Injury-plagued Orioles seek turnaround

BALTIMORE — The last time the Baltimore Orioles began a season this poorly, Buck Showalter was brought in to restore order to the floundering franchise. Now, he finds himself in a similar mess.

Back in 2010, the Orioles stumbled to a 1-11 start and were 5-18 at the end of April. They fired manager Dave Trembley in June and continued to slide under interim manager Juan Samuel before Showalter came aboard and guided Baltimore to 34 wins in its final 57 games. He has since taken the Orioles to the postseason three times.

This year, however, he’s had to deal with a team plagued by injuries, lackluster hitting and inconsistent pitching. With guys like Anthony Santander, Danny Valencia, Chance Sisco and Craig Gentry getting significant playing time, it’s no wonder Baltimore (8-20) has a minus-54 run differential and is deep in last place in the AL East.

The Orioles fully expected to compete for a playoff spot this season. Vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette resisted trade offers for pending free agent Manny Machado over the winter and added veterans Alex Cobb and Andrew Cashner to a starting rotation that featured homegrown talents Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman. Unfortunately, things went awry well before opening day. Slugger Mark Trumbo (quad strain) and closer Zach Britton (Achilles tendon) began the season in the disabled list and were soon joined by All-Star second baseman Jonathan Schoop (oblique), outfielder Colby Rasmus (hip flexor) and third baseman Tim Beckham, who will be sidelined for the next six weeks after core surgery. That opened the door for a variety of players who’d otherwise be on the bench or in the minors.

“There’s a great opportunity here for some people, and they’re trying to take advantage of it,” Showalter said. Through the weekend, however, Santander was batting .213 and Valencia .204. Sisco, a rookie catcher who replaced struggling starter Caleb Joseph early on, was hitting .255.

Chris Davis has a .167 batting average, two home runs and six RBIs, just three years after signing a $161 million contract. “I’m sure there’s the inner pressure to live up to (expectations),” Showalter said. “It’s eating at him.”

Beckham was hitting .179 before going on the DL, Adam Jones is at .239 and Joseph is sputtering at .137. The lone player with a hot bat has been Machado (.361, nine HRs, 22 RBIs).

“I know what Manny’s done. Special player,” Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “But then you look at Jonathan Schoop, another special player that’s not there. They’ve been banged up, snakebit a little bit by the injuries.”