Former Guardians lighting rod outfielder faced with tall task as latest Orioles call-up  

Last fall, then-Guardians outfielder Johnathan Rodríguez was thrust into the center of every debate about the team’s lineup when he hit cleanup in Cleveland’s postseason opener against the Tigers. 

And, to the surprise of no one, he finished the game 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and looked overmatched against Skubal. 

While Rodríguez has swung his way into the lineup conversation in the final two series of the season when he went 5-for-7 with a crucial home run, his presence in the lineup in the biggest game of the season was conformation the Guardians had truly jumped the shark when it came to their desire for the platoon advantage. 

But he got a new chance to pave his MLB future on Wednesday when the Orioles called him up from the minors in place of catcher Samuel Basallo, who was placed on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. 

The Orioles already placed All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman on the injured list over the weekend, which means there’s even more pressure on Rodríguez to produce as the Orioles look to mount a comeback in the American League Central ahead of the trade deadline. 

The Orioles are going to need Johnathan Rodríguez to produce

Rodríguez’s time with the Guardians came to a merciful end this spring when Cleveland designated him for assignment to make room for Rhys Hoskins, and he quickly found a new landing spot when the Orioles scooped him off waivers. 

That seemed like the perfect landing spot for Rodríguez given the Orioles were led by former Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz. He earned his first call-up with the Orioles in the middle of April, but went 0-for-7 with an RBI before being sent down to Triple-A. 

He’s continued his trend of mashing Triple-A pitching (.270 batting average with four home runs and 22 RBI in 62 games at Norfolk), but he still has yet to translate success to the big league level.

Rodríguez ended up appearing in 49 games with the Guardians, but had a .165/.281/.284 slashline. Fifteen of his career hits have come against left-handed pitching, so he provides a slight platoon advantage, but not by much. 

Now he’s going to fit into Baltimore’s right field/designated hitter picture alongside Dylan Beavers, Leody Taveras, Tyler O’Neill and Colton Cowser. 

The Orioles entered play on Wednesday four games back in the Wild Card spot, so Rodríguez and his teammates are running out of time to prove to Baltimore's front office that they should invest in the roster at the trade deadline.

While Rodríguez shouldn’t take away a ton of everyday at-bats from any of those players, he’ll likely be in the team’s lineup any time they face off against a left-handed pitcher.

He never found a way to take advantage of that during his time with the Guardians, but he’ll get a chance to do so with the Orioles.

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