With all the starting infield spots spoken for, the five-year veteran is at a crossroads with the Orioles.
It’s a funny thing, the life of a utility infielder. No matter how capable a player you may be, all anyone can think about is the player you aren’t.
Such is Ramón Urías’s plight. The Mexico native has spent five seasons in the majors as an above-average hitter (career 108 OPS+). He can play any infield position and won a Gold Glove at third base in 2022. On some major league teams, he’d be getting everyday at-bats. But on the Orioles, who are currently stuffed to the gills with dazzling young infielders, Urías is a guy that nobody wants to see in the lineup for very long.
It’s nothing personal. It’s just that if Urías is starting regularly, it means that something will have gone wrong with Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, or Jackson Holliday. Those three appear locked in as the Orioles’ everyday infield starters for now and the foreseeable future, and they possess the upside that the 30-year-old Urías can’t match.
But every team needs a backup, and you could certainly do worse than having Urías available when duty calls. It’s a role in which he came into his own last year, despite constant questions about his job security in the first half of the season. Some thought he might be cut in spring training, or that he’d be sent packing when his OPS sat at .452 at the end of April. At every turn, though, Urías survived, providing valuable insurance when Holliday was sent to the minors for more seasoning and when Westburg broke his hand in July.
And while Urías ended up starting more games than the O’s probably had anticipated, a funny thing happened along the way: he became one of the club’s best hitters down the stretch, slashing .278/.343/.476 in the second half. He may not be Henderson or Westburg or Holliday, but he staked an early claim for a 2025 roster spot even in a still-crowded infield picture. Urías is expected to begin the year as the Birds’ primary utility man, especially with Jorge Mateo likely IL-bound for Opening Day.
ZiPS projection: 107 G, 362 PA, 10 HR, 43 RBI, .253/.320/.402
Let’s hone in on that plate appearances number. Even for a guy coming off a solid year, a spare infielder can never get too comfortable with his roster spot. Does he have another full season in Baltimore ahead of him?
The case for the over
There’s certainly a path in which Urías gets 362 or more PAs this season — even if, again, that’s not exactly what fans might want to see. As talented as the infielders ahead of him on the depth chart may be, they’ll still need days off. And Holliday, in particular, might sit out against tough lefty pitchers, opening an opportunity for Urías to get more starts. Plus, injuries are inevitable, as Westburg found out last year. If Urías makes the most of his playing time as he did in 2024, he’ll find his way into the mix more often than not.
The case for the under
As the Orioles’ roster has gotten more talented over the last three years, Urías’s playing time has steadily decreased. He played 118 games in 2022, 116 in 2023, and an even 100 last year (though in fairness, he would’ve played a few more had he not suffered an August injury that cost him three weeks). His PAs have dropped from 445 to 396 to 301. And he’ll have some competition for the backup infield spot whenever Mateo returns from injury. There’s no guarantee he’ll last the season on the Orioles’ roster. If Urías gets off to a slow start this year, the O’s might decide they can find an upgrade somewhere else.
I suppose that’s just how it goes when you’re a utility infielder.