Dale

From Baseball America's write-up in early 2023: "Burdick's calling card is his power, which showed up in an average exit velocity of 90 mph during his short stint in the big leagues. To get to that power more often, he'll need to improve his approach. If he tries to use the whole field, he'll likely see big improvements in all aspects of his offensive game. If he continues to focus on trying to hit balls out to the pull side, he'll likely fit more into a power-over-hit profile. He also showed an extreme platoon split in the minors, where he hit just .186 against righthanders over 242 at-bats. Defensively, scouts are split on where he'll wind up. He played all three spots during his time in Miami, with a heavy emphasis on both center and left field. His speed should give him a chance in center field, but scouts differ on whether he can stick at that position."

Apparently, the article I posted above needs to be corrected. According to the poster Bradsbeard on the AZ Phil site, the AAV is re-calculated after a trade so that the receiving team takes on the AAV of only the dollars remaining on the contract. So if the Cubs or Orioles ake on Glasnow’s full remaining contract, the CBT hit for them will be $25M (and $35M if they take on Margot). That should substantially lessen the cost to acquire Glasnow (unless the Rays pay down some of the salary, which they might I suppose). WRT to trading within the division. In-division trades make more sense than in past years, due to the more balanced schedules and three wildcards.

Here is a cut-and-pasted article from The Cub Reporter, Arizona Phil, on the possibility that the Cubs will try to acquire him. He believes he will be traded and lays out why he thinks the Cubs have a chance of getting him. Fascinating read from a knowledgeable super fan. Triantos and Little are somewhere in the 8-16 range on most Cub prospect lists. The Cubs 8-16 range is probably similar to that of the Orioles. https://www.thecubreporter.com "The Rays are in a different position than the Cubs with respect to the CBT threshold. Unlike the Cubs, the Rays are in absolutely no danger of exceeding the CBT threshold in 2024. However, the Rays would (in general, whenever possible) want to exchange high-salaries for pre-arb guys. Tyler Glasgow is signed to a weird contract that made him highly valuable to the Rays in 2023, but makes trading him post-2023 a virtual slam dunk. Glasnow is signed to a two-year $30.35M contract ($15.175M AAV) that paid him only $5.35M in 2023, but jumps to $25M in 2024, so his AAV in both 2023 and 2024 is half of the aggregate value of the two year contract ($15.175M in both seasons), even though the actual salaries are wildly different. Glasnow's 2024 $15.175M AAV is about the same as Kyle Hendricks' 2024 AAV, but it's Glasnow's 2024 $25M salary that would be a problem for the Rays (again, the Rays don't care about a player's AAV, but they do care about a player's actual salary). "So the Rays almost certainly will (must) trade Glasnow this off season, and the Cubs can readily afford the AAV hit, especially if Marcus Stroman opts out (doesn't appear too likely at this point), or if the Cubs either decline Hendricks club option or exercise it and then trade him. So the problem then is not whether the Cubs can afford Glasnow's salary (or more importantly his 2024 AAV hit), but rather if they can meet the Rays' asking price in terms of players. Ordinarily a one year "rental" like Glasnow might have diminished trade value, but with the number of teams likely in the hunt for a TOR SP (which Glasnow is), the price will probably be quite high. The Rays might also insist that any team acquiring Glasnow take back OF Manuel Margot and his back loaded contract ($9.5M AAV but he gets $10M in actual salary in 2024 plus a likely $2M buy-out post-2024). And coincidentally the Cubs actually would have some use for a player like Margot in 2024 (a RH-hitting outfielder who could platoon with Mike Tauchman in CF until whenever PCA is ready to take over the job). And it's likely that some of the other clubs that might otherwise have an interest in Glasnow would have zero interest in acquiring Margot. So the Cubs could get a leg up in the bidding right from the start if they are willing to take back Margot. Also, the Cubs would likely get a draft pick between the 2nd and 3rd round of the 2025 draft as compensation if they acquire Glasnow and then are unable to sign him to a contract extension beyond 2024. So I would think the Rays asking price would be somebody equivalent to the 2nd round comp pick they would get if they keep Glasnow and he leaves as a free-agent post-2024, plus an MLB-ready or near MLB-ready SP to directly replace Glasnow in the rotation, and another young pre-arb MLB-ready arm. So I doubt that James Triantos and Luke Little would be enough to get it done, and that's even if the Cubs take back Margot. The Cubs would probably also have to include a young MLB-ready or near MLB-ready SP. "

I am unable to attend this Saturday’s ALCS opening game for the Orioles versus the Rangers at 1 PM and am making 2 tickets available at cost $166 (75 each plus $16 fees). Please PM me with your e-mail address if interested. If you don’t have it already, you’ll need to download the MLB app to accept the tickets. The seats are in the lower portion of the upper deck behind home plate. You can pay me via PayPal.

I think they changed that rule a few years ago and now the waiver order is just based on record and it doesn't matter what league a team is in.

https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Standings Fangraphs not sold on the Orioles but it does predict an exciting ending in the AL with the Rays, Orioles, Rangers, and Astros finishing with 93 or 94 wins.

There are multiple reasons players choose to put a team on a no-trade list. Sometimes they do it because they know the team has money and would consider buying out the no trade clause.

It's almost a Goldilocks scenario for Stroman tonight, if he pitches too well the Cubs will be reluctant to sell him and if he pitches too poorly no-one will give what the Cubs want for him (he's had a few poor to so-so outings in a row). Perhaps, it doesn't make sense to put so much weight into one performance but the trade deadline is what it is .... Teasing a bit ... if the sell chances fluctuate 40+% based on one game you worry about putting Tryptamine in charge of the Cubs!

Justin is a starting pitcher who just pitched in the all star game and won't be a free agent until after the 2027 season ( I'd have to double check that but I believe it is true). The Cubs may become sellers this year but they are hopeful of competing in 2024. So to acquire him the Orioles would have to give a package headed by let's say Coby Mayo and Grayson Rodriguez. Not happening -well at least not very likely!

Any chance this brings the all star game to Camden?

Here's an example of a trade that might be a possibility: Would you take Julian Merryweather of the Cubs for him?

Yes a typical Cubs series during the last few weeks consists of two one-run losses and a blow out victory.

They may not be comfortable with Ortiz at 3B; he has not played there this year in AAA. Westburg is not on the 40-man roster. Once he is called up you lose some 40-man roster flexibility. Vavra has split time between 2B, 3B, LF, and C this year in AAA. They may feel this is an opportune time to DFA Torrens - he played very well in winter ball this year and just turned 27.

It was fascinating how the game changed when Vavra laid down a bunt in the bottom of the 4th inning that advanced the runners to 2nd and 3rd. The Red Sox chose to play the IF in, which turned what would have been a routine ground ball by Mullins if the IF was at normal depth into an infield single with the ball deflecting off the 2nd baseman's glove (into the glove of the SS). Adley followed with a seemingly routine fly ball to mid- LF that turned into a SF due to a speedy Oriole and a weak throw. Another bunt paid dividends in the 6th. Two successful bunts in one game followed by two sacrifice flies. I doubt we'll see that again this year.

I usually park at the Transfiguration Catholic Church (775 W Hamburg St). $10 cash donation. Easy access to I-95, BWI parkway.

I'm a meteorologist and confusion over marginal versus slight comes up in focus groups all of the time. Not sure why they haven't changed that yet. I also thought it was an odd decision to postpone the game. It's not like the forecast was for hours and hours of a low stratus deck, 45 degree temperatures, and moderate rain. I have no idea but wonder if MLB made the call for all of the northeast sites.

Chicago Cubs Kansas City Royals St. Louis Cardinals Minnesota Twins Chicago White Sox Milwaukee Brewers Fortunately, you don't live in Iowa. Here is what I got for my hometown (50650 zip code).

The reason most teams do not field 2 FCL or ACL teams is the 180 player Domestic Reserve Limit puts a lot of strain on pitching staffs. However, the lack of a short-season A caliber league hinders the development of International Prospects. It'll be interesting to see how this is handled going forward. Will the cap be increased? Will the number of games in the ACL season be reduced and the length of the season increased to put less burden on the pitchers? Will certain games feature advanced prospects and other games feature less-advanced prospects?

Whatever happened to the plan to start weekday games during a portion of the season at 6:35. Wasn't that supposed to be in effect for 2020?

The Orioles playoff chances range from 2.7 to 38.5% depending on algorithm based on the information sources I've checked. 2.7% Fansgraph Projection Algorithm 10% 538.com 17.1% Baseball Prospectus 35.3% Season-to-date performance projected forward (Fansgraph) 36.5% Coin-flip going forward (Fansgraph) 38.5% Baseball Reference Hopefully, the Orioles recent good play will continue.

The Orioles playoff chances are 4.8% according to Fansgraph, 9% according to 538.com, and 17% according to Baseball Reference. I must admit I trust the Fansgraph and 538.com methodology more

Tickets for the April 11th game versus the Brewers purchased prior to the resolution of the CBA are not valid for the opening day game versus the Brewers (April 11); they are valid for the October 5th game versus the Blue Jays (yes yet another game in the plan versus the Blue jays) instead. Be sure to check your tickets. If the listed starting time is 7:05 they are not valid. If you want a refund you may be out of luck because requests for refunds were due on the 14th of March, which was before most of us knew the tickets for the 11th weren't valid for the 11th. If needed, the Orioles have a very generous exchange program (at least for season ticket holders)

They gave him multiple opportunities. The Orioles have the #1 waiver claim; they'll have multiple opportunities to acquire other teams Harvey's. With a limit on the number of pitchers possible next year, the Orioles may want to fill much of their bullpen with pitchers who have options remaining or ones who are likely to avoid injury when pitching on consecutive days. With teams adding 60-day DL players back to their rosters and adding potential MiL free agents to their 40 man rosters ahead of next week's deadline, there was a chance he might clear waivers. Indeed he came close to clearing waivers. If he had cleared waivers the Orioles would have had more roster flexibility both this winter and spring; for e.g., he could have been "held back" in warm Florida without the need for a phantom injury until the Orioles gave up on one of their Rule 5 picks.

Here is a Fenter-centric description of the waiver process for Rule 5 draft picks from The Cub reporter's lead writer Arizona Phil. I haven't found any commentator who believes the Cubs will keep Fenter who hasn't played above low-A ball. He is probably about 25th on the Cubs pitching depth chart. I could list the 24 ahead of him if you're interested! https://www.thecubreporter.com/comment/269044#comment-269044 "Outright Assignment Waivers can be requested on Rule 5 draft picks (technically they are called Rule 6 Selected Players, because Rule 6 deals with the aftermath of Rule 5) no earlier than 25 days prior to MLB Opening Day (which was this past Sunday), and a Rule 6 Selected Player can be outrighted to the minors (either back to the minor league club from which he was selected if the player's former organization reclaims the player, or to a minor league affilliate of the selecting club if the player's former club declines to re-claim the player) no earlier than 20 days prior to MLB Opening Day (which is this coming Friday). The player's former club has 48 hours to decide whether to reclaim the player once Outright Assignment Waivers have been secured, so if the Cubs requested Outright Assignnment Waivers on Fenter as soon as they could (let's say this past Sunday or Monday) and he cleared his waiver ride yesterday or today without being claimed, then the Orioles would have until tomorrow or Friday to decide whether to reclaim him, at which point either the Orioles reclaim Fenter and he is automatically sent outright to AAA Norfolk (the minor league club from which he was selected), or the Orioles decline to reclaim him and the Cubs keep him and outright him to AAA Iowa. It's possible a trade could be worked out with the Orioles if Outright Assignmment Waivers are secured and the Cubs want to keep Fenter but the Orioles want something back to make that happen (like maybe more $$$ and/or a player)."

I understand the inevitability of an expanded post-season. However, how about this as an alternative to a 16 team playoff, which would greatly dis-incentive the regular season. Break season into two halves. First half: The winners of each division would qualify for the end-of-season playoffs along with the winners of mid-season AL and NL wildcard games. Second half: Same but wildcard game would follow the end of the second half. Teams that won their divisions and/or the wildcard games in each half would automatically advance to the quarterfinals. If the first half standings match the second-half standings the playoff field would be complete. However, teams that only qualified during the first or second half would play a one-game playoff to determine the final slots in the 8 game playoff, which would include 3 4 of 7 game series. This approach would add 2 to 10 one-game playoffs to the status quo, while maintaining the importance of the regular season. It would also give hope to teams off to slow starts. Thoughts. Other ideas?