The steal attempt was Steer’s first of 2025 after he went 25-for-28 last season. Steer, who nearly started the year on the IL with shoulder soreness, came into the game with a .125/.200/.219 line, and he was excluded from Tuesday’s lineup. He needs to get hot here in order to avoid losing additional playing time.

Steer will make his first start of the season in the field during Sunday’s finale at Camden Yards. The 27-year-old had been limited to DH exclusively for the first couple weeks of the year due to a lingering shoulder issue. He’s been ice-cold at the dish, hitting .111 (6-for-54) with one homer and three RBI in 15 games.

Steer is supposed to be feeling better as he recovers from a shoulder ailment, but it’s not showing up in the numbers; he’s batting .111/.186/.204 with 18 strikeouts in 59 plate appearances, and his hard-hit rate is just 22%. He’s also yet to attempt a steal after going 25-for-28 in that department last year. Odds are that he’ll eventually get things turned around, but there’s little sign of it yet.

With Christian Encarnacion-Strand landing on the IL with a back injury, there are some at-bats open for Steer at first base, which would push Jeimer Candelario to the bench. However, both Steer and Candelario are struggling to start the year, and you have to wonder whether Steer’s shoulder injury is impacting his swing. The 27-year-old is slashing .120/.185/.220 in 54 plate appearances with one home run and a 14/4 K/BB ratio. Steer is hitting more groundballs than he ever has, but has a career-low zone contact rate so far. We wouldn’t drop Steer just yet, but we have reason to be concerned.