Jammer7

Great info!

This reminds me of the threads about the non-tender of Hanser Alberto and Renato Nunez. Two slightly below replacement level players who were lovable losers in orange and black. Some skills, no upside, and not major league starters. Some on the board called these moves “stupid” and ranted about it making no sense. They played part-time roles for KC and Detroit in 2021, and for much less money than they would have made in arbitration. Now, the Zach Pop decision was a mistake, and I said so at the time. Other than that, I guess, because of the way it turned out, we can say he made a mistake in trading Mike Yastrzemski too. At the time, it was what it was and Yaz came out of nowhere for SF. Good on him! He was a good platoon guy this year on a very good team. Of course every GM makes mistakes. They gather all of the info and make the best decision for their organization. Without knowing what Mike Elias knows, critics will say what they want. I have laid out why I think it happened, and why it happened now. Others will be traded or released, sure. Does it matter when? Not really, but there are certain times when you have a better chance to slip guys through. I believe they would have liked to have kept Hunter, and almost got him through. Last thought on this for me is that we also do not know what Elias has in store for acquisitions in 2022. I would say he knows how to build a bullpen, thus all of the relievers traded since 2019. They were simply over-worked. What he has yet to do is build a viable starting rotation. If he fails to make some meaningful acquisitions this offseason, I will be critical of him for that. I get running the young starters out there last year for the purposes of evaluation, but the training wheels are off. This season counts for me. This is when I begin to hold Elias accountable for building a major league roster.

As a fan, no. Not because I am afraid of what Mike Elias would want to do. But, it does scare me what ownership or a later GM might do. This is a group of owners who traditionally cannot help themselves and get out of their own way. They cannot stand prosperity for the sport. They are quick to take a quick buck. The game would be even more lopsided than it is now.

Well, if you carry those who are not preparing properly, who would rather be hunting…IDK. I think it’s all part of it. When you are the worst team in MLB, you make big changes. You get rid of those who are not committed to delivering on the field. You have to deliver a message to everyone involved. Mike Elias made the decision based on what he has seen over three years. As bad as he wanted Harvey to be the guy we all wanted him to be, Hunter was not that guy. There are various opinions on Harvey here. But to say that Mike Elias is stupid, ok, carry on. I’m out on that one. If Harvey goes on to be a stud, I’ll eat my words with Italian Gravy and a table Chianti.

Yeah, I know. But if no other team took him, and they picked at the end, then why not sneak him through? Why waste a 40 man slot?

I think several others will be cut, certainly. The timing was meant to try to get him through, and it nearly worked. I don’t think he is the same guy he once was, stuff wise. He may never be again. I have heard things from people I know that suggest he had poor preparation. It’s heresay, but that many injuries seems to corroborate. IDK. Sometimes you have to add by subtraction. Change the culture. I’ve been an advocate on this move for months. He was zero value for us since 2019.

27 other stupid teams too, I guess. The Giants are probably going to try to pass him through waivers and outright him to AAA to see if he is salvageable. I do not get the venom, Rob. They stuck by him for a long time. Time to cut bait. It’s a business. If he comes back and proves they were wrong, then they deserve the criticism. But no sense keeping cheap and broken talent when it brings no value, at all.

Smith pitched very well, lights out, in AA, not so much in AAA. So, he isn’t an automatic protect for me unless there was some negligence or malfunction on the part of departed coach Kennie Steenstra or manager Gary Kendall. I understand the push back on Smith, but I think the upside is worth protecting this year. As far as Chris Ellis, at first glance I was a little surprised, but not too much when you look at the peripherals. A fly ball pitcher, not a high k-rate, his babip was a lucky low .228 with us, the FIP was 4.57 and the xFIP was 5.4. I know the ERA was 2.15, but that was really deceiving in a small sample. I would bet his metrics on spin and effective spin are not great either. https://www.fangraphs.com/players/chris-ellis/16125/stats?position=P

You may be right, hard to tell. I could see them signing a proven MLB veteran catcher to begin the season as the starter and move Adley up in May to become the primary guy and understudy the veteran guy. Maybe a Sandy Leon or Kurt Suzuki type.

If the Orioles place Sparks the AAA roster, then no. I like the list of players you protected. I keep the same as you, but I will add one: DL Hall Kyle Bradish Terrin Vavra Robert Neustrom Kevin Smith Felix Bautista Ofelky Peralta Blaine Knight I think Vespi, Grenier and Sedlock have a chance of being selected. Perhaps Bishop and Dorrian.

Mateo was not injured for most of his career. Harvey was talented, but look back on his career stats. He was not really very good the past two years when he was healthy. Reliability is a big factor for relief pitchers. He could not go on back to back days. It was time to cut bait after nine years of waiting for him to come around. Besides, when SF DFA's him to stash him into the minors and no one claims him, he will have officially fallen off the map. You think we will win with guys that no one else wants? I don't. It's time to get serious about the major league team.

I went with Rom/Basallo. I think Tony really likes Rom, and I know he was impressed with Basallo’s power at 16 yoa. Bradish/Baumann was a close second.

I have heard some things over the years questioning his preparation and dedication. It isn’t an uncommon thing. Some guys don’t even like baseball. Some actually hate it. It’s a job. As far as his arm, are we sure he has the same stuff he showed in 2019? Maybe this wakes him up. How many teams passed on him during the waiver process? 27? Yikes.

Kriske, Fry, Mattson, Bannon, Richie Martin and DJ Stewart are all bubble guys for me. Fry and Stewart might be next. No doubt Elias has tried to trade these guys he has DFA’d, but found no takers. They have been evaluating these guys for three years. Time to cut losing players loose and change the landscape. This tells me Elias is going to make a few meaningful acquisitions.

I’m not certain Stewart isn’t DFA’d or traded. I have laid that out in previous threads. Terrible defense and consistently late on an average fastball are a really bad combo for me. I think Akin, Lopez and Mateo all come back. Lopez might be our best RH reliever beyond Wells and Sulser, and he stayed healthy throughout the year. He may not get $1.5 million, but he is worthy of being tendered.

I think there is more to go. The four on the 60 day IL makes it 31. Then, they protect between 5-7 guys. We can bet that they’ll make a waiver claim or two, and probably pick two R5 players. Then, sign a FA catcher, middle infielder, starter and at least one reliever. Some of that might be minor league deals, with spring invites, but I think 6-8 more are going.

I said it weeks ago, all the talent in the world does nothing if it cannot get on the field. We have to assume the team knows things we do not. So, the Giants take a flier on him. So what. Quit with the Yaz comps, please. In nine years here, he pitched what, 23.2 innings in Baltimore? He cannot be used two days in a row. And he was not very good when he was healthy the past two years. I had heard he had issues with his offseason work and dedication to his craft, but that is heresay. I have no direct knowledge of that, but it might explain why he is always injured. Good luck. We need the 40 man space to have guys who can actually pitch.

I did not get any impression you are down on him. Your thoughts are grounded and realistic on this. Blood and Elias will do what is best for his personal development. I just think if he can stick at SS, there is value to pairing him with Adley sooner than later.

It may not be normal for all college players, but I was talking about his personal trajectory. As a supplemental 1st round pick, with his apparent aptitude, athletic ability, defensive prowess and SEC experience, I don’t think it would be unusual at all. It also would not surprise me at all if it took him another year. I would not be down on him much if it took a little longer. I think it might be ok to move him a little quicker than they might normally and pair him with Adley, Stowers, Neustrom and such to build the young nucleus together as soon as possible. He will continue to learn on the job and may struggle some at first.

I agree that a normal progression for him would be to come up around August, perhaps sooner. I really want to see him thrive in AA first. I am not as worried about AAA, but I think it is important to have a strong few months in AA.

I went with Kjerstad here, but it would not surprise me if Tony chose Norby. Tough call with so much still an unknown for Kjerstad, but it seems like Kjerstad is on the road back. Only a matter of how long it takes him to regain his strength and athleticism. The rhythm and timing will come with his swing reps.

Yes, a very odd situation. I actually noticed Cossins in the bullpen late in the season for a few games. Maybe Chris Holt is not a good communicator, at least that is what I got from the article. Why else would they need to bring Holmes back to the dugout for his ability to counsel? I have wondered what the impetus was to make Chris Holt the pitching coach to start with. He was very good in his pitching coordinator role, and then quickly promoted. The only thing I can think of was another organization was going to offer him the pitching coach job to snatch him away and it forced the Orioles hand.

I went with Stowers. His consistent hard loud barrels are impressive. He is a very good defensive corner OF, and he thrived in AAA. It was tough to pick between Stowers and Jordan Westburg, but I know Tony really likes Stowers loud contact. As for Kjerstad, I choose to be optimistic that he can return completely. If he does, I probably rank him 3rd on this list. I think he has a better hit tool and more raw power than Stowers, but I have to say that Stowers has improved his swing decisions tremendously. He is impressive. If Kjerstad does embrace what the Orioles teach, I can see him in AAA by the end of 2022 with similar numbers to Stowers. As his strength and energy comes back over time, he will be the better player of the two, IMHO.

I understand your thoughts, and I agree with most everything. To me, he is like having a Corvette, but I can’t afford to buy gas. Looks great in the driveway, but it doesn’t take me anywhere. If they had DFA’d Hunter last Winter and kept Pop, we would have brought out the pitch forks. But would it have been a better outcome in hindsight? Sulser is the name many here bemoaned keeping over Pop, but he was actually a productive reliever in 2021. Just to throw out a name or two that may actually be more productive than Hunter, I like Krehbiel and Greene better. Yet many want to see them DFA’d. I know we have an attachment to what little flashes he has shown. But if keeping him costs us a guy who works out well and sticks with another team, and Hunter ends up on the 60 IL again, IDK. I guess to keep him, if I were Mike Elias, I would have to be certain that hunting isn’t more important to him than his workout and throwing programs.

You may be correct. We may see them drafting in the top 10 for another year, maybe two, but after that Elias will have some explaining to do.