Yardball85

(and Cueto). But the mighty Jay Bruce was off limits.

The Angeloses are cheap though, so. Any excuse to not spend money.

Not saying he's wrong, but man, does Roch seem to get a bizarre joy out of pouring cold water on fans' hopes of the Orioles going for big fish in the free agent market (or other things fans would want).

What a time to be alive! I remember it interfering with my ability to study for finals. Reviewing rumors was fun back in the day.

Yup, and that Tex would be at a Ravens Steelers game. Trea ate that stuff up.

Yup. The Angels rumors for Santana, Kotchman, Wood. Seems like just yesterday, though it was, sadly, 14 years ago. That makes me feel really old (I'm 34.)

Belkast updates on the Orioles interest in Nomar Garciaparra as a potential option at first base back in 06? 07? But he had to change diapers first. Or a Bedard and Tejada deal to the Dodgers for Kemp, LaRoche, Elbert, Hu. Gooooood times.

Fair points regarding service time. I wouldn't mind keeping Mullins around, but I think Lopez is better than most of the second/third tier guys such as Taillon, Quintana, Walker and he is cheaper (again, wish it was longer than a two year commitment).

Cowser seems just about ready, and he could take over in center. Hays, while better in left, could play center with Stowers becoming the full time left fielder. Yes, it is a defensive downgrade, but Lopez is a huge upgrade to Voth/Wells whoever he would replace in the rotation. Or, they could sign someone as a stop gap for a year, such as Kiermaier.

Mullins for Lopez is a no brainer for the Orioles. We have the internal options to replace Ced (love Ced, as a fan, woiuld hate to see him go) and Lopez provides young upside with team control.

Roch's job is to convince fans that the Orioles are not being lazy and cheap for shopping in the second tier, but that it is strategic and in the best interest of the Baltimore Orioles. It's a tiresome act.

I was thinking the same thing, but it looks like Winker is staying put for now. I am guessing Hernandez is a Haniger replacement.

Not saying you're wrong, but I think that is a very poor and short-sighted approach if that's what the Orioles do.

That was fun. I predicted Josh Bell, Wacha, and Walker to the O's (ugh).

I was thinking the same thing, but it looks like Winker is staying put for now. I am guessing Hernandez is a Haniger replacement.

Seattle is shooting high. They have traded for Teoscar Hernandez. Will be interesting to see the return for the Jays.

They should be trying to sign someone from the deep end (Verlander/Rodon) and someone from the middle of the pool (Walker/Taillon). I wouldn't count on Voth as a starter entering the season. Let's wait and see.

Fair point! Though I don't have the self-discipline to not follow the box score om mlb.com

Cannot understate how much I hate mid-week day games. Do they not understand that people work during the day? From a personal standpoint, I look forward to watching a night game after a long day, and less of that is obviously not ideal.

Just read that. That would be supremely disappointing, to say the least.

Yeah, I write for FanSided now (birdswatcher) and I feel like I could have also put this article together with little to no research (and predicted Correa to the O's based on last year's "pursuit."

I would much prefer Abreu, one of the first or even second tier FA starters (Bassit, Eovaldi, Perez) plus one more starter and a catcher.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2022/11/09/free-agent-rankings-aaron-judge-updates-turner-correa

Exactly. And finally, they appear to be. It wasn't long ago that they were too lazy to sign a bat to improve the team and went dumpster diving for the likes of Colby Rasmus and Travis Snider and tried to play them up as key acquisitions. I sincerely hope those days are over.

Yup. It would have been so easy (and lazy) to simply pick up the option and say "well, we addressed our rotation!" Definitely something you would expect from an old iteration of the front office.