Can Stewart solidify his spot on 40-man roster?

Earlier this week, I wrote about outfielder Yusniel Diaz and the importance of staying healthy in 2022 and putting up the kind of numbers that finally get him to the majors - and at least keep him on the 40-man roster.

Then there's DJ Stewart, also an outfielder who brought big-time expectations into the organization. Diaz after being the central figure in the Manny Machado trade with the Dodgers. Stewart after being the 25th overall selection in the 2015 draft out of Florida State University.

The Orioles aren't known for their need picks, but the system was running way short of outfield prospects and Stewart remained on the board.

He remains on the 40-man roster after so many changes to it, with executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias whittling it to 27 before Stewart, infielder Jorge Mateo, and pitchers Keegan Akin and Jorge López were reinstated from the 60-day injured list, and reliever Bryan Baker was claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays.

I hear the fans on social media who have run out of patience with Stewart and wonder why he's still on the roster.

I see Stewart's .324 on-base percentage, and the 44 walks in 100 games that ranked third on the club behind Cedric Mullins (59 in 159) and Trey Mancini (51 in 147).

I see the batting eye, arguably the best on the club. If Mullins is a 30-30 guy, Stewart should be labeled 20-20 for his vision at the plate. And he bats from the left side, which usually earns you points, though the outfield includes former switch-hitter Mullins and current switch-hitter Anthony Santander.

First basemen/designated hitters Mancini and Ryan Mountcastle bat from the right side. So do infielders Mateo, Ramón Urías, Kelvin Gutiérrez, Jahmai Jones and Richie Martin. So do outfielders Diaz, Ryan McKenna and Tyler Nevin. So did catchers Pedro Severino and Austin Wynns.

I know that it might not seem to matter much when the player owns a career .214 average in 619 plate appearances, but again, Stewart can work the count and get on base while so many of his teammates are pressing, taking poor at-bats and driving manager Brandon Hyde crazy. He goes on these power binges that the Orioles believe can be more sustainable if he's able to make certain adjustments.

The emphasis on outfield defense, which is pushing Mountcastle and Mancini to first base and DH, isn't doing Stewart any favors. But there's room and flexibility on the 40-man, at least for now, to carry Stewart into spring training.

He has a minor league option remaining and he made $577,000 this season. And Diaz's failure to make it out of Triple-A also leaves room for Stewart.

The crowd is expected to grow at some point over the summer with Kyle Stowers beating down the door. Robert Neustrom certainly got noticed, but he could be exposed in the Rule 5 draft and become vulnerable to a selection.

Colton Cowser was the fifth overall pick this summer. Heston Kjerstad was the second overall pick in 2020 and sounded confident last week that he'd be full-go in spring training. Hudson Haskin was a second-rounder in 2020, also a collegiate bat, who is ranked by MLBPipeline.com as the No. 16 prospect in the organization.

They can't touch Stewart this year, but they're coming.

Stewart had a .349 OBP after the All-Star break and slashed .205/.367/.564 in 49 plate appearances in August, but he missed the last two weeks of the season and underwent surgery on his right knee. A procedure to correct an "osteochondral defect," which also is known as "osteochondritis dissecans" - damage to the cartilage surrounding the knee joint and the bone underneath the cartilage.

The knee required treatment for about two months, according to Hyde, and necessitated the surgery. The Orioles felt he would be fine for spring training, unlike the surgery in October 2019 to repair a microfracture in his ankle.

The latest update, provided yesterday, stated that Stewart is six weeks post-op and will be in Sarasota for his follow-up examination this week. He should be running over ground by end of this month and starting some baseball activities in early January.

The Orioles say Stewart is achieving all relevant clinical milestones.

Now he'll hope that a healthy knee allows him to chase some on-field milestones and solidify his place in the organization.