Pickles

We used to play them in Little League during tournament season.

I think where these discussions get strained is people fail to take into account motivation. The Marlins have no motivation to trade Alcantara. He's young, cheap, team-controlled, and wildly effective. They would only trade him if they got "more" than he was worth. People will point to other trades and try to make comparisons, but fail to take into account motivation. If a team is motivated to trade a guy, usually because of contractual issues, then that's a different thing altogether.

I would too.

Somebody else brought him up. I just responded.

That's fine. And I'm just saying if the decision to do that involves starting him in AAA next year, it isn't the end of the world and makes a lot of sense.

Doesn't it make more sense to get some innings out of him in August and September, presumably in a year we're competing for the playoffs, than "waste" them in the first half?

He's giving the Marlins' perspective, and I got to say, it's pretty ground in reality imo.

I was referring to Kershaw and the Dodgers. Rodon is an interesting target. I'll be curios to watch his market.

Stuff happens.

Ohtani is not coming here. Not ever. He will stay on the West Coast. There's a reason he's in Anaheim right now, and it ain't money.

I think it's very reasonable to expect better run production solely from the internal upgrades available to this team. I don't think it is necessary, or realistic, to argue that they must look to score as many runs as the Yankees in order to meet their goals. For one, the Yankees won 100 games this season. We don't need to win 100 games next year. We could win 90 and still win the World Series. I just don't think the Orioles are going to make a lot of top acquisitions, and if they were to do that, I suspect they would focus on the pitching side. Austin Hays is an average regular, with upside for me. He's not a "problem." He's not "holding the team back." They don't "need to upgrade" in LF. Teams win championships all the time with worse regulars than Austin Hays. If you can upgrade his spot, and it makes sense, go for it. But it's hardly some prerequisite to success.

Yeah, one would suspect Rodon to turn that down and hit the open market. I hadn't realized he was a FA. He's an interesting target, and will be very expensive. Are the O's prepared to give out a six figure contract to a pitcher? Is it even wise to do that?

How many times X do you think it would take to get him to sign in Baltimore over what the Dodgers offer him? Is Rodon a FA this offseaon?

Grayson Rodriguez is going to pitch in the Major Leagues next year, whether he makes some tune up starts in AAA or not.

Resisting urge to make joke about the Navy. I can understand there are going to be different POV on the best way to manage his workload next year, but I think fearing that he starts in AAA and is slowly ramped up so he can be available to pitch throughout the whole season, is pretty silly. I also think it is the mostly likely outcome, and don't have a problem with it.

Which is of course the point. They aren't looking to move him.

I think the same logic applies to Hays, and Mateo, and Urias imo. There's no reason to trade these guys. They're all cheap and have years of team control remaining. I think some are just looking at it as if this offseason is a special one and things MUST be done "to compete."

I'll rank them in order by how much they exceeded my expectations. 1. Bautista: I'd barely heard of this guy coming into the season. He was one of the best relievers in baseball. 2. Mateo: I liked what I saw last year and was in favor of giving him an everyday chance at SS, but I didn't expect that kind of value, primarily, of course, from his glove. 3. Rutschman: My expectations were tempered a bit just by practicality, but he was everything his most wildest supporters claimed he was, and then some. 4. Cionel Perez. Waiver wire guy who had an excellent season. 5. Santander: Really established himself as a professional hitter, and greatly improved his selectivity, which isn't something you see every day.

Why does that make you afraid?

IMO, this is the likely outcome. And a primary driver in why he'll be the OD starting shortstop. I think the Orioles will try to find undervalued assets that will have their value increased by the lack of shift. Think rangy middle infielders, and left handed hitters hurt the most by the shift.

The city can't walk or chew gum. Period. Let alone at the same time. Look at it.

I think it's been pretty well established that publicly financed stadiums are a pretty rotten deal for the city/tax payer. This will put a lot of money in the Angelos' pockets. This will put even more money in the pockets of degenerate and corrupt government officials who get to pick and choose where it flows to. This will allow ball players to get extravagant salaries that far outstrip their actual free market value. But it won't do a thing for anybody living in West Baltimore. They'll still be living in the third world as someone else accurately referenced it. And it won't do anything for the taxpayer either, except increase their taxes and devalue their currency.

Good post. As I have been saying for a while now, resources for external acquisitions should focus on the pitching side.

And yet the city gets worse every year.

This is of course good news. However, I never believed any of the relocation talk anyway, so I file it under wholly expected.