deward

I can't imagine they have any expectation of Mateo going back to being a regular. If he's going on his annual hot streak, then it's smart to ride him until he gasses out, then shift him back to his reserve role. Holliday is taking that full-time spot soon enough.

He's been fine when he's well-rested. The O's need to accept that his usage has to be limited in order to keep him effective.

Glenn, Storm, or Chris?

Urias off the team, probably. Or an injury. Given how much they value Urias' glove, I suspect he'd have to be terrible at the plate all the way through the All-Star break before they'd consider that kind of move.

That's a big leap of faith for a guy who's only been THIS guy for 13.1 innings in the majors and has already had a UCL issue. And you're still trading a potential middle of the lineup bat for a reliever. Even for an elite reliever, that value proposition will end up very lop-sided if Basallo comes close to what people think he can be.

Chapman was much more of a proven commodity.

I think it would be hilariously foolish of them not to if it was offered. A top 15 prospect for a closer on a bad team? Of course you take that.

Proceeds to go 0-4 with 2 K's, gets buried on the bench for another week, then abruptly sent back to Norfolk. The bum.

It's a great group to watch and root for; a bunch of young guys who came up together, along with some survivors of the Dark Times, on a mission to turn around a moribund franchise. I really hope that this particular group, with fairly minimal modifications, is able to finish the job; as opposed to requiring a significant influx of mercenary help from the outside. Not that I'd turn the other scenario down, but winning with this group would have a special vibe to it that you wouldn't be able to recreate.

If they gave him an extra day because they were worried about his shoulder, and then let him throw 100 pitches anyway, then they can't have been THAT worried about it.

The worst case scenario is certainly ugly, but there have been plenty of cases where guys got treatment and were back quickly. It could be something that they would have considered trying to avoid an IL stint for if they didn't have both Means and Bradish ready to return. Not gaming, necessarily, just an opportunity to take a cautious approach.

There are plenty of studies tying throwing harder to an increased risk of UCL injury. This article from SI is a bit more readable than some of the medical journals I've found: https://www.si.com/mlb/2024/04/08/pitcher-injury-epidemic-tommy-john-surgery-velocity It doesn't specifically answer your question. There seems to be a sharp spike in risk as you get into the mid-90s (keeping in mind that no one is immune, at any velocity), but I can't find anything that delineates between high-90s vs triple digits. Though it seems intuitive that the pressure on the UCL would continue to increase the higher up the chart you go.

A guy who throws as hard as Miller will carry a higher injury risk than most. Kjerstad is ready to help anyone's lineup, he just needs a chance. There will be opportunities out there this off-season if Elias wants to be aggressive about it.

I'd rather trade someone like Kjerstad for a starter to replace Burnes, not a reliever with a high amount of risk attached.

You'd probably have regrets when Kjerstad is hitting 30 bombs for Oakland and Miller is on the shelf with TJ and never gets back to 100%. I know Miller has been going his best Felix Bautista impression for 13 innings this year, but he's got a grand total of 46 innings in the majors, and the 33 he pitched last year were solid, but not amazing. As mentioned elsewhere, he already had a UCL sprain last year, so the specter of Tommy John is certainly hanging over him. I think trading a top 30 prospect for him would be getting a little carried away, and I can't see Elias doing that.

Recapturing the casual fan's attention IS improving the organization. More butts in seats, more eyeballs on broadcasts, more clicks, social media interactions, etc, etc, etc. What appeals to the casual fan will always risk coming off a bit cringy to the die-hards; nothing he can do about that. This stuff won't ultimately determine how good an owner he turns out to be, you're right about that, but I take it as part of the process.

I don't think he was suggesting that anyone would trade Manny for Kremer in a vaccum, just that the team is getting better value out of the deal than it used to look like they would. A reliable back end starter for two months of Manny isn't bad at all.

I think either one would be a far better use of Kjerstad's spot on the bench.

This, he's already proven he can catch up to anyone's fastball. It's always a game of adjustments back and forth.

I don't see how revealing that he has a sore back, resting him for a couple of weeks, then him coming back showing better command is a terrible outcome.

Who said anything about a knife? It doesn't have to be Tommy John to be an injury that might be impacting his command (see Kimbrel, Craig). Learning that a sore back or ankle is bothering him would be a better explanation than him just suddenly walking over a batter an inning because the competition got tougher. That wouldn't bode well at all for his future success.

You'd almost hope for that to be the case. Seems easier to fix than if his command has truly deserted him.

I assumed when they signed Kimbrel that the plan was for Cano to handle some of the save situations, as Kimbrel's innings would need to be managed closely. Riding him like they rode Bautista last year always seemed like a recipe for disaster. I wonder if the struggles of some of the other relievers made it difficult to execute that plan.

Really happy to see Cowser take one up the LCF gap there

I think switch hitters just come with a lot of variability.