MASN writer Roch Kubatko posted some interesting news about Orioles catcher Ramon Hernandez recently. Hernandez, 32, came to the O’s in ’06, a year in which he had an excellent first half. During the last two seasons, fans have watched as his offensive numbers and defensive capabilities have declined, as has his apparent interest in maintaining and honing his skills.

Check out all of Kubatko’s post here. To summarize the Hernandez portion of the post, Kubatko notes

Hernandez does not want to play first base in ’09, the last year of his current contract.
The team may “eat” Hernandez’s contract, i.e. release him prior to the start of the season.

Domino Effect

This news has wide-ranging implications for offseason maneuvers. First, it appears that the Orioles front office is willing to admit that Hernandez is a defensive liability and a lazy base runner, something fans could see quite easily. If the Orioles do, in fact, release Hernandez before the start of the season, they would still be on the hook for the $9 million he is due in ’09. Such is the beauty or the curse of guaranteed contracts, depending on your perspective.

The release would pave the way for top prospect Matt Wieters to call games for the major league club. Wieters was drafted in ’07 to much fan fare. He put up torrid numbers at A and AA last year. Check out his minor league stats here.

Hernandez played a couple of games at first last year, raising speculation that the Orioles may be looking to shop 1B/DH Aubrey Huff. Now that it appears that Hernandez is not an option at first, a Huff trade may appear less likely. Of course, Huff had a career year in ’08, so MacPhail may still “sell high” if the bidding is right.

Declining Defense

It is surprising that Hernandez would express a disinterest in playing first, though I suppose he hasn’t had much interest in catching during the last few years either. Hernandez routinely failed to smother low pitches this season, allowing several unearned runs to score. A move to first may have been beneficial to his aging legs and slowing reflexes, but it sounds like Ramon wants to try to earn another contract as a catcher. On the free agent market, his offensive numbers are more attractive as a catcher than as a first basemen.

Well Ramon, if rumors of your release are already flying, it sounds as though your value as a catcher isn’t exactly sky high right now. MacPhail has his catcher of the future ready to go, and he would probably take a mid-level prospect for Hernandez.

Red-Headed Stepchild

Here’s to hoping that Hernandez is traded or released before opening day, a la Jay Gibbons. Like Gibbons, Hernandez is a defensive embarrassment. Like Gibbons, he seems blissfully unaware of his own shortcomings (Gibbons often complained that lack of playing time was the cause of his .180 BA). Like Gibbons, the Orioles can improve simply by not having him and his bad attitude around. In Gibbons’ case, the O’s swallowed two years of his contract. In his second year away from the club, Gibbons will collect a cool $6 mil.

If Hernandez is cut, the O’s will be paying $15 million in ‘09 for players to stay away from Camden Yards. At this rate, they may put Isaiah Thomas on the payroll.

Offensive Offense

As fans, we care more about the club’s play than we do about its payroll. Ramon Hernandez is SLOW. The O’s would be better off with Haloti Ngata running the bases. Dude is not one for getting sweaty or for dirtying his uniform; that’s for sure. On a few occasions, Dave Trembley tried to send Hernandez on a double steal. Hernandez would literally walk into the second baseman’s awaiting glove.

Even when he made solid contact with the ball, Hernandez was able to stretch solid doubles into iffy singles. Once last year he misjudged a fly ball off the wall, thinking it was a home run. He high fived the first base coach…only to be called out as he meandered into second. So I guess there would be a downside to losing Hernandez. Without him around, who knows when we’ll see another single go 400 feet?

For more info: Check back tomorrow for more offseason news

Topics: Ramon Hernandez

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