Three months ago, it was unclear if the Orioles would be embarking on this spring training with infielder Manny Machado among their ranks at all.
Now that they have him, freshly motivated with his desire to move to shortstop accommodated and the free-agency finish line that has loomed over him for years in sight, they're seeing a form of Machado that they've rarely seen in Sarasota, Fla.
Machado, playing in his fifth Grapefruit League game, swatted his second home run on Thursday as part of a three-hit, four-RBI day as the Orioles' starters left with a 10-6 lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates before 5,265 at Ed Smith Stadium.
He added a double down the left-field line to score left fielder Trey Mancini in the first inning, cued a slow roller past first baseman Josh Bell in the third inning, then plated three with a no-doubt home run to left field in the six-run fourth inning.
"It's been awesome," Machado said. "I'm getting some reps at short, and doing all the work that I could be doing early in camp and getting as much reps as I can at short. It's been awesome, and the team is looking pretty good."
That Machado turns to his defensive position when discussing what's been a scalding start to spring training is no coincidence. He's been energized by the team's decision to move him to shortstop and Tim Beckham to third base after an offseason of trade rumors that put Machado's Orioles future in jeopardy.
While he's in for a taxing defensive season at a position with many more opportunities and more physical demands than third base provides, he's told teammates and coaches he's as excited as he's ever been for a season, and is swinging like it so far, too. Spring success of any kind is uncharacteristic for him, but he's enjoying every aspect of Sarasota.
"I have no idea," Machado said. "I guess luck. I've got to slow down a little bit and try to get some hits for April, May, June, July. I'm just going out there and enjoying myself. I'm excited to be here and excited to be part of this ballclub. I'm just going out there every day with the guys I've been competing with and rolling with for the last seven years. It's been amazing."
While there's plenty to the notion that players should separate defense and hitting when one aspect or the other is scuffling, it seems it's all working in concert for Machado, albeit with just over four weeks remaining in spring training and a long way to go before any of the good feeling he's brought to the first week of Grapefruit League games means something.
But after batting .259/.310/.471 with 33 home runs in what few others than him would consider a down season in 2017, Machado has a complete season in mind for when things start to count.
"I've got to be a leader out there on defense, and whatever happens at the plate, leave it in the dugout and things will always turn out," Machado said. "The struggles that I had last year, I learned a lot about putting all that in the past. You can't control the outcome of anything, but you can go out there and work hard and you can win the game in other aspects of it. Now, playing at short, I'm going to have more opportunities to try and save some runs and help the team win. That's all we can do."
