Dickerson on Machado as shortstop

With New Year's Eve upon us and recycled news all the rage during the hot stove season, I'm tempted to dust off my annual quip about assuring that the ball drops at midnight. You know, by putting (insert name of poor defender) underneath it.

We all have our own holiday traditions.

Manny Machado never will make it as the punchline. Platinum Glove winners are ineligible.

(Hey, in case you hadn't heard in the last hour, the Orioles remain in touch with teams interested in trading for Machado because, you know, there's no firm deadline. Tell your friends.)

The Orioles aren't committed to keeping Machado or moving him to shortstop, but a change in positions most certainly is part of their internal discussions. It's been on the table for months. It just became a big news story at the Winter Meetings.

Machado was drafted as a shortstop and he made 202 starts there in the minors before the Orioles promoted him to the majors in 2012 and used him to bump Mark Reynolds and Wilson Betemit off third base.

A rival general manager told CBSsports.com at the time of the promotion that it was "too early to recall him. Just because he's better than Wilson Betemit doesn't mean it's the right move for the kid.''

Or it was the absolute best move for Machado and the Orioles. You never know with these things.

I wrote yesterday that third base coach and infield instructor Bobby Dickerson is waiting to find out who's on third and at shortstop. He's been instrumental in Machado's seamless conversion to the hot corner and knows which weaknesses the three-time All-Star must address if moved again.

"He's played a lot of shortstop because of the shift, but it's more of the mental side is what I tell him all the time," Dickerson said. "He's got to get his body in a different kind of shape because he's going to be moving a whole lot more. A lot more coming to get the ball, deeper angles and longer runs to get the ball. It's a different type of movement.

"He's a big man and he's just going to have to make sure physically he gets in the right shape. He'll be in shape, but just the right shape. And mentally he has to be able to stay in there every pitch and quarterback the defense. That's going to be a challenge for Manny and he knows it and we've talked about it. I know he can do it. I've seen him do it at times. And maintaining it on a daily basis, especially when the bat's not there is the hardest part for a shortstop."

Need another example of how the Orioles will miss J.J. Hardy next season? It's more than his consistent glovework. He was the leader of the infield, like a middle linebacker calling out plays for the defense. It isn't for everyone.

"It's stressful running the defense and not hitting, you know?" Dickerson said. "J.J. never let his defense follow his bat. Even when J.J. struggled the most, he was always there defensively, so that's the challenge I have for Manny and he knows it and it's something we would attack.

"If he ends up at shortstop we will address it and do everything in our power to make sure he stays locked in from pitch to pitch, no matter what's happening in his offensive game."

Machado has made 49 starts at shortstop in the majors, but none in 2017 while Hardy was on the disabled list. Tim Beckham (49 games), Rubén Tejada (36), Paul Janish (14), Jonathan Schoop (five) and Ryan Flaherty (five) got the call at various times. Machado slid over from third only on the shifts.

The defense as a whole slipped again and Dickerson has talked about the need to "tighten it up." Machado was the only Gold Glove finalist and the Orioles were shut out for the second consecutive year.

Chris Davis was a finalist in 2016, but he didn't crack the top three this year. He committed three fewer errors, but his ultimate zone rating (UZR) dropped from 4.5 to 0.4 and his defensive runs saved (DRS) from eight to minus-5.

"We need to get Chris back there, also, back to the defender that we know he can be," Dickerson said.