Early Grades for All of the Baltimore Orioles' Offseason Acquisitions

With three weeks of the regular season now in the books, it's becoming evident that this could be one heck of a roller-coaster season for the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles lost five straight games but then busted out in Sunday's contest against the Boston Red Sox, scoring 18 runs.

Defensive errors and mental mistakes have plagued the Orioles so far this season, and all of their losing woes have seemingly come at their own hand.

With veterans J.J. Hardy and Matt Wieters still shelved, a large part of the clubhouse leadership is missing, which could possibly be a detriment to team chemistry.

With a handful of newcomers to the team, it's important that they get up to speed with the Oriole way and understand that fundamentals and defense come first in manager Buck Showalter's mindset.

Baltimore's newest acquisitions have had their share of successes and failures so far, so let's look deeper into their individual performances.

Jason Garcia, RP

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

2015 Stats: 6 G, 0-0, 0 SV, 6.97 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 5 K, 10.1 IP

Analysis:

Rule 5 draft pick Jason Garcia has made only six appearances for the Orioles this season and has been underwhelming to say the least so far.

Garcia has given up at least one run in two-thirds of his outings, which includes three home runs and two hit batters.

It's still very early in the season, but so far, Garcia hasn't been missing any bats and can't be relied upon in tight game situations just yet.

Grade: D-

Ryan Lavarnway, C

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

2015 Stats: 5 G, .167/.211/.222, 1 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 R

Analysis:

This season, after catcher Matt Wieters was put on the disabled list for the elbow he had Tommy John surgery on last year, catcher Ryan Lavarnway was brought on board to serve as the backup to Caleb Joseph, who found success last year in a platoon role with Nick Hundley.

Lavarnway has only appeared in five games thus far this year, but he has just three hits in 18 at-bats and five strikeouts.

Lavarnway is capable of much more, however. In 2013, he managed to nearly hit .300 (he finished at .299) in 25 games and 77 at-bats for Boston.

Expect the offensive numbers to improve as he becomes more comfortable at Camden Yards.

Grade: D

Everth Cabrera, SS

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

2015 Stats: 17 G, .234/.250/.234, 0 2B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 5 R, 2 SB

Analysis:

Everth Cabrera has done an adequate job of filling in for regular shortstop J.J. Hardy.

The 28-year-old veteran has made some flashy plays with the leather, but he has committed two errors on the season so far.

The 5'10'' speedster is known for his wheels once he gets on base, but he has only managed to swipe two bags in 69 plate appearances.

Once Hardy returns, Cabrera will be a valuable pinch runner coming off of the bench, but he does not have the power or on-base skills to cut it as a starter.

Grade: C-

Wesley Wright, RP

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

2015 Stats: 2 G, 0-0, 0 SV, 5.40 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 0 K, 1.2 IP

Analysis:

Signed to a one-year contract as a free agent, lefty reliever Wesley Wright only had the chance to appear in two games for the Orioles before being placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a trapezius strain.

Wright pitched a total of 1.2 innings prior to the injury and gave up one earned run with no strikeouts.

Due to that particularly small sample size, there is not enough performance to go off of to give an accurate grade.

Grade: N/A

Travis Snider, OF

Steve Nesius/Associated Press

2015 Stats: 16 G, .275/.362/.412, 2 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 7 R

Analysis:

Since being plugged into right field to take over for the departed longtime Oriole Nick Markakis, Travis Snider has been better than expected with the bat and adequate in the field.

Snider has recorded a hit in 10 of the 16 games he has played in thus far, including three multi-hit games.

Currently, Snider is fourth on the club in on-base percentage (.362) among players with more than 30 at-bats and is also tied for fourth in hits with 14.

Look for Snider to continue to provide above-average production in the middle of the order for the Baltimore Orioles this season.

Grade: B+