DETROIT — Chris Davis has become the answer at one of the corner outfield spots. The Baltimore Orioles are still tinkering on the other side.
Davis started at right field in all three games in Detroit following the All-Star break. He started 60 games at first base and 11 at designated hitter before moving to the outfield on a regular basis once Delmon Young was designated for assignment on July 1.
“He’s as good a right fielder as he is a first baseman,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “He’s capable of playing third base, too. It just tells you how valuable he is. It makes not only us but baseball aware of how versatile and valuable he is.”
Young started 37 games in right field before he was eventually released on July 9 when the Orioles were unable to trade him. Four other players have started at least five games in right. With Davis playing the outfield, Chris Parmalee and Steve Pearce are now platooning at first.
Left field remains in a state of flux. Six different players have started there, with the combination of Travis Snider and Nolan Reimold platooning there over the weekend. Snider is batting .255 with three home runs and 20 RBIs in 62 games, while Reimold is hitting .224 with two homers and five RBIs in 21 games.
“I was hoping at this point we’d be a little more set there but it hasn’t worked out that way,” Showalter said. “It’s not like these guys haven’t been good at given periods but we haven’t had the consistency out of that spot that we hoped to have.”
Dariel Alvarez is the team’s best minor league option to fill one of those positions. He’s batting .280 with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs in 92 games with Triple-A Norfolk but he’s not a hot young prospect. He’s 26 years old and doesn’t have a lot of patience at the plate, drawing seven walks in 368 at-bats.
“He’s having a good year but it’s not like he’s 20 years old,” Showalter said.
A trade could solve the problem but it’s still up in the air whether the Orioles will be buyers or sellers at the deadline later this month. So it’s more likely Showalter will continue to tinker and hope for better results.