Yardball85

It was horrible defensively with Franco playing everyday. May as well see what that group can do with the bats.

Mateo is one of the guys I am most excited to see for the rest of the season. As I said in another thread, an infield of Jones, Mateo, Urias (and hopefully Bannon) will be one of the (very) few reasons to watch the team in September.

I'm not. He really isn't that good. Though it is pretty sad, for him, that he was optioned on a team that is awful with no real option at SS. Not a good sign for Richie.

Same.

Exactly. He should've been recalled a while ago with a Franco DFA, but better now than in mid-September. I guess the O's are now okay with his defense.

Well, considering he was willing to trade Mountcastle for a bag of balls, I think his write up on Jones will be must read message board content.

Lol. I knew he was never as good as a .900 + OPS, but if he could OPS in the mid .700s and at least show some capabilities with the glove, he could be a factor next season. Nothing to lose by trying.

This is where I'm at. Play him in regular season games and see what you got going into the offseason. I would like to see Urias at third, Mateo at short, and Jones at second at least 5 times a week. Got to evaluate these guys.

This. Thanks RZNJ. Re Yaz: Hindsight is 20/20. But I, like most, did not have a problem getting rid of a 27-28 year old AAAA player. It happens.

True, however Franco is an established vet on a one year deal. The other players who have struggled are for the most part still young and controllable.

* OPS is .778. And he probably has a better chance of being a long term solution here than Richie Martin, for instance.

Really? He as the Angels 7th best prospect when we got him. He is currently the Orioles 18th best prospect. Overall, he has had a solid but unspectacular season and his OPS now is around .750. He's young, cheap, and under team control for a while. It really isn't that hard to understand why he should get a look.

I agree, and would love being pleasantly surprised. Offseasons are always just such a place of misery when other teams do things to improve, and the Orioles spend all their time preparing for the Rule V draft. As they do pretty much every year.

I would certainly be interested in taking a look. However, I have seen no indication whatsoever that the Orioles will be targeting any "real' free agents this offseason. I'd expect 2-3 more LeBlancs/Harveys/Millones. It's just what they like doing. It sucks and I disagree with it but it is what it is.

I'm constantly amazed that Franco not only has not been DFA'ed, but is still getting regular at bats. Thank him for his time, wish him well, and send him on his way.

Sure, but we need to see if he is a capable major leaguer. Give him some time. It's not like we'll lose more games with him playing.

I would not give up on him yet; a guy with his pedigree who has been in the top 30 since he got here, I would like to see him get his chance. He should be ahead of Grenier and possibly even Urias/Martin/Mateo. I hope they DFA Franco ASAP and get Jones and Bannon up here while they are hot. Probably won't happen until September though.

Just looked and saw it's 4-0. I mean, it's really something how awful this team is. Not competitive in any of these games. Pathetic.

Agreed. If they want Westburg at SS and Henderson at 3B, then play them there. Get them the reps. There is no good reason I can think of to keep bouncing them around.

If and until Jones comes up, this should be the regular infield. Is it something to get excited about? Of course not. But that's how low the bar is right now, and Franco should not be playing.

I'm excited to see Westburg everyday at SS, as well as the Mundy promotion. Also excited to see Mayo and Cowser at Delmarva.

Sounds like a season of the Bachelorette.

I cannot think of a single reason why Franco still starts 6 times a week for this team. It's absurd.