emmett16

I was thinking about this more in terms of a baseball ops perspective regardless of owner. Does the FO believe in their drafting and development abilities to the point of not needing to retain “core” players. Do they think they can build replacements for guys on the 26 man?

Simple question. Will the Orioles sign any of their players to *blockbuster long term deals? I’m defining blockbuster as more than 7 years and more than 150MM. There’s been a lot of talk about signing players to long term deals and I’m curious your thoughts about the organizational strategy. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and am starting to believe extensions for our young guys are not in the cards, unless they are willing to take an extreme team friendly well below market value deal. Elias and Sig are disciples of Lunhow who in the book Future Values is described as being “horny for efficiency” and “being efficient just for efficiency’s sake”. They are also masters of data and models. Frankly, I think the success of their players who have now gone through the system’s entirety has emboldened them with information. They have an exact blueprint from start to finish. And that blueprint becomes even more detailed as the players continue in MLB. That information gives them the ability to create models based on data gathered from those players at ages as early as 13y/o and at every step of the way through their development system. Not only do they know what works, but they know what does not work. They know what each step in the process (towards a proficient MLB player) looks like and can easily forecast what combinations of data (metrics from all tech) will continue to improve, what they can modify, and what they cannot modify. Various data milestones all along the way from youth level, to HS, to college, to minors along with make-up data and basic physiological data can create a player profile that is extremely accurate to forecast now that they have players that have reached the highest level. With a successful blueprint of data in hand they can more effectively draft and more effectively develop the players they bring in their system and more accurately forecast their future success. With all of that ability, why would they pay market value or even slightly below market value when they can accurately forecast and stock a pipeline of players at every level that can eventually replace the players on the MLB roster once they hit FA or the higher tiers of arbitration? I don’t think they will. My emotions say I hope I’m wrong because like any fan I’ve grown attached to the player. But I truly think they believe they can draft and develop replacements for their current(and future) young stars. What say you?

With the vast majority of the roster entering their prime, it’s not unrealistic to expect improvement over last year with the same group. You also have much higher impact back-ups in AAA. The roster is much stronger than last year. I don’t think there is an analyst out there that would disagree with that. A spot in the playoffs in never a given, you have to play the games. See 2023 Mets & Padres. Making “paper upgrades” and signing FA guarantees you nothing. I’ll take the team that can develop talent all day everyday.

He’s pretty bad. His defense has made His value very slightly above replacement level. His bat is 26% worse than league average. I’ll be surprised if he gets claimed.

Looks like Nevin making the team. Did not see that coming. Congrats to him for continuing to grind. He had an impressive spring.

It’s starting to look like the only teams that has a chance to beat the Birds is………. The Tides

Looks like the boys are having fun.

And get MiLBers paid appropriately. That would go a long way to better career earnings and making baseball more attractive to younger athletes. It’s absurd MiLB players aren’t part of the union and get no benefits.

I wouldn’t criticize their development strategies & protocols. Plenty of other things to criticize, but they’ve pretty much knocked that piece out of the park.

People still questioning the Orioles development process are hilarious.

I hear you with regards to the Oriole, but I went out of my what to watch Bonds play any time he came into the area. I splurged a bit to see Ohtani play(and pitch) up close last year. I was a big Griffey fan and would go out of my way to see him play. I think those are the only 3, though.

Roch needs to go on vacation again so the O’s can make a flurry of moves.

19-11 (same as prediction before moves)

Leverage and options. Opting out is the prudent move.

I’m salty and thought for sure he’d make it, but let’s not over react. Westburg will play 2B and Uris at 3B. Not exactly garbage. Westburg just got his opportunity, he deserved some time. Urias is a good player and the vote of confidence and audition will hopefully make him a little more attractive to a team with a need at 2B/3B. McKenna is in his last chapter as an O. Maybe they can get a bag of balls. Imagine his leash will be short. I don’t see him as a MLB caliber player. I don’t know what to think about Wong. Head scratcher.

Have we considered that maybe extensions aren't part of this FO's model? They are getting insane value for Gunnar (and others) over the next few years. Why pay market value for a good year or two + the waning years if you believe you can draft and develop comparable talent?

Doesn’t bode well for April.

I agree with that. I think he's taken the approach that he has to hit to make the team. He's shown he has a good eye, and the team knows that, but the question marks lie in being able to hit advanced pitching. I think he's shown he can.

Huh? McKenna is a career .5 WAR player in 447 ABs. In a little over double that Urias is a 7.6 WAR player. He's far above McKenna and not close to a scrub. Urias shows up and puts up numbers consistently on both sides of the ball. McKenna is a defensive replacement who is prone to being an airhead at times. McKenna is a career 74 OPS+ vs. Urias 106 OPS+ Your last comment checks, I'd like to move on from him also, but let's not treat him like he's chopped liver.

Fangraphs gives him a 50. Hays is a 55 for comparison. I don't believe there is any statcast data yet. He plays a decent OF but doesn't have the strongest arm.

Which is wild because Urias has had a fantastic Spring and has been an above average player since we acquired him.

People were talking about the HR and the hustle single, but his ABs were fantastic. 3-2 on multiple ABs including the hustle single and a BB in second AB. Folks have pointed to the high strike-out totals. 5 ks came in the first 7ABs of the spring. Remove those and you are looking at something closer to his historical line. He's been better than I expected this spring, and I expected him to make the team.

While frustrating, I'm sure, these guys know they are playing for all 30 teams. If he puts up numbers and produces, he'll get his chance.

It's on a per player basis. I agree with @Sports Guy's comment above. For players trying to make the team and who are on the bubble, it's important. Moreso the process than the results. The stats can very easily be misleading. For vets it's about preparing for the season. If velo is down or other physical ailments present themselves, then poor results can be worrisome.

+ some RHH OF opportunities in our LHH heavy OF. It’s curious they havn’t had him out there more. I think they can carve out 400+ ABs for Westy playing 3b, 2b, OF, & a few games at SS.