Anyone want to create an argument to bring back JJ next year?
Only CarGo and Pujols (pretty crazy to think about that) have a worse WAR amongst everyday players.
Even his defense numbers have taken a big hit.
He's done.
His defensive numbers continue to improve after the early season issues.
His UZR / 150 is now 2.9. His DRS is now +1.
Those numbers should continue to improve imo.
The offensive numbers are abysmal though, and hard to get past.
When he had a .564 OPS in 411 ab’s in '15, I expected him to rebound offensively in '16 to his career levels if he was healthy. That's exactly what happened when he finished with his .716 OPS. His '15 numbers were due to him being a wreck physically, and it was noticeable.
By all accounts, he's healthy this year, which makes the output much more concerning imo.
So far this year:
.498 OPS in April
.638 OPS in May
.387 OPS in June
Even if his defensive numbers continue to improve (and finish strong), I can't see bringing him back for '18 with this level of offense.
Without larger changes (trading Machado), I think the O's should be promoting Mountcastle to Bowie. If he holds his weight in the Eastern League, I think you could move Manny to SS, Schoop to 3rd, and Mountcastle to 2nd for '18.
That's pretty aggressive for Mountcastle, so if you had to wait until mid-'18, maybe Flaherty gets a couple of months at 2nd.
Or you could sign someone like Moustakas for 3rd, moving Manny over to SS, keeping Schoop at 2nd.
Despite that, I expected to see him rebound offensively last Spring. He met my expectations, posting an OPS (.716) exactly at his career levels.