In a recent entry here, I wrote that the Orioles could field a lineup this year with five players that have hit 30 or more homers in one season in the major leaguers. Change that number to six.
The Orioles agreed to terms with Pedro Alvarez last night on a one-year deal, pending a physical. Here are career-high homers totals for six Orioles, adding Alvarez:
53 - Chris Davis
36 - Pedro Alvarez
35 - Manny Machado
34 - Mark Trumbo
33 - Adam Jones
30 - J.J. Hardy
Alvarez, who turned 29 on Feb. 6, gives the Orioles another left-handed power bat and he'll probably get most of his at-bats at the DH spot, moving Trumbo into right field. Last year over 150 games with Pittsburgh, Alvarez hit .243/.318/.469 with 18 doubles, 27 homers, 77 RBIs, 131 strikeouts and a .787 OPS.
The Orioles, who have hit 200 or more homers a club-record four straight years, look like a near shoo-in to add a fifth year to that. There will be a lot of homers and a lot of strikeouts.
Alvarez could be a platoon bat with a career average of just .203 and OPS of .601 against left-handed pitching. But last year, he did hit .258 with an OPS of .712 against lefties. Those numbers versus right-handed pitching last year were .240 and .799.
The O's now have three of the top 11 and four of the top 20 in homers since 2012:
1st - Davis (159)
9th - Jones (121)
11th - Alvarez (111)
18th - Trumbo (102)
Those four also rated high over the last four years in strikeouts: Davis is first, Alvarez seventh, Trumbo 12th and Jones 29th.
The Orioles have spent $242.55 million on free agents this winter:
* Davis signs for seven years, $161 million
* Darren O'Day signs for four years, $31 million
* Yovani Gallardo signs for two years, $22 million
* Matt Wieters signs for one year, $15.8 million
* Hyun Soo Kim signs for two years, $7 million
* Alvarez signes for one year, $5.75 million (with $1.25 million in incentives)
Alvarez, unless I am overlooking someone obvious, is the highest-drafted player on the current roster. He was taken second overall in the 2008 draft out of Vanderbilt. He gives the O's a Vandy connection that includes Ryan Flaherty and minor league outfielder Mike Yastrzemski.
O's on MASN today: The first MASN Orioles spring training telecast is set for later today. The Orioles host the Boston Red Sox, and you can watch live at 1 p.m., with a rebroadcast tonight at 7 p.m.
MASN will also televise games on March 10, 16, 20, 25, 29 and 30.
So what is your take on the pending addition of Alvarez? What might the lineup look like now?
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