Andrew Stetka: Paredes' place on the roster

Baseball rosters fascinate me - the way they are constructed, they way certain players must pass through waivers or be optioned to the minor leagues. It's all a messy and complicated puzzle. Now that we are through the first month of the season, the most intriguing part to the Orioles puzzle is Jimmy Paredes. I wonder every day how that puzzle piece fits into the bigger picture long term.

The biggest problem with Paredes going forward is the fact that he doesn't really have a position. He's a natural third baseman, but that spot is being held down quite nicely by Manny Machado. He's seen time in the corner outfield spots in the past while playing for the Astros, but even with somewhat of a rotating door going on in those spots with the Orioles, it doesn't seem like a fit. He's played second base in the past, but if the Orioles are trotting Steve Pearce out there to play in the absence of Jonathan Schoop and Ryan Flaherty, there must be zero confidence in Paredes at that spot. This really leads into a bigger issue than Paredes not having a position. It's simply that he's not good enough defensively to play any of them.

The Orioles are a team that values defense more than most. They rarely make themselves vulnerable to issues in the field, and from everything I've seen, Buck Showalter feels like giving Paredes a glove would make them vulnerable. This has relegated Paredes primarily to the designated hitter role, which is something we haven't seen Showalter lock up a whole lot. He typically likes to rotate players through the DH spot, giving them a breather without taking their bat out of the lineup. With Paredes in the lineup most days, the O's have apparently found a full-time designated hitter, perhaps without even trying.

Being a full-time designated hitter looks pretty good on Paredes. He's slashing an impressive .353/.365/.667 in the early going, though it's a smaller sample size than most because he got a late start. We're talking about 12 games and just 51 at-bats for Paredes so far. But hitting the way he has is going to keep his bat in the lineup, even if his glove doesn't go out in the field. There's no question he provides value to the team. The question becomes how much, and at what cost in terms of his lack of flexibility.

News that both J.J. Hardy and Ryan Flaherty will start rehab assignments today at Double-A Bowie brings the impending roster crunch to the forefront of my mind. When Hardy, Flaherty and eventually Jonathan Schoop are healthy and ready to return to the big leagues, how is room going to be made for Paredes to stay on the roster? It's important to remember that Paredes is out of options, and has to be passed through waivers. Matt Wieters' eventual return will be an easy fix, because there are typically just two catchers kept on a 25-man roster. The return of certain other players makes keeping Paredes a big question mark. Rey Navarro seems like an obvious candidate to be optioned once a regular player comes back to the big leagues.

This is where things become more complicated. Is Flaherty a lock to return to the major league roster, or does the fact that he have options mean he will go to Triple-A Norfolk? I personally don't think there's any chance of that. He's too valuable as a bench player and utility man. David Lough is also very valuable to the team, but also out of options. He provides plus defense and speed off the bench. Everth Cabrera is another player with options, but also provides the O's with a luxury of being able to play shortstop. He's a good insurance policy for Hardy.

This is where the complications will start to unfold very soon. It's part of the beauty and madness of a roster crunch. The Orioles will have to find a way to keep all the players they want, while still maintaining enough depth at certain positions. The spring training injury to Paredes made it easier when breaking camp. He's no longer hurt, and now he's hitting the cover off the ball. This isn't a problem the team dealt with 10 years ago, but it's one that comes with having a winning club. The Orioles are faced with having too many good players.

Andrew Stetka blogs about the Orioles for Eutaw Street Report. Follow him on Twitter: @AStetka. His thoughts on the O's appear here as part of MASNsports.com's continuing commitment to welcome guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.