Developing Utility Men

Joe Reisel's Archives

As teams feel more and more obligated to devote more and more roster spots to pitchers, defensive versatility - the ability to play more and more defensive positions - has become more and more important. Major league organizations are aware of this and are at least considering trying prospects at multiple positions to increase their versatility and consequently their values. In 2016, the Orioles tried Christian Walker, who had played exclusively at first base in his minor-league career, in left field; however, that was more of a desperation move because Chris Davis was blocking Walker at first base than a real hope that Walker could learn to play left field.

Walker was not the first player the Orioles tried at an unfamiliar position. It's not unusual for a player to rise through the ranks and get blocked at AAA. Back in 2014, the Tides were playing infielder Steve Lombardozzi in left field and the story was that he was being groomed as a left fielder. In reality, he was probably being groomed as a utility player. I decided to look back at the ten years Norfolk was the Orioles' AAA affiliate to see if the Orioles were emphasizing versatility.

I chose to focus on middle infielders, because it seems that most recently teams have begun to look for middle infielders who could also play third base and the outfield.. However, the nature of AAA baseball makes it hard to determine whether a player is being groomed for multiple positions or whether he's playing multiple positions out of desperation. AAA teams almost always carry twelve pitchers (or more), which leaves teams with at most a four-man bench. And AAA teams are often playing short-handed. When a player is promoted to the major-league team, especially if the promotion is likely to be short, often the AAA roster spot isn't filled. And when a player is demoted from the big-league team, the former big-leaguer has 48 hours to report - and the player being promoted leaves immediately. Finally, if a player on the 40-man roster but not the 25-man active roster is Designated for Assignment, he cannot play for his minor-league team while Designated.. It's not unusual for teams to have ten or eleven position players able to play a given game - and that forces the manager to be creative in filling out his lineup.

At a first cut, I identified all players who played at least ten games at either second base, third base, or shortstop in each season the Norfolk Tides were the Orioles AAA affiliate (2007-2016.) There were a total of 71 player-seasons. Then, I looked for players from that group who had played ten or more games at three of the following four positions - second base, third base, shortstop, and outfield. There were nine seasons that met those criteria:

Cesar Crespo, 2007: Cesar Crespo was a 28-year-old veteran of 132 big-league games who, in the previous two seasons, had played a full season of AAA after signing with a new team as a minor league free agent. Both of those teams had used Crespo as a utility man, and he continued at Norfolk (33 games at second, 21 at short, 39 in the outfield, 7 at third base.) He became a minor-league free agent once again after the season and never played again.

Melvin Dorta, 2009: Melvin Dorta was a 27-year-old who had played 15 games with the 2006 Washington Nationals. Like Crespo, Dorta had had a career as a AAA utility player and continued that trend in 2009 (35 games at second, 33 at third, 10 at short, and 19 in the outfield.) And, like Crespo, Dorta became a minor-league free agent after the season. Unlike Crespo, Dorta played one more year (with the Phillies organization), as a utility man.

Brandon Pinckney, 2009: Brandon Pinckney was another 27-year-old. He spent his career in the Indians organization but was unable to get to AAA; the Indians released him in April 2009. After a brief stint in the Atlantic Association, the Orioles signed him to provide AAA depth and he delivered (10 games at second, 42 at third, 24 in the outfield.) He became a minor-league free agent and spent part of 2010 in the Phillies organization and part in the Athletics' organization. He never played in the major leagues.

Justin Turner, 2009: Justin Turner was a 24-year-old whom the Orioles acquired from the Reds in the Ramon Hernandez trade. And it does look like the Orioles were grooming him as a versatile utility player (80 games at second, 15 at third, 14 at short.) Turner was capable of better things, however; the Mets claimed Turner on waivers in 2010 and he eventually became the Dodgers' regular third baseman.

Blake Davis, 2010: Blake Davis may be the player most obviously developed as a utility player. He started his professional career with the Orioles' organization in 2006, and reached Norfolk in 2009. He was purely a shortstop; but he didn't hit much and the Orioles didn't think he'd be a full-time shortstop. In 2010, he played 18 games at second, 22 at third, 22 at short, and 11 in the outfield.) In 2011, he became more of a full-time outfielder at Norfolk; but then he moved back and played 98 games at shortstop in 2012. He spent the 2013 season in the Brewers organization and the 2014 season in the Pirates organization before going unsigned.

Nick Green, 2011: Nick Green was a 32-year-old veteran of 392 major-league games, mainly at second and short. But by 2010 he had begun playing all around the infield; and after signing as a minor-league free agent he played as a utility player at Norfolk (20 games at second, 3 at third, 36 at short, 22 in the outfield.) Green was traded to the Rangers in July 2011 (for Zach Phillips) and eventually got back to the majors for 25 games with the Marlins in 2012-2013.

Brendan Harris, 2011: Brendan Harris was a 30-year-old veteran of 485 major-league games, about half at shortstop, a quarter at second base, and a quarter at third base. He already had a reputation for versatility when the Orioles got him from the Twins in the J.J. Hardy trade. Harris lived up to his reputation as a versatile infielder with Norfolk in 2011 (45 games at second, 36 at third, 51 at shortstop, 2 in the outfield.) Harris wasn't happy with the Orioles and they willingly let him leave as a minor-league free agent; he played 44 games with the Angels in 2013 and his career ended in June 2015.

Cord Phelps, 2014: Cord Phelps was a 27-year-old infielder whom the Orioles claimed on waivers from the Indians in November 2013. Phelps had a reputation as a good-hit, no-field second baseman, and it was clearly the Orioles hope that he could develop into a switch-hitting bat who could play multiple positions. With Norfolk, he played 31 games at second, 28 at third, 6 at shortstop, and 31 in the outfield. Despite a memorable 7-game stretch in which he had three walk-off hits, Phelps didn't hit as well as hoped and left the organization as a minor-league free agent. He spent 2015 in the Phillies' organization and did not play in 2016.

Steve Lombardozzi, 2014: Steve Lombardozzi had been a utility infielder for the Nationals before they traded him to the Tigers in the Doug Fister trade; the Tigers sent him to the Orioles for Alex Gonzalez just before the season. Lombardozzi was sent to Norfolk in May, and the Orioles did seem to be trying to increase his versatility (38 games at second; 16 at third, 5 at short, 22 in the outfield.) Lombardozzi was sold to the White Sox in the following off-season, and ended up in the Pirates organization for 2015 and the Nationals in 2016.

There seem to be four cases (Turner, Davis, Phelps, and Lombardozzi) in which the Orioles were actively trying to develop players to play multiple positions. It didn't work; the Orioles got nothing out of these players. It may have worked for Justin Turner himself; it's possible that his versatility got him a shot at a major-league career which he has turned into a 64-million-dollar contract. It's also true that none of those players projected to be stars and trying them at other positions may have been the only way to get value. Either way, we should be skeptical when the Orioles emphasize making a player more versatile. They haven't gotten much out of it.

Remembering the Steve Lombardozzi Era

When the Orioles traded for Steve Lombardozzi last March, it made sense. After all, the Orioles shipped Alex Gonzalez to the Tigers for Lombardozzi, so it was far from a high-profile trade. But a long-term fit did not work out. Lombardozzi only appeared in 20 games, and none after May 24. Joe took a stab at figuring out the Lombardozzi puzzle last month.

On Tuesday, Lombardozzi was traded to the Pirates for cash considerations. So let's look back fondly at most of Lombardozzi's finest moments as a brief member of the Orioles.

Here's Lombardozzi's first hit as an Oriole:



You'll note that it's a single. Of course it was a single.

In Lombardozzi's next game, he collected two hits (singles) and made this fine defensive effort:



The video title notes that it's a "nice play." Hard to disagree.

Also note that that play came against the Tigers -- don't anger Steve Lombardozzi, Detroit. It's also amusing that the Tigers thought Alex Gonzalez would be an upgrade at shortstop over anyone despite his not being able to play shortstop anymore. The Tigers eventually released Gonzalez, their opening day shortstop, on April 20.

Later in the series, Lombardozzi again flashed the leather:



After Lombardozzi was done tormenting the Tigers (the Orioles lost the series 2-1), he turned his attention to the Yankees. He collected three hits in a 14-5 win on April 8 (all singles), and he added another single in another win the next day.

In an extra-inning, 2-1 win over the Blue Jays on April 12, Lombardozzi did this with one out in the 12th:



That's right, a triple! It was one of two extra-base hits in his brief Orioles tenure. He then scored one the next play (a David Lough game-winning single). It didn't bring as much excitement as Delmon Young's bases-clearing double in the American League Division Series, but it'll do.

Lombardozzi had an RBI single in a win over the Rays on April 14, and he also helped turn a boring, game-ending double play. Later in the month, he robbed Jose Reyes of a hit:



... and doubled in the same game. Here's proof:



That absolutely should not have been a double, let alone a hit. So let's all laugh at Melky Cabrera for a moment. Lombardozzi had three hits that game, but he appeared in just three more games for the O's and was banished to Norfolk for good.

Overall, Lombardozzi wasn't very good with the Orioles. He had an fWAR of -0.3 and a bWAR of -0.5. He had a wRC+ of 73. So it's not surprising, even with their own struggles offensively at second base last season, that the O's didn't consider Lombardozzi as an option for more playing time later in the season. But he does possess the ability to play multiple positions adequately enough, so maybe he'll be able to latch on to a role with the Pirates in the National League.

The Puzzle of Steve Lombardozzi

At least to many casual fans, the 2014 Orioles' handling of infielder Steve Lombardozzi was inexplicable. The Orioles acquired Lombardozzi near the end of spring training from the Tigers, who had themselves acquired him from Washington in the Doug Fister trade. Lombardozzi had been a useful utility infielder for the Nationals in 2012 and 2013, with over 300 plate appearances in each season, and the Orioles acquired him as another insurance policy in case Jonathan Schoop struggled. Lombardozzi made the Orioles' opening-day roster and spent the first month of the season with them, batting .288. Nevertheless, Lombardozzi was optioned to Norfolk when Manny Machado came off the disabled list. He was recalled on May 24 and optioned back the very next day, not to be recalled again, even though Schoop did struggle and Manny Machado's suffered another season-ending injury. He wasn't promoted even after September 1, when the active rosters expanded. Then, this off-season Lombardozzi was removed from the 40-man roster.

That does look strange - you have an infielder with some significant major-league experience who had been playing well; you have problems with your infield even though the team is playing well; later, one of your infielders goes down with a season-ending injury, yet you don't call up that first infielder. Instead, you promote another infielder with a .159 career major-league batting average and then acquire another infielder with a .233 career batting average. Finally, on the last weekend of the season you promote a third other infielder. Clearly, the Orioles didn't believe in Steve Lombardozzi - confirmed in December when they outrighted him to Norfolk to make room for a pair of Rule 5 draft selections.

Many fans were puzzled when Lombardozzi was sent down, and many remained puzzled when he was kept at Norfolk for the rest of the season. One part of the answer to the puzzle is that Lombardozzi, despite decent batting averages, isn't much of an offensive player. In 829 major-league plate appearances, he has a .266 batting average - but with only 28 career walks, his on-base percentage is just .297, and with only 43 extra-base hits, his slugging percentage is just .341, leaving him with a career OPS+ of 74. And while his minor-league batting record is better, he still didn't draw walks (200 walks in nearly 2300 plate appearances.) But while that may explain why Lombardozzi didn't supplant Jonathan Schoop as the regular second baseman (although his career OPS+ is better than Schoop's 2014 OPS+) or even Ryan Flaherty as the primary backup infielder (Flaherty is a better hitter than Lombardozzi, although not by much), it doesn't really explain why Lombardozzi wasn't recalled when Manny Machado was injured. Especially if he was a good defensive player.

There's an assumption that if a player, especially an infielder, can stay in the major leagues for two seasons despite being a below-average hitter, he must be an outstanding defensive player. Steve Lombardozzi has been primarily a second baseman, although after being sent to Norfolk he played some at shortstop, third base, and the outfield, most likely to make him a better bench player. But the Orioles biggest need was at second base, and Lombardozzi would have been most useful at second base, so I thought I'd look at his defensive performance at Norfolk to see if he was actually an outstanding defensive second baseman. If he wasn't, then that might explain why the Orioles didn't promote him.

I have gathered the scoresheets for 56 2014 Norfolk Tides games, a total of 493 innings. That works out to roughly 39% of the Tides' defensive innings. In those games, six players played second base - alphabetically, Alexi Casilla, Ivan DeJesus, Lombardozzi, Johnny Paredes, Cord Phelps, and Jemile Weeks. I will be comparing Lombardozzi's defensive performance - the manner of which will be described below - to the others. The data is not complete and the conclusions drawn are not going to be 100% reliable. The data may also be biased if certain players played more often behind certain pitchers or against certain teams. But it's safe to say that if Lombardozzi is not better than the average Tides second baseman even in this number of games, it's unlikely that studying more games would show him to be an outstanding defensive second baseman. Or, at least, if I claimed that Lombardozzi was an outstanding second baseman and these 56 games didn't show that, I'd better be prepared to explain why the selected games don't reflect Lombardozzi's skill.

This analysis focuses on the plays that in my opinion reflect a second baseman's defensive skill while ignoring those which do not. The plays which reflect a second baseman's skill are ground balls fielded, pop flies and line drives caught, double-play pivots, and errors. I'm not looking at putouts registered as the result of force plays or tag plays because I don't think they indicate a skill. While it's possible that there's a skill in snagging a poor throw while keeping a foot on the base, the number of such plays is insignificant compared to the number of routine force plays. And while there is unquestionably a skill involved in applying a tag, it's doubtful that that skill affects would-be tag plays as much as the location of the throw or the runner's ability to avoid the tag.

The table below reflects the results of each of the second basemen listed above. The data includes the total number of defensive innings and the number of each type of play per nine innings. Steve Lombardozzi played 126 defensive innings at second base, successfully fielded 2.286 ground balls per nine innings, caught 0.857 pop flies per nine innings, etc.

Player	Innings	Grounders	Pop Flies	Line Drives	Double Plays	Errors
Lombardozzi	126	2.286	0.857	0.143	0.357	0.143
Non-Lomb	367	2.256	0.540	0.123	0.319	0.049
Phelps	123	2.415	0.512	0.146	0.293	0.000
Weeks	115	2.426	0.783	0.157	0.235	0.157
Casilla	81	2.111	0.333	0.000	0.333	0.000
DeJesus	39	1.385	0.462	0.231	0.462	0.000
Paredes	9	3.000	0.000	0.000	1.000	0.000
TOTALS	493	2.264	0.621	0.128	0.329	0.073

Lombardozzi was better than the other Tides second basemen in all categories except errors. However, he wasn't much better than the other Tides second basemen, except in catching pop flies. I don't see any evidence that Lombardozzi was an outstanding defensive second baseman, and consequently it's hard to argue that the Orioles blundered in not recalling Lombardozzi or that they did him an injustice. From this information, he seems to be a no-hit, adequate-field utility infielder.

Lombardozzi in Left?

Steve Lombardozzi where he belongs, at second base. Photo courtesy of Les Treagus / Norfolk Tides.

In a recent Baltimore Orioles Inbox on the Orioles mlb.com web page, the Orioles mlb.com beat reporter Brittany Ghiroli was asked and answered the following question:
Should anything be read into the fact that Steve Lombardozzi has been playing some left field at Triple-A Norfolk?
-- Dan R., Baltimore

I think so. It's no secret that Lombardozzi has been swinging a hot bat since being optioned to Norfolk, batting .304 through 14 games, with a pair of doubles and five RBIs, and left fielder David Lough has gotten off to a rough start with Baltimore. Acquired in an offseason trade with the Royals, Lough hasn't looked quite right at the plate and is hitting .177 in 31 games. A roster move is certainly a possibility, especially given that Lombardozzi was only optioned because of a roster crunch.

While I am further away from the Orioles major-league situation than Ms. Ghiroli, and I don't have any firsthand insight into the thinking of Orioles management, I've closely followed the Norfolk Tides for nine seasons (and followed them, albeit less closely, since I moved here in 1993.) And there are two things I've observed over these years - first, AAA rosters are unstable and consequently players often play out of their comfort zones; and, second, that many players on AAA rosters are taught to play unfamiliar positions because they are being groomed as utility players. In my opinion, there's no reason to believe that Lombardozzi is being groomed to take over as the Orioles' left fielder; it's much more likely that his recent outfield play is at best an attempt to make him a more valuable bench player.

Lombardozzi has started five games in left field. The list below shows every Tide who has started a game in left field, with the number of games started in left field. The data in this article has been supplied by the Norfolk Tides:

Quintin Berry	15
Cord Phelps	10
Steve Lombardozzi	5
Jemile Weeks	5
Henry Urrutia	4
Francisco Peguero	3
Xavier Paul	2
Julio Borbon	1
Buck Britton	1
Chris Marrero	1

Only three players have started as many or more games in left field as Lombardozzi - but two of those are also primarily infielders, Cord Phelps and Jemile Weeks. It is true that Lombardozzi started three consecutive games in left field, May 8-10. But he returned to the infield thereafter; his other two starts in left field were May 15 and 17 but was back at second base May 18. This pattern is inconsistent with the idea that Lombardozzi is being groomed as a left fielder but consistent with the idea that he is being groomed as a multi-position utility player. As the following table, showing all the positions at which the left fielders have started games this season:

	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF	DH
Berry					15	12	2
Phelps	1	4	13		10		9
Lombardozzi		10	2		5
Weeks		17		1	5
Urrutia					4		16
Peguero					3	3	5	2
Paul					2		13	11
Borbon					1	31	2
Britton	1		13		1
Marrero	9				1			14

Cord Phelps out of position - maybe - in the outfield. Photo courtesy of Les Treagus / Norfolk Tides.

Lombardozzi has played twice as many games at second base as he has in left field. If the Orioles are thinking of converting an infielder to the outfield, it looks more like it would be Cord Phelps, who has played eighteen games in the outfield, the same number as he has in the infield. And, it could be argued that Phelps would be a better outfield option than Lombardozzi. Phelps' infield defense is generally considered to be not as good as Lombardozzi's; he has had a better minor-league track record on offense; and indeed he's outhitting Lombardozzi this season .772 OPS to .682.

However, it's equally likely that Tides manager Ron Johnson is scrambling as best he can to field a team in every game. The Tides began the season with only four outfielders on the roster - Berry, Borbon, Paul, and Urrutia. Urrutia is now on the disabled list with a sports hernia. The Tides also had two first baseman / designated hitter types on the roster in Brett Wallace and Chris Marrero; Marrero is now on the disabled list. Until Francisco Peguero arrived on his minor-league rehab assignment, the Tides had only Berry, Borbon, Paul, and Wallace to cover the five spots of three outfield positions, first base, and designated hitter. And if one of those players was unavailable due to a minor injury, the Tides would be short yet another player. The Tides were almost forced to play infielders in the outfield.

So, unlike Brittany Ghiroli, I wouldn't read too much into the Tides giving Steve Lombardozzi a few starts in left field. Most likely, it's simply an attempt to increase his value on the Orioles bench by giving him some experience in the outfield. I see no reason to think that he's being considered as a replacement for the ineffective David Lough.