Andrew Stetka: Wieters producing, creating more questions for O's future

If you would've told me early last November that Matt Wieters would be playing at an All-Star level in 2016, I would have been mildly surprised. If you had told me he'd be doing it for the Orioles, I'd have been very surprised. I was in the camp that firmly believed Wieters would not be back in Baltimore this season, having taken his talents elsewhere in free agency. It's not that I didn't want Wieters back, but I just didn't think it was something the Orioles would be able to accomplish with a laundry list of "to-do" items this past winter. None of that materialized, and he became one of the first few players to accept the qualifying offer. Now more than two years removed from Tommy John surgery, Wieters is taking advantage.

Finally having moved into a more regular role after his elbow injury, Wieters is slashing .278/.332/.471 with nine home runs. Two of those homers came in Saturday's nightcap of a doubleheader, with one of them reaching Eutaw Street. Wieters is not only providing his usual strong defense, but he's producing with the bat as well. For him to be doing that at a position as barren as catcher, it's a plus. There simply aren't a lot of great offensive catchers in the game today, so having one who does anything at the dish greatly improves the outlook of a lineup. When he's as strong as Wieters is behind the plate, it makes him one of the best at his position.

Since making his debut in May 2009, the expectations placed upon Wieters were monumental. The nicknames "Switch-hitting Jesus" and "Joe Mauer with Power" were quickly bestowed upon him before he had even seen a big league pitch. These expectations were, frankly, ridiculous. No human could've lived up to them, even Wieters. The guy had his own "Chuck Norris-style" website devoted to him before taking the field. Virtually every Orioles fan was guilty of shoving too much expectation on the shoulders of Wieters. When he didn't immediately start hitting .320 with 30 home runs every season, some labeled him as a bust. That couldn't be further from the truth.

Last year, Wieters played in just 75 games as he made his way back from the surgery that cut his 2014 campaign short. Caleb Joseph stepped in admirably for Wieters, and drew praise from many who viewed him as a possible everyday replacement. With Wieters entering last offseason as a free agent, the stars appeared to be aligning for Joseph to take over. That's at least what many wanted. After all, the price to keep Wieters was going to be too much, especially with other free agents like Chris Davis and Darren O'Day looking for contracts. The Orioles surprised everyone by re-signing those two as well as paying Wieters the contract associated with the qualifying offer. That move has paid off, despite it being a large number for a one-year deal. Joseph is now hurt, and even when healthy wasn't showing signs that he could carry the load. Everyone loves to root for Joseph, but Wieters is the guy that makes the position tick for the O's.

With Wieters producing what could be an All-Star caliber season this year, it presents yet another question mark as to what the Orioles do going forward. Trading Wieters at this year's deadline is obviously out of the question. We're talking about a team that is very much in contention and would be left without a starting catcher. He'll be a free agent once again this offseason, and a new deal will be necessary. Of the catchers who will be free agents this season, Wieters is the most highly-regarded (and most expensive) of the bunch. Whether or not the O's want to offer a player now on the wrong side of 30 a longer contract to stick around is a question they'll have to answer. They could go after someone else like Wilson Ramos, Jason Castro or Jonathan Lucroy. The question will need to be answered either way. I'm interested to see in the reaction to the move. Entering last offseason, I don't think many O's fans would've been that sad to see Wieters leave. While it's only late June, I get the impression that fans would be terrified to think about entering the 2017 season without Wieters as the team's backstop.

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.