Camden Chat · May 28, 2021
The Orioles are playing sneaky-good defense
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesThe other day, first baseman Trey Mancini backhanded a sharp grounder on the short hop and I thought to myself, “You know, he doesn’t look half-bad out there.” A monster at the plate this season, Mancini has never been in the lineup for his glove, but I wondered: if he’s suddenly playing solid defense, is it possible that the Orioles actually a good fielding team?
The answer, which may surprise you, is yes. According to a bunch of advanced metrics (UZR, UZR/150, and Def, which I’ll talk about in a sec), the Orioles have the sixth- to the tenth-best defense in MLB. I kid you not.