A recent report from MASN’s Roch Kubatko suggested the Baltimore Orioles could be in on free agent outfielder Denard Span. On the surface, that would seem surprising, wouldn’t it? After all, Span is regarded as a pretty good — when healthy — defensive center fielder, but the Orioles already have one of those (and then some) in Adam Jones.
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The soon-to-be 32-year-old Span is no stranger to playing a corner, however. When he came up with the Minnesota Twins, Span played right field while a young Carlos Gomez roamed center in the Metrodome. That bunch could really cover some ground, as Span proved to be a capable right fielder who eventually moved over to center once the Twins dealt Gomez for current Oriole J.J. Hardy.
But if Span’s injury issues are any indication of how he’ll age now well on the wrong side of 30, maybe having him in a corner isn’t such a bad idea? Concussion issues in Minnesota made him tentative around outfield walls, but other than that he’s shown no reason to believe he can’t be a capable outfielder moving forward. Myriad injuries cost Span over 100 games in 2015, including a torn labrum in his hip that was the primary woe that shelved him for most of the second half and for good in late August. So again, maybe a move to a corner could prolong his career?
There are other suitors for Span, which isn’t terribly surprising. The Mets and Nationals are both interested, and would most certainly use him in center. The fit with the Orioles would be in right field, with Hyun-Soo Kim likely slated for left and again, Jones in center. In fact, MLB.com currently has Ryan Flaherty as the starter in right. Yikes! (The more likely option would be Dariel Alvarez.)
The Orioles’ purported interest in Span also works in that he’s much more apt to take a one-year deal than anyone else near or above his skill level. When Span is healthy, he takes walks, steals bases and is just a general nuisance for opposing teams. That’s also a natural fit for the O’s, who would probably like to avoid batting Manny Machado 100-plus times in the leadoff spot in 2016. With his emergence, he’d make a lot more sense in the Nos. 2, 3 or 4 slots rather than leadoff. Adding Span — career .352 OBP — would help in that sense.
And maybe there’s the fact that adding Span in right field isn’t the kind of commitment that would prohibit the Orioles from making the final move to put a bow on the offseason. Now whether that’s adding another pitcher to replace the likely departed Wei-Yin Chen, or simply signing him or re-visiting the Chris Davis talks, a move to sign Span almost certainly doesn’t mess up any sort of long-term vision in any respect. In fact with Davis, that might make the most sense of all the remaining free agents, since the other elite types are guys like Yoenis Cespedes, Justin Upton and Alex Gordon — all outfielders whom the Orioles would allegedly not have room for in this scenario.
Maybe it happens, and maybe it doesn’t, but one thing seems clear: this team isn’t a finished product — yet.
Orioles Analyst
Warne is a Minnesota Twins beat reporter for 105 The Ticket’s Cold Omaha website as well as a sportswriter for Sportradar U.S. in downtown Minneapolis. He also contributes to FanGraphs / RotoGraphs.