Keon Broxton is More Than Welcome in Baltimore

As a whole, the Orioles’ outfield isn’t awful. It’s the offensive production that makes it passable, though, everything out in the actual outfield is shaky. And doomsday finally came for the current group on Wednesday, days after several outfield gaffes contributed to the O’s blowing a big lead against the Yankees.

The O’s traded for Keon Broxton on Wednesday, a plus-defender who was the Brewers starting center fielder for most of 2017 and 2018. In return, Broxton’s most recent team, the Mets, received $500,000 in international bonus pool money.

It should be noted that the O’s outfield also had a few gaffes tonight in their 7-5 loss to New York, including a miscommunication between two infielders-turned-outfielders, Stevie Wilkerson and Trey Mancini, that resulted in Brett Gardner stretching a single into a double.

Given the current outfield group all has negative DEF ratings this year (-12.2 combined), according to FanGraphs, Broxton will be a welcome sight in the O’s outfield. Last year, the speedster had a +8.7 DEF with Milwaukee.

Though he didn’t disparage the group, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde plans to plug him right into the lineup.

“He’s a really athletic guy. His tools are off the charts,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “He can really go get it in center field; I’ve seen him make numerous great plays.”

Hyde has no intention of letting Broxton watch from the bench.

“I know that he’s excited to come here, and he’s going to get an opportunity to play,” Hyde said. “Looking forward to watching him play. I’ve seen the raw power, I’ve seen the speed and I’ve seen the defense in center. He’s going to play quite a bit.”

(via ESPN)

In addition to what he’ll do in the outfield, there’s also some power there, as Hyde mentioned, and lots of speed.

Back in 2017, the only full season of Broxton’s career, he hit 20 home runs and stole 21 bases. A year prior in just 75 games, he swiped 23 bags.

Another thing to look out for is familiarity; Broxton will join his former teammate Jonathan Villar at the top of Baltimore’s lineup. The pair played together a ton in Milwaukee during 2016 and 2017, just missing the postseason in 2017. That year, the Brewers went 86-76 and both guys were everyday players — Broxton played 143 games, Villar played 122.

This move isn’t going to change Baltimore’s course much this year but he’s a real piece that will make them more competitive on a nightly basis. Back in 2009, he was a third-round pick and he’s not yet 30-years old; if he reaches his potential, he could be on the O’s when things start to turn.

Photo Credit: Flickr user slgckgc [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons