Orioles third baseman Tim Beckham will be out of action for at least the next six weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery, the team told reporters (Twitter links via Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com). Beckham was placed on the DL yesterday and was said at the time to be considering surgery as an option.
The injury will leave the O’s quite shorthanded in the infield, as Jonathan Schoop is also on the shelf. Ghiroli, though, notes that Schoop is headed to extended Spring Training following the team’s homestand and could begin playing in rehab games next week. Mark Trumbo, too, is nearing a return and could join the team on Tuesday.
[Related: Baltimore Orioles depth chart]
It’s been a dismal start to the season for the 28-year-old Beckham, who is hitting just .179/.247/.262 with a 30.1 percent strikeout rate. Baltimore had high hopes for Beckham, who looked like a transformed player after being acquired just prior to the non-waiver trade deadline last season. Beckham batted .394/.417/.646 in the month of August and looked to have altered his approach at the plate, as he also boasted a dramatically reduced 18.9 strikeout percent that month. The punchouts came back in September, though, as Beckham’s production cratered. He’s now carrying a .179/.251/.306 line through 191 PAs dating back to Sept. 1.
With Beckham and Schoop sidelined, the O’s figure to deploy Danny Valencia at third base, with Luis Sardinas and Jace Peterson on hand as options at second base and also at third when Valencia is out of the lineup.
All because of Mannys insistence of upping his stock at short. Please trade Manny now.
This injury only happens to third basemen – it’s a travesty!
They should probably shop Manny, but Beckham has nothing to do with it.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks it’s a selfish move by Manny to move to short. I’ve seen like 2 plays where I thought “good thing manny is at short”, while I’ve seen multiple plays at third and said “manny would have made that play”. The Orioles are a complete mess. This is the hardest it’s been to watch in a while and we’re still in April.
Beckham would’ve been playing SS. He’d still be in the lineup. He’ll likely be our SS next year. Manny didn’t impact a thing. Manny is good enough to want to play wherever he wants. He was a SS by trade but we had JJ there. He’s a phenomenal third baseman but he’s earned the right to play SS if he wants to. The orioles problem was not signing a Moose or Frazier etc. to play 3rd. Tim Beckham’s regression was the easiest thing in the world to predict.
MANNY- The Team Player
Can’t wait to find out what team over pays for this albatross
Hey Scoops- get healthy soon so the O’s can TRADE you!!
No clue…
I may need this too.
Thoughts and prayers.
Yep the O’s are gonna get a great season from Manny, finish last, and he’ll sign somewhere else. They should’ve traded him. At least they have Chris Davis.
There’s a glimmer of hope if Angelos’ sons are truly calling the shots. They’re likely to trade him to the highest bidder in July. Peter Angelos would let him walk after the season and get only a comp pick after Machado declines the QO. Duquette was actually talking up that possibility in January as if that would be a best case scenario.