What should Orioles do about Henderson? | MAILBAG

Question: Gunnar Henderson is in a season-long slump. He leads the league in strikeouts. He hits ground balls to second base regularly. In fact his ground-ball to fly-ball rate is up over past seasons. I see nothing different in his approach at the plate. I was happy to see Pete Alonso talking hitting with him. I assume the coaches are working with him, but I don’t see any adjustments to end this. What are he and the coaches doing to change his hitting approach? From: Neal Mather

Answer: Neal, I’ve gotten lots of questions about Gunnar Henderson this year. I also received one from Bill Connor, who suggested that Henderson be optioned to Norfolk to work on his game.

First, you’re incorrect about his strikeouts. Henderson isn’t even in the top 10 in the American League in strikeouts, though he has struck out on average about once a game. He’s actually hitting more fly balls (38.3 percent entering Wednesday’s game) than he has at any point in his career. His ground-ball rate (44.8 percent) is the lowest in his career.

Every time Henderson has a good game, we think that this could be the start of his turnaround. I know the batting coaches are working hard with him, but so far, he still seems stuck. I think if they knew what to change successfully, we wouldn’t be discussing it.

As for sending him to the minors, despite his subpar play, Henderson had a 2.0 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) before Wednesday’s game, trailing only Pete Alonso among all Orioles, so he’s contributing something.

Henderson is still the best shortstop on the team. Who would you put in his place? Would that improve the team? I don’t think sending him to Norfolk would do anything to help. He’d just hit .350 against pitchers who aren’t good enough to play in the major leagues. 

Question: Is Enrique Bradfield Jr. healthy and playing? I think he has to be protected this year so why isn’t he playing here instead of Christian Franklin? I know he’s struggling with the bat, but he deserves to at least be given the chance to fail in the big leagues before we lose him. From: Allen File 

Answer: Allen, Enrique Bradfield Jr. is healthy and playing. He’s hitting .261 with three home runs and 26 RBIs in 70 games for Norfolk. He’s stolen 26 bases in 30 attempts.

Yes, he would have to be protected in the Rule 5 draft, which might not be held due to labor uncertainty.

Christian Franklin is a right-handed hitter and Bradfield is a left-handed hitter. Once the Orioles traded Taylor Ward, they needed another right-handed hitter. Tyler O’Neill was the only right-handed hitting outfielder.

With Dylan Beavers and Colton Cowser left-handed and Leody Taveras a switch-hitter, having Bradfield would make the Orioles more vulnerable to left-handers than they are now.

It’s possible that Bradfield could come up to the major leagues in September, but the Orioles also have Heston Kjerstad, another left-handed hitter who needs another look.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.