You’d think having a surplus sweet-swinging outfielder would be a blessing, not a blight. Nonetheless, rightfielder Moises Alou’s return from the disabled list has raised discussion of how to solve the Astros’ “problem” of having too many corner outfielders of major-league caliber.
Daryle Ward’s hot start in Alou’s absence need not complicate matters for the Astros. First, everybody, including Ward, understands that Alou is this club’s starting rightfielder. Early in spring training, Ward told the Houston Chronicle, “I’m shooting for an everyday job, but that’s not my place on this team right now. That’s just something I’m going to have to be patient with.”
Second, there are plenty of plate appearances to go around among Alou, Ward, and left fielder Lance Berkman, if the Astros use them wisely. By position, the Astros can expect at least 700 plate appearances apiece at left fielder and right fielder, 30 plate appearances at designated hitter, and 250 plate appearances at pinch hitter. That’s a total of almost 1,700 plate appearances in those four roles.
Even if Berkman and Alou each get 600 plate appearances starting, that would leave Ward roughly 400 to 500 plate appearances as the primary pinch hitter, starting designated hitter in the nine games at American League parks, and regular substitute for Berkman and Alou in the corner outfield spots, not to mention as an occasional fill-in for Jeff Bagwell at first base.
Those 400 to 500 plate appearances are as many as a lot of starting position players get in a season. Ward got well over half that many last season with Roger Cedeno and Richard Hidalgo as well as Alou and Berkman playing substantial time in left and right fields. Now that Cedeno is gone and Hidalgo is the starting center fielder, Ward could see much more action in the outfield than he did in 2000.
Alou has played at least 150 games in the field only twice, 150 in 1997 and 154 in 1998. Given Alou’s penchant for injury, Ward is a valuable insurance policy for the Astros. “Depth, many times, is the difference between winning a championship and not winning it,” General Manager Gerry Hunsicker said in reference to Ward a couple of months ago.
One good way to put Ward to use is to start him instead of Berkman against lefties. Although Ward bats left-handed and Berkman is a switch-hitter, Ward has outperformed Berkman against lefties over the last three seasons in AAA and the majors:
------vs. right------ -------vs. left------ Player AB Avg OBP Slg AB Avg OBP Slg -------------------------------------------------------- Berkman 635 .320 .419 .591 242 .256 .375 .393 Ward 892 .300 .350 .550 258 .310 .367 .663
These sample sizes aren’t huge. In the long run Berkman might be the better hitter against lefties. But these sample sizes aren’t insignificant, either, nor is the margin of difference between Berkman and Ward against lefties. Given Berkman’s struggles against lefties, the Astros should consider giving this a try.
Maybe the best approach would be to start Ward two or three times a week, subbing for Berkman against lefties and Alou when a day game follows a night game or when the Astros play several consecutive games without a day off. Ward would start about 70 games in the outfield, at designated hitter, and at first base, while Alou and Berkman would start nearly 130 games apiece in the outfield.
Right now, the alternative to playing Ward in a bench role is to trade him. Even if he maintains his torrid hitting, this might not be easy in the short run. Astros fans who’ve followed Ward’s promise and progress likely have a different perspective on Ward than other teams’ general managers. Entering this season Ward had a career .513 slugging average but just a .264 batting average and .303 OBP.
Larry Dierker said of Ward in February, “A lot of teams have asked about him because they can see we aren’t playing him. But when we see what they want to offer, we just say no thanks. He’s move valuable to us backing up those different positions and coming off the bench (than) to just get some sort of mediocre player for him. He’s a guy that for us has a lot of value.”
Ward’s stock will rise with his performance. But it will take more than a few weeks of ripping the cover off the ball to lure teams into upping their ante on him. If the Astros indicate that they want to move Ward to a team where he can start, they’re unlikely to get as much for him as if they play hard to get and permit Ward to demonstrate further his ability to hit in the major leagues.
At the end of this season, when Alou becomes a free agent and Ward has another year in Houston under his belt, the Astros might be in a better position to decide whether they can afford the luxury of keeping a hitter like Ward on the bench and whether Ward’s patience will run out. Several months remain until that decision comes.
For the time being, the Astros and their fans should just enjoy the blessing of having a fourth outfielder with a bat like Ward’s.