Brandon Hyde has always talked about his days with the Cubs when asked. On rare occasions, he will compare a player to someone he spent time with at Chicago. Rarely, if ever, do I remember him speaking longingly of anything from that part of his coaching career (except at one point maybe the winning). And that’s what made his answer to a question at the end of the season about his team’s struggles with runners in scoring position fascinating.

He talked about Ben Zobrist.

“Ben Zobrist in Chicago changed our entire lineup,” Hyde said, referring to the free agent utilityman signed ahead of the Cubs’ 2016 World Series championship season. “Thirty-six years old, switch-hit, hit the ball all over the place, walked. Joe [Maddon] hit him fourth, around these young guys, because there was going to be an at-bat or two in the game where you knew Zo was going to take a great at-bat with runners in scoring position, and it changed our entire lineup. Those types of things, that’s just experience and confidence of being in there in that moment. And a lot of times, with our guys, you try to slow the game down for them, but it’s tough in the batter’s box in front of 45,000 people when the game’s on the line, or you’re trying to get the big hit for your team. I think our guys are going to improve just from the experiences that they had.”

Or, alternatively, they can go out and get someone who can add that to their lineup from the outside. According to The Athletic, Hyde may get former Cub David Ross on his coaching staff this year. Might he get a Zobrist replica in his lineup, too?

If we’re searching in free agency, it’s hard to say there’s an exact fit. Zobrist was a relative late bloomer, but was still a consistent producer when he signed with Chicago. He primarily played second base for the Cubs but also made starts in the corner outfield spots. He had 7.7 wins above replacement (WAR) over his previous two seasons before free agency, according to FanGraphs, which among this year’s free agent class can only be said for Juan Soto, Alex Bregman and Willy Adames.

All those players would change the Orioles’ lineup for the better, but with Bregman and Adames infielders and the Orioles’ infield spots spoken for through most of the decade, it would take some finessing to fit them in. And that’s not really the point of this exercise, considering they’re at the top of the free agent market.

Teoscar Hernandez kind of fits the mold and is a popular Orioles target given the stated goal of Mike Elias to add a right-handed hitting outfielder. Hernandez is a little steadier offensively than the man he’d be replacing in Anthony Santander. But he’s still walked just 7.2% of the time in his career, and that’s not dissimilar to the kind of approach the Orioles are trying to evolve from.

Jurickson Profar, who will be 32 next season, probably wouldn’t hit in the middle of the Orioles lineup, but would make it much steadier if his breakout season in San Diego was real. He had a career year and made his first All-Star team with an .839 OPS, 24 home runs, and a 11.4% walk rate. He’s a switch-hitter who doesn’t chase often and doesn’t whiff often. The only problem is he’s played left field almost exclusively. His arm could probably play in right field if the Orioles needed to put him there to keep Colton Cowser in left.

Beyond those two, the options aren’t as intriguing, though they exist. Mark Canha gets on base decently and is probably better than he showed in 2024. Michael Conforto could be an option, but nothing about his production really qualifies for this exercise. Joc Pederson is a lefty, and the Orioles’ need for one of those (or a full-time DH) is probably limited. The same can’t be said if that full-time DH is J.D. Martinez, but maybe not this diminished version of him, as much as I love the player.

Profar, it seems, is as good a fit as any for Hyde’s Zobrist type — though their stories couldn’t be any different. Zobrist typified the Rays in the early-2010s, grinding out at-bats and being generally annoying, though really good, while Profar was the game’s consensus top prospect entering the 2013 season with the Texas Rangers. Zobrist went on to win a pair of World Series, while Profar didn’t even make his first All-Star team until over a decade into his career.

No matter. They can still be connected through this very specific roster role. All Profar has to do is sign with the Orioles and win World Series MVP once he does. No pressure.

Free Agent of the Week

Each week this offseason, we’ll highlight a free agent who could help the Orioles. Let’s start with a fun one: Blake Snell.

He’s arguably the top pitcher on the market and does everything the Orioles would want: miss bats, limit baserunners, and minimize hard contact. Snell will turn 32 in a few weeks and doesn’t have a qualifying offer attached to him, so if the Orioles are willing to issue a high-salary, shorter-term contract, he could be a real fit atop their rotation. He’d also, crucially, add another left-hander to their rotation alongside Cade Povich and would solve their problem of not having enough lefty starters to force opponents to use their righties at Camden Yards to be disadvantaged by the left-field wall.

Further reading

🇯🇵 A Japanese talent: I’m doing a lot of reading about and thinking about Roki Sasaki, who I think could and should be interested in signing with the Orioles if he’s signing on merits. Jim Allen, who covers Japanese baseball, tweeted yesterday that Sasaki could consider a smaller-market team with a good development structure. The Orioles qualify. I think this FanGraphs breakdown from a few months ago is also useful for anyone interested in the logistics of signing him.

🤔 Danny Coulombe: Andy had a useful breakdown of the Orioles’ decision not to bring back Danny Coulombe via his club option. While a little surprising, remember he came to the Orioles in a cash deal at the end of spring training in 2023. There are always Danny Coulombes out there if you’re willing to do the work to find them. (The Baltimore Banner)

🧢 The offseason: Mike Elias spoke to MLB.com at the GM Meetings last week and laid out his vision for the club’s offseason. A lot of useful info is contained within. (MLB.com)