Dillon Atkinson: Machado at shortstop is a different, enjoyable look

As you all know, Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy fouled a ball off his left foot on May 1 and was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a hairline fracture, with the expected return being six to eight weeks. The veteran shortstop was off to a solid start to the season, especially with the glove. His trip to the disabled list created questions among Orioles fans, analysts, reporters and the ballclub.

A few hours prior to the start of the team's next game, the O's lineup card featured Ryan Flaherty starting at shortstop. However, shortly after a visit to Buck Showalter's office, Manny Machado was starting at short, with Flaherty moving over to third. Since that date, Machado has taken over as the full-time starter at shortstop.

It makes a lot of sense that the two infielders would switch spots on the field. Machado is eager to get back to his actual home at shortstop, although it's tough to convince anybody who watches him that he's not at home at the hot corner. On top of that, Flaherty has shown better defense in his career at third base than he has at shortstop, posting plus-5 DRS and plus-3.3 UZR/150 in his career at third base, as opposed to negative-5 DRS and negative-10.3 UZR/150 in his time at shortstop. He can play short in a pinch if you need him, but relying on him most of the time would expose him as a below-average shortstop. Moving him to third was the best defensive solution for the ballclub.

By moving Machado to shortstop, Showalter has also been able to toy around with using Pedro Alvarez as a third baseman. He is sacrificing a ton of defense in the process, but it lets him get flexible with using more of Nolan Reimold - who has been hot, slashing .321/.368/.547 with an impressive 151 wRC+ on the season - and Hyun Soo Kim, moving Mark Trumbo to a designated hitter's role that was mostly occupied by Alvarez.

Machado has done a pretty nice job in the switch, posting plus-1 DRS and plus-19.5 UZR/150 at shortstop this season. I expected him to make the majority of the starts at short, given he was the best option for the job. However, on Tuesday night, Showalter shocked me. Facing a left-handed pitcher, bench shortstop Paul Janish got the start over Alvarez. What shocked me is that Janish was penciled in as the third baseman.

Since breaking into the league in 2008, Janish has played an excellent defensive shortstop. In his career, Janish has averaged plus-9.5 DRS per 1,000 innings. For comparison, over the same time span, Hardy has averaged plus-6.5 DRS per 1,000 innings. By starting Janish at shortstop with Machado at the hot corner, the Orioles defense would be as if they never lost Hardy. Sure, they'd take the hit at the plate, as Janish is a well below-average hitter, but his defense has been amazing at shortstop throughout his career.

By starting Machado over the defensive-savvy Janish Monday night, Showalter seems committed to the 23-year-old superstar handling one of the premier positions in the game. When Hardy returns from the disabled list, which may not be until early June, I assume Machado will then move back to third base. I think the O's skipper would really puzzle everybody by moving Hardy - a well above-average shortstop defensively - to third base for the first time in his career, while having an elite defensive third baseman move to shortstop full-time.

Until Hardy returns, Showalter seems set on penciling Machado at shortstop every night. If anything else, he's giving himself and the fans a look at what Machado could very well be for the Orioles when Hardy's contract expires after 2017. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy watching Machado and Jonathan Schoop turn double plays night in and night out.

Dillon Atkinson blogs about the Orioles for Orioles Uncensored. Follow him on Twitter: @DAtkinsonOU. 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.