ANAHEIM -- Injuries to a pair of Orioles infielders resulted in Leody Taveras playing third base for five innings during Monday night’s series-opening 6-1 win over the Angels at Angel Stadium.
You read that correctly: Taveras, a seven-year MLB veteran who has exclusively played outfield across the Majors, Minors and winter ball, took over at the hot corner in the third inning.
“You have to find a way to help the team,” Taveras said. “That’s all I had on my mind.”
Here’s how it got to that point.
Blaze Alexander started at third, looking to continue his recent tear after an impressive weekend at Dodger Stadium. But the 27-year-old fouled a ball off his leg in the second inning -- a plate appearance that resulted in a swinging strikeout -- and exited due to right knee discomfort. (He has a muscle contusion that caused his leg to lock up on him in the dugout, and his status is day to day.)
Meanwhile, Jackson Holliday was out of the lineup for the second straight day because of groin tightness. If the 22-year-old had been available, he could have replaced Alexander at third.
Coby Mayo has started 45 games at third this season, but the 24-year-old was at designated hitter. So, if Baltimore moved him to third, it would have lost its DH spot much too early.
Luis Vázquez was at the ballpark on the O’s taxi squad. But he wasn’t activated, as the club instead selected the contract of Chadwick Tromp to give it three catchers on the 26-man roster.
That left three available players on the bench -- catcher Samuel Basallo, Tromp and Taveras.
Manager Craig Albernaz then had a decision to make.
“So I literally just yelled out to the dugout, ‘Who wants to play third?’” Albernaz said. “[Center fielder Colton] Cowser came down, and I was like, ‘Do you want to play third?’ And he went from being happy to pooping his pants a little bit. ...
“In my mind, I knew Leody. Because Leody, he does take ground balls regularly. Not on the infield, but in the outfield. We talked about it previously that he could play in the infield, so we were going with Leody.”
Naturally, the ball immediately found Taveras, as the 27-year-old made a nice backhanded play on a 78.4 mph ground ball off the bat of Jose Siri and threw to first for the first out of the bottom of the third. Pete Alonso made a scoop on the other end to help out Taveras, who was using Alexander’s glove.
“It was quick, honestly. It felt like everything was quick. Shoutout to Pete there with the pick,” Taveras said. “You don’t have time to think about it. You just go.”
The rest of Taveras’ time at third was relatively uneventful, and he moved to center field to start the eighth as Mayo shifted from DH to third. But everybody knew the ball was somehow going to find Taveras as soon as he stepped onto the infield.
“The ball is always going to find you when you play a different position, and it found him and he did a good job,” infield coach Miguel Cairo said. “It’s someone just being selfless and going out there, and he helped the team when we needed him.”
While Taveras stepped up and handled the assignment well, credit must also be given to Cairo. Each time the O’s were on defense, Cairo moved to a seat in front of the railing of the first-base dugout and relayed instructions to Taveras.
As an outfielder, Taveras doesn’t need to know infield positioning for various game situations based on who is hitting, how many baserunners are on, etc. But Cairo ensured Taveras was in the right spots at the right times.
“I was worried about that. And he said, ‘No, I got you, I’ll move you.’ So it was pretty smooth,” Taveras said of Cairo. “I was feeling weird because of where I’m at, but after that, it was pretty good.”
“He’s an athlete, and he kind of saved us right there,” Cairo added. “It was fun.”
The Orioles will hope Alexander’s ailment doesn’t become anything more serious. He is hitting .310 with an .804 OPS in 67 games this season and is batting .413 (19-for-46) in June.
Baltimore’s bats stayed hot without him. Taylor Ward hit a leadoff homer in his first game against his former team and Mayo clubbed a three-run home run in the fourth to back an eight-inning scoreless gem from right-hander Kyle Bradish.
But this game will be remembered for Taveras, who also contributed some offense on his surprising night by hitting a double in the sixth and knocking a single in the eighth.
“I was confused when I first looked out there, and then, of course, the ball gets hit the first at-bat right to him, and he made a great play,” Bradish said. “So, who knows? Maybe he’ll be out there.”
A new chapter as a super utility man for Taveras?
“I can do my best, for sure,” Taveras said with a smile. “Why not?”