More thoughts on Pedro Alvarez and his impact on the roster

SARASOTA, Fla. - Why did it take so long for a team to sign Pedro Alvarez?

Concerns about his defense limited his market to American League suitors. There's been talk that his agent, Scott Boras, pushed for assurances that Alvarez would play half of his games in the field. Money usually is a factor, though Dexter Fowler and Austin Jackson would like a minute for rebuttal.

They'll also take your recommendations for the best deep dish pizza in Chicago.

Manager Buck Showalter's plans for Alvarez and Mark Trumbo will come into focus once the deal becomes official and we inch closer to opening day.

Chris Davis apparently will remain the primary first baseman, as we've been told since he re-signed and during the first three weeks of camp. The Orioles won't put an electric fence around right field to keep him out of it, but he's not changing positions.

The initial response to the Alvarez news was that Trumbo instantly became the right fielder, but I've already had left field floated past me as another possibility. Let's not assume that Hyun Soo Kim automatically breaks camp as a starter.

It's been projected and expected, but there's always the possibility that Trumbo slides over to left, Kim goes to the bench and right field is handled by Nolan Reimold, Rule 5 pick Joey Rickard or L.J. Hoes. Dariel Alvarez and Henry Urrutia are on the 40-man roster. The Orioles have choices.

It's wasted energy to craft one scenario. Trumbo can play left, right or first base, or serve as the designated hitter. Alvarez has a career .203/.270/.332 slash line against left-handers, which could put him in a platoon at designated hitter. Trumbo could assume that role versus southpaws, with a better defender in the outfield.

Scouts have joked that center fielder Adam Jones, with so much ground to cover, will weigh 120 pounds by the end of the season.

Trumbo keeps flashing a plus arm in workouts, one of the strongest in the organization. He just needs to do a better job of tracking the ball, which is a challenge for anyone in spring training. High sky, wind, poor background. The best tend to look bad. But there's been carryover into the regular season, which is why the Orioles considered first base to be his best position.

I wonder what the Reds were asking for in exchange for Jay Bruce, who made more sense for the Orioles due to his ability to play right field. Christian Walker definitely was part of the package.

Bruce has hit .217 and .226 the past two seasons, he owns a lifetime .319 on-base percentage and he's owed $12.5 million this season. I'm not implying he was a perfect fit.

Would it have been wiser to re-sign Steve Pearce, who plays the corner outfield spots, first base and second if needed? He started at third for the Rays in Thursday's game against the Orioles.

That's water under the bridge. Alvarez is the guy and the Orioles now have a left-handed hitter with Davis-like power. Showalter will figure out ways to minimize any defensive concerns in the lineup, which brings us back to Rickard, who can take over David Lough's role of late-inning replacement.