPN and Fangraphs.    

Overall, he's posted a -0.2 WAR.  So, if he’s not providing positive value on offense or defense, one might quote John C. McGinley’s character from Office Space: What would you say, you do here?

Teams use phrases like “provides veteran smarts” and “gives professional at-bats” as explanations to justify keeping guys like Gentry around.  But, in an era of bullpen specialization and hyper-utility players, there’s not much room for corner-outfield defensive-specialists who don’t add much at the plate.

Besides, as I mentioned, Baltimore has plenty of options to turn to (Smith, Joey Rickard, Hyun Soo Kim).  Every hapless Gentry at-bat is an opportunity that could have gone to a player on the upswing of his career. 

Gentry is barely receiving playing time.  He's kind of just there, sitting around like a third set of car keys.  The Orioles would be better served using that roster spot to shore up their bullpen, which has been a leaky faucet of late.  With Zach Britton on the DL, it’s an all hands on deck situation.  Whatever form of relief help that exists in the minors may and will be summoned. 

It’s time to trade him in for some anchovies or at least some pineapple.  

Spring Training Roster Battle: Corner Outfielder

After a flurry of moves over the last few days, the Orioles have plenty of options for a handful of roster spots. Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter put a premium on having worthwhile fringe roster choices, and that should yet again be the case this season. The O's seem to value players with minor league options remaining more than most teams, and the Triple-A Norfolk shuttle figures to be in use as much as ever in 2017.

With that in mind, let's look ahead to the possible opening day roster. Not every player the Orioles want to keep has a minor league option left, so they'll have to make some tough decisions in key spots.

Here are the likely locks (with the assumption that Chris Tillman will start the season on the new, 10-day disabled list).

C: Welington Castillo
C: Caleb Joseph
1B: Chris Davis
2B: Jonathan Schoop
SS: J.J. Hardy
3B: Manny Machado
DH/OF/1B: Mark Trumbo
LF: Hyun Soo Kim
CF: Adam Jones
RF/LF: Seth Smith
UTIL: Ryan Flaherty
SP: Kevin Gausman
SP: Ubaldo Jimenez
SP: Dylan Bundy
SP: Wade Miley
RP: Zach Britton
RP: Brad Brach
RP: Mychal Givens
RP: Darren O'Day
RP: Donnie Hart

That's 20 locks. That leaves spots for at least two more outfielders, maybe a corner infielder/bench bat, and two more pitchers. It's worth noting that because of April off-days, the Orioles don't need their fifth starter, Tillman (if healthy), until later in the month.

Let's take a look at the first battleground, corner outfield, while a future post or two will look closer at the reliever and potential infielder battle.

Battle 1: Corner Outfield

Realistic options: Joey Rickard, Aneury Tavarez, Anthony Santander, Michael Bourn, Craig Gentry

Adam Jones asked for more defensive-minded outfield help a few weeks ago, and Duquette recently obliged by signing Craig Gentry and Michael Bourn to minor league deals. Last year, the Orioles broke camp with five outfielders (Rickard, Jones, Trumbo, Kim, and Nolan Reimold). The first four are back, but Reimold is gone. Pedro Alvarez, basically a DH-only player at this point in his career, is also not around. Because of his absence, Trumbo figures to get more work at DH this season.

Throwing a wrench into things are the two Rule 5 picks, Tavarez and Santander. Tavarez, along with Bourn and Gentry, seems to fit what the O's roster lacks: speed and improved corner outfield defense. Gentry is the more well-regarded defender of the group, something which both scouts and the advanced defensive metrics agree on. Bourn is no longer a good option in center field and doesn't have a great arm, but he does still have range suitable enough for the corners. Tavarez seems to fit that mold as well, though he lacks the major league track record of Bourn and Gentry.

At 22, Santander is the youngest of the group, and probably the one with the highest ceiling. John Sickels listed Santander as the No. 5 prospect in the O's system, while MLB Pipeline placed him 15th. Fifth does seem aggressive, but then again, the Orioles' farm system is far from highly rated. It's sad (though amusing) that a Rule 5 pick can immediately be considered a team's top five prospect.

Unlike the other outfield options, Santander is more known for his offensive talents. It's almost impossible to read something about him without a comparison to Victor Martinez. Still, he has a few things working against him sticking with the Orioles: he had offseason shoulder surgery, which he's working his way back from; he's never played above Single-A ball; and he has to stick with the major league club for at least 90 days to stay in the organization. With some disabled list and roster wizardry, it wouldn't be impossible for the Orioles to try and keep Santander around; the shoulder concerns could help in that regard. But that roster spot could also be used to keep around a late-game defensive outfield replacement, which figures to be used often to protect leads with Kim, Smith, and Trumbo on the roster. Maybe it all depends how Santander's shoulder progresses.

Orioles fans are more than familiar by now with Rickard, who they hope transforms into someone like Gentry: a right-handed platoon bat with strong defensive skills. Gentry has a career 97 wRC+ against opposite-handed throwers, while in limited duty last year, Rickard posted a 131 wRC+ against lefties. Rickard isn't that good against southpaws, but it does make you wonder how useful he'd be in that role, especially if his defense improves.

Rickard's defense was talked up a lot last year, but he struggled at times. While he made some flashy plays, he did not always read the ball well off the bat and missed some plays a quality defender would make. Some of that could easily be chalked up to being a rookie. Still, Rickard has minor league options remaining, meaning the O's can give any of the other outfielders a look, if they choose.

There's one more curveball here, and it's that Bourn has an opt-out date of March 25 if he's not on the major league roster. So if the Orioles want to keep him around, he'll need to make the club this spring.

Prediction: I think the Orioles will start the season with Rickard and Bourn on the opening day roster, while placing Santander on the 60-day disabled list. I think they'll send Tavarez back to Boston, and they'll release Gentry (while also trying to keep him in the organization).

Showalter covets the flexibility that Bourn provides, and I think it matters that he joined the team last year and is familiar with what his role will be. Showalter also loves Rickard and took the chance to mention a bunch of times in the second half of last season that they really could have used him (he was out with a thumb injury and didn't play after July 20). There's a case for starting the year with Bourn/Gentry on the roster, optioning Rickard, and giving Gentry a chance, but I would guess that won't happen. And I think the O's will opt to try and keep Santander over Tavarez, though it'll take some slick roster maneuvering throughout the year.

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More from Camden Depot:

- Yesterday, I joined Derek Martin on his Upon Further Review podcast to talk some Orioles baseball. Thanks to Derek for the invitation; it was a fun conversation. Check it out.

- Jon answered some questions for Cards Conclave's "Playing Pepper" series. You can see some of his thoughts on the O's offseason along with some predictions for the upcoming season.