24fps

Nola?

A bit on the low side IMO. I think every team mentioned would gladly make their suggested trade.

I hope Irvin, Wells and McDermott feel exactly the same way.

Would you consider Kjerstad, Ortiz and a respectable but unspectacular pitcher from AA or below to be an overpay on the Orioles part? If so by how much? Personally, I think starting pitching is expensive and this deal reflects real-world trade prices so if it's an overpay, it's not by much. The O's need another starter and the price is affordable whether it's an overpay or not. I also think this deal is desirable because I don't think the O's will go more than three years on a FA deal for a pitcher and that thins the available talent pool considerably. It looks like the White Sox are going to make a lot of players available, not just Cease. If their GM is smart enough to take a holistic approach to their rebuild, then they will be looking at all potential returns, not just the one for Cease in a vacuum. I like the O's chances if this is the way Elias want to go.

The Orioles with a winning record? Respect! Finally!

It looks like your trade idea has gained some traction here. I'd like to echo some of the other posters and say that I don't think the trade simulator site is very useful either, certainly for trades involving prospects from a team you closely follow. Kjerstad/Cowser are interchangeable for me and I wouldn't care which one was traded as long as the other wasn't. Ortiz would be a solid (and reasonable IMO) addition for the Sox, but I would also draw the line at adding Povich - a player from farther down the food chain, okay.

If Kjerstad has to be the headliner, so be it, but I'm sure there's a fair enough deal for Cease that leaves Holliday, Mayo and Basallo off the table.

Of course they do. The point is not discovering some hitherto unrecognized genius trade solution but to see the situation from their perspective. You're not obligated to agree with it, but it's foolish to dismiss it out of hand. Some of the posters there seem as knowledgeable about the Sox as some of the posters here are about the O's.

Absolutely worth reading through.

Translation: Payroll trajectory will remain the same; specifics TBD. I take my hat off to Elias for being able to embellish that simple message so eloquently and especially to Steve Melewski for being able to knock out around 700 words explaining it.

Me too. Especially if the plan moves Kjerstad to 1B.

Me too, but how many do you think will agree to contracts of three years or less? I don't know for sure (who does?), but I suspect three years will max out the O's comfort level this offseason. I wish it was different.

Only one year of Burnes is a big deal. An alternate approach says half the number of prospects gets you double the years of Cease and Robert Stephenson could be had in FA for $4-6 million AAV with prospects left over for the trade deadline. If Mike Elias has shown us anything, it's that he has a disciplined approach toward valuation. I would love to get Devin Williams, but it might be more advantageous to try to work a separate deal for him alone. Maybe Hays, or Ortiz and a lottery ticket if necessary.

The link I get says Cease for Westburg, Norby and Hall

Just to be clear - Mayo, Hall, McDermott and Beavers is Bowden's suggestion? Athletic is now behind a paywall for me. Not interested at that price regardless.

What an excellent adventure that would be.

Maybe it was Tryptamine who misspelled it. I think most of us are skeptical until more info comes in anyway. And it wouldn't be an offseason if there wasn't a rumor or two to kick around, right?

JA is not the owner but the major partner so there are others in the ownership group that presumably would have a say in any sale. Also, if I not mistaken, both the commissioner's office and a significant number of the other owners would have to approve the new owner. Yes? I'm guessing that both these things would have an impact over the rapacious impulses of your random private equity barbarian horde.

Yes. They've increased payroll every year since 2020 according to Spotrac.

Often after making "improvements" that squeeze all the current value out of the acquisition. JA has already accomplished a lot of that from presiding over the rebuild which is now over, although the O's are now in the add payroll phase. Hard to make sense out of this rumor.

Not sure "Ace" is the right description, but it will be interesting to see how aggressive Elias responds to his availability.

No way Cowser has fallen this far.

He's also Arb 1 this year so he's cheap and he still has an option left. I get that Irvin doesn't get too many people here excited, but I also think he's underrated - not to mention useful. Bradish, Rodriguez, Means, Kremer and adding a solid SP with Wells and Irvin as backups makes for a credible rotation.

Right. Let's say you have an 8-year-old and he/she asked you for a Trevor Bauer jersey for their birthday. How would you react? I guess some people would be okay with it but I suspect most, including myself, would find it awkward as hell. Not at all good for brand identity whether you choose to explicitly "virtue signal" or not.

Can you run a major league baseball franchise without considering the values of the people you want supporting the team?