SARASOTA, Fla. - Pedro Ãlvarez played right field Saturday and Monday and served as the designated hitter yesterday. He's being tossed into the deep end of the pool, but also thrown the occasional life preserver.
Ãlvarez isn't a Swimmies kind of guy. Trust me on this one.
The Orioles aren't leaving him out to dry. Ãlvarez gets lots of reps on the back fields as he learns a new position, alternating each day between first base coach Wayne Kirby and vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson.
Manager Buck Showalter first suggested it last September, and agent Scott Boras told reporters at the Winter Meetings that Ãlvarez was attempting to make the switch. Or at least expand his resume.
Ãlvarez signed a minor league deal with the Orioles earlier this month and they took over the transformation.
"The process started with the footwork, early work the first couple days with the footwork," Kirby said. "And then the reps with the individual defense. And then, after BP, we go back out there for another 15 minutes and work on more footwork - drop-step reads, first-step quickness.
"It's just a continuation of it. Did the same thing with (Mark) Trumbo, did the same thing with Trey (Mancini). I get them one day and Brady gets them one day, so that way they're hearing two different sides of how to play the outfield. Pretty much the same thing. Just planting the seed."
Ãlvarez played a single into a double Monday in Fort Myers, attempting a sliding catch on Marco Hernandez's liner. He dived for a ball hit into right-center field during a B game and played it on one hop.
"Pedro's doing good," Kirby said. "He wants to rush the thing, but it takes time. You can't rush it. He's trying to power shag every five balls. Play it live like a game. That's how you power shag and that will help him increase game awareness. And Trey's doing the same thing.
"The only thing I fear is the third deck and we can't experience that until the season starts. That's my only fear, because I watched (Hyun Soo) Kim go through it last year, I watched Joey go through it last year. It's a different animal, depth perception. You've got to be ready for that."
Mancini got a head start on Ãlvarez with his own outfield experiment. He let one ball skip past him in right this spring, but otherwise has avoided embarrassment:
"Again, it's a process," Kirby said. "Like (Monday), Pedro saw a topspin ball hit in the outfield. You've got to be out there a lot to understand what that ball's going to do. And the wind comes into play. There are so many variables. Everybody thinks the outfield is easy. It's not easy. You get high skies and all that. But Trey's adapting real well.
"The whole thing about playing the outfield is controlling your body. You have to read fast and, 'Do I have a chance to get it or do I not have a chance to get it? Play it safe.' Plan A, I can get it. Plan B, keep it (in front), secure the ball. I think that's the biggest thing.
"You don't just dive after the ball because you want to dive after the ball. You dive for the ball because you think you can catch it and it won't get by you. They've got to get all that functioning in their brain."
The center fielder, and there have been a few of them, offers assistance to anyone in the corners - and especially when it's a newbie.
"And still they're going to have to go out there and play with Adam (Jones) when he gets back," Kirby said.
Kirby is always on the stop step of the dugout to direct outfield traffic.
"It's just getting them familiar with when to look in," he said. "The other day I told Trey, 'I want you looking in every pitch,' because our defense changes so much. (Craig) Gentry, the same way. These guys who came through different systems where you stand here no matter what. We play the game. We play the pitcher, we play 0-2 counts where people hit, 2-2 counts where people hit, full counts, hitter's counts, how we've got to stay pull. So there's a lot of things that go into the outfield positioning."
It's going to continue tonight no matter who's in right field. Ãlvarez may get a chance to do it under the lights.
Meanwhile, left-hander Chris Lee gets his second spring start tonight against the Rays at Ed Smith Stadium. The game airs on MASN.
Lee was a bit nervous in his most recent outing against the Phillies, allowing two hits and walking two batters in three scoreless innings. He's surrendered only two runs in 11 innings this spring, with three walks and nine strikeouts.
Asked yesterday what he wants to see from Lee tonight, manager Buck Showalter replied, "The process."
"Take what was thrown at him in the last start," Showalter added. "He'll have some lights and fans and a good lineup and it'll be another part in his process. Hopefully, he takes another step."
Someone has to step up as the fifth starter and Lee is under consideration.
"He's one of the four or five guys we're looking (at)," Showalter said, "so he could make a case for himself (tonight)."