Malike

This game is starting off strange.

Should be first and third with 1 out. Ah well.

WAR goes down a little more with the blunder!

Should be fun to see what they can do against Blanco, he's been fantastic, even since the suspension for the sticky stuff.

Short of loving the Orioles more than his long-term financial future, I see no way Santander takes a QO when he's going to get offers for multiple years. The risk isn't nil, but I'd say it's minimal at best.

While I'd prefer to keep them both, if you dangle their names I think you certainly open doors that you might think are currently closed.

SFG are in an interesting position. They can't sign power hitters, because their park is where power hitters go to die, but they have a real need in acquiring some. I like Webb even though his statcast data is bad, but if we're giving up Mayo/Basallo I'd want it to be for a starter who strikes people out. Webb throws a lot of GB but I'm not very inspired by our IF defense this season, I'd rather have a guy who misses bats.

At some point, if you believe in Kjerstad and Mayo, etc, you have to play them on the ML team and give them a real shot. Santander is my favorite Oriole, but if they don't sign him for 4/60 or whatever, I won't be upset and I don't believe they can't get similar production from one of the prospects.

If the Orioles trade for Crochet it starts with Mayo/Basallo+. They aren't getting him for Kjerstad+.

I think the Orioles are not going to pay Santander for 4 more years and I think some teams will. He'll likely get 15M+ per year.

You have to have 2 catchers. Lucky for us, our best catcher is one of the best hitters in the game so he's going to DH...a lot. He has a .685 OPS as a catcher and a 1.111 OPS as a DH. You don't take Adley out of the game when he's not catching, McCann has to play that position for him. Anyway, you know full and well if O'Hearn were the full-time RF he'd be at negative WAR right now, so I'll leave you to your convictions that he's a lefty masher and being grossly mishandled. Thanks for the spirited and civil conversation.

89th, he's no sloth. None of the 80 grade guys are Usain Bolt.

Ask me after the trade deadline. It's not O'Hearn. Why do you think the O's have been linked to looking for a RHH OF?

Right so if O'Hearn can't DH because the backup catcher has to play a ton, then you are playing him in the field to get those full seasons of ABs. That sounds like a great idea, what could possibly go wrong with him playing in the field every day? Why you even brought McCann into it is a head-scratcher. O'Hearn can't possibly replace McCann but you'd rather have his bat in the lineup. Okay.

Someone will pay him. For 3 years he's been 20% or better than the league average, he's a switch hitter with 30+ HR power and won't kill a team in the OF. The way the offense is down and nearly every teams hunt for power, someone will pay him. He should absolutely be QO'd.

It really is remarkable.

Oh, I didn't know O'Hearn could catch. Do you think he's getting 650 ABs at DH? O'Hearn would be playing the field, a lot, even you are smart enough to know that playing him every day over a full season, you'd probably be lucky to get positive WAR. They are using him masterfully, he's not an everyday player.

He's the best all-around SS in the game. He's been remarkably consistent, his "bad" month was a .888 OPS. If he can stay this consistent all year it is going to be hard to justify not giving him the MVP, even with Judge playing out of his mind again. Gunnar has a much more complete game than Judge.

Like I said, if you want a replacement level player over 650 ABs give O'Hearn those ABs and you'll be the first person on this board whining about him and why are they playing him everyday.

I was just about to post this. So either he was banned and has a new account or he just has a terrible memory when it comes to "I told you so's".

There are a couple of reasons O'Hearn has had a resurgence in his career. The removal of the shift, and the fact that he isn't getting playing time against LHP. He had 29 ABs last year against them. I'm going to assume the team knows his real strengths and weaknesses and they are putting him in a position where he can succeed. If you want Ryan O'Hearn to be at 120 OPS+, keep giving him 30ABs a year against LHP, if you want him to be a .700 ish OPS guy with replacement level WAR, give him 650+ ABs.

I'm not saying Santander should get a multi-year deal, but they should offer a QO and if he takes it, why burn two roster spots on 2 platoon players when you have 1 guy who can hit from both sides.

I think 650 ABs of a 122 OPS+ vs 360 ABs of 123 OPS+ is a relevant difference when you are deciding which one to pay.

He's definitely getting a QO. He's likely getting a multi-year contract more than the O's are willing to pay.

I didn't get to look at statcast yet but it looked like the fastball was missing the arm side run. They were smashing his fastball, it looked straighter than I've seen in the past.