Notes on Villar, spin rates and more

Today we're reviewing a few stories from recent days for further discussion as we move closer to the start of February and we wonder if that will indeed be the month that spring training starts.

Reunion anyone?: In this entry a few days ago, we wondered if Jonathan Villar could reunite with the Orioles and this time become the regular at shortstop? The club needs to replace José Iglesias, who had a big 2020 season. The last time we saw Villar in 2019 in Baltimore, he had a pretty big season as well.

Villar hit .274/.339/.453 for those Orioles with 33 doubles, five triples, 24 homers, 73 RBIs, 40 steals and 111 runs scored. But he batted just .232/.301/.292 last season for the Marlins and Blue Jays. He hit just .188 in 22 games at the end of the season for Toronto.

Roch Kubatko recently wrote here about four shortstops the O's have interest in and they are Villar, Daniel Robertson, Ehire Adrianza and Freddy Galvis. But since that story published, the Milwaukee Brewers signed Robertson, formerly of the Tampa Bay Rays, for $900,000 with a chance to add $400,000 in incentives. And one report this week said the Phillies have interest in a reunion with Galvis, who played there from 2012-2017.

Here are the remaining free agent shortstops and their ages:

Ehire Adrianza (31)
Freddy Galvis (31)
Didi Gregorius (31)
Joe Panik (30)
Addison Russell (27)
Marcus Semien (30)
Andrelton Simmons (31)
Eric Sogard (35)
Jonathan Villar (30)

Spin rate info anyone?: In this entry, I took a shot at learning more about spin rates and putting some knowledge gained in my blog. As I said, trying not to hurt myself when jumping on the spin rate train. These numbers have become very important in the game for coaches, players and front offices. I know now that we should look at both the raw spin rate (presented in revolutions per minute, or RPMs) and spin rate efficiency when sizing up data on four-seam fastballs. O's pitchers that produced a better-than-average four-seam spin rate in 2020 were Tanner Scott, John Means, Cole Sulser, Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer.

Rule changes anyone?: In this entry, we took a look at Theo Epstein's new gig. He's been hired as a consultant by Major League Baseball to help with on-field matters. After leading the Red Sox and Cubs to World Series championships, he expressed concerns about the growing amount of inaction in a baseball game.

"It is the greatest game in the world, but there are some threats to it because of the way the game is evolving," he said recently after leaving the Cubs. "I take some responsibility for that, right? Because executives like me who have spent a lot of time using analytics and other measures to try and optimize individual and team performance have unwittingly had a negative impact on the aesthetics value of the game and the entertainment value, in some respects.

"Clearly, the strikeout rate is a little bit out of control. And we need to find a way to get more action in the game, get the ball in play more often, allow the players to show their athleticism some more. Give the fans more of what they want."