MCO'sFan

I don't think Corea is a good fit now. As several have said that it may have made sense last year but doesn't now. I think there are several prospects that could fill the position. I still think that Mateo will be the starter to open the year. I don't think you can even consider Holiday in the decision. He's too far away. Maybe if Corea was willing/able to move to another position but who knows if that's real. I would rather go after a Corner OF or 1B/DH. And of course, pitching.

I would be shocked if all of the players in the opening post are with the team at the end of 23.

I am glad we don't have to choose at least not now anyway. I would also go with Adley for the intangibles.

Yes, I agree that was the intent of the OP. I guess I didn't do a good job of explaining my thoughts. I don't want to trade any of those three either.

I don't even want to consider a FA at 2B. I want to see what we have in Westburg, Ortiz and Norby.

By the end of 2023 I want our INF to be 3B - Henderson, SS - Ortiz, 1B - Westburg and 2B - Norby.

What do you mean by “ownership uncertainty”?

And it should be just the start. They should add 3-5 each year for the next few years.

Yep, I want to see Westburg more than Grayson. Because the most Grayson is going to get is maybe 2-3 starts which is fine. I'd rather see him go to the Arizona League but I don't think he's on the roster.

Thanks, I hadn't heard that. I guess it wasn't an original thought!

I am curious to see how some of the more advanced analytics teams handle this. For example, will we see a team switch the middle infielder to provide the "better fielder" usually the SS to the side of the field where a ground ball is expected? Or do they just leave them on the "normal" side and play it straight?

The wall has hurt Mountcastle and I think it is in his head at least a little. He crushed a ball a couple of weeks ago and it was caught at the wall on a really nice play. As he rounded 1B and saw the ball was caught you could read his lips and he said "I hate Baseball". Now that is really funny and a lot of guys say it in that situation but to me the wall has become a factor for him. If his power numbers are down due to the wall then he value to the O's is down too. His swing and miss has always been balanced by his power. I think he is on the team next year and with many of our top prospects LHH the we will need some RHH to balance out on the road. He has been very unlucky and I expect some improvement next year but will it be substantial? I have had high hopes for Hays since his big year in MiLB. I like the style of play but many projected him to be a 4th OF on a good team. I think that's what he is.

Thanks for asking. I appreciate that. I expect some regression simply because of the historic nature of the turnaround this year. I hope I am wrong but It seems logical that there would be some regression in W/L. Can we expect the same results from the bullpen since they are mostly unproven and RP performance tends to fluctuate. I hope we add a tier one SP but its not a given. I expect some growing pains with young guys. Does Bradish get more consistent? Is Voth and Kremer for real? Does Hall finally figure our his command? How many innings can Means and Grayson provide? I am not sure that we have any players that have performed at a certain level for long enough to say we know who they are. Even Santander has to have some uncertainty about his pitch selection. Can he repeat it or does? There is a lot of uncertainty/volatility to the roster. I think we have several guys that are "good enough" but that is the problem if we want to get to the level of the Dodgers and Astros. We need to replace several guys with better players and that takes time and there is bound to be some growing pains.

Okay, I am not sure if I am struggling to communicate or if you are messing with me. I thought I was pretty clear but I will try again. I personally would be okay with both Ortiz and Westburg starting at SS and 2B respectively. I don't see the O's as I playoff team next year. If ME does then I don't think he will go into the 2023 COUNTING on both of them. I think that Westburg is the player most ready between the two players so I would like to see him start at 2B. I would start the year with Mateo at SS. Assuming that Westburg performs well, he should stay at 2B. If either Mateo falls back into his sub .600 OPS or Ortiz is just killing it at AAA then he should be promoted.

That's not exactly what I said. I said that you shouldn't count on two rookies up the middle. That's different from two rookies being the two best players. I don't think its a given that they would be and you certainly shouldn't count on it. If Ortiz has an OPS of 900 plus then that's what I would consider him forcing his way up. I like Ortiz and wouldn't be disappointed to see him break camp as the starting SS. I expect some regression in the W/L area anyway and believe that the O's will be a fringe contender next year as they were this year. I just don't know how ME sees the club.

I think that if in fact the O's are expecting to be a playoff team, you don't start the year counting on two rookies up the middle. I want Westburg to start the year at 2B and Have Ortiz continue to show his improvement at AAA for at least a 6 week period before I would promote and go with two rookies up the middle.

You're right Ortiz shouldn't be handed a starting job next year. Westburg has NOTHING to prove in AAA. He needs to be the starting 2B next year, if no one is added. IMHO

I don't disagree with you here but, I don't want to trade him until Ortiz forces his way up. If that happens then you look to trade Mateo at the deadline. Then Ortiz comes up or, he is a SU until the 23-24 offseason when you trade him. Now if he has an OPS of say .750 then Ortiz has to wait or he plays 2B and Westburg becomes a SU guy.

I don't hate the idea of a Hays/Mullins platoon if you can't move one of them this offseason. It would get expensive and hurt their trade value. I am not sure how either will be viewed by other teams this offseason.

I want the infield to begin 2023 to be Upgrade at 1B, Westburg 2B, Mateo SS, Henderson 3B. I want Ortiz to force his way up and replace Mateo turning him into an IF/OF Super utility guy. I want Norby to be getting consistent starts at 1B in AAA. Urias should not be a starter next year.

I like Mateo and I think he should be the starting SS to begin the year. I am hoping/expecting that once Ortiz proves his hit tool improvement is real then he should be up and providing elite defense and average or even plus offense. I would love to see our prospects develop to the point that Mateo is a super utility guy getting 4-5 starts each week.

I would like to pick more than one but that was not the question. But, I am going to cheat a little. I will pick Bradish as well but I am hoping it is Westburg!

Well, as a coach I tend not to blame coaches. I think that the coaching has probably been fine. Many players have thrived under Fuller's coaching in the minors and I am confident that he is "teaching and preaching" the same things. There is an adjustment (perhaps stubbornness) for the older players before they embrace a new approach. I think the wall has hurt some guys more-so than the coaching. Some of that you can quantify but some (mental/approach) you can't.

I hope Kjerstad moves fast next year.

I would prefer to see Gunner play 3B at least until we can find out if Ortiz can sustain his hit tool. We might be able to have two elite defenders with above average OPS at both positions.