jamalshw

I'm not sure this was Elias saying he likes Velazquez more than Urena as much as it was him saying he likes the gamble of having both of them with the downside of just Velazquez more than having only Urena.

In such a fantasy world, similarly unlikely things could happen like Cobb finishing in the top-3 for Cy Young and Austin Hays and Ryan Mountcastle finishing first and second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. In such a world, a mid-80 win season may be possible. In a world with no other miracle happening in the season and the rest of the players producing within their likely range of outcomes, the Orioles COULD win enough to avoid 100 losses, but pitching is still the biggest issue. Now...back to reality where a replacement level season from Davis would be a pleasant surprise.

I'm excited to see if any of the guys we added to the fringes of our roster can make a jump and be a contributor (a la Hanser Alberto last year). I'd love if one of the Herrera, Rondon, Valaika, Urena, Urias infielders become a useful piece and/or someone like Rodgers, Bailey, Stewart, or Rucker showed himself to be a piece that could have some higher than anticipated upside.

Honestly, I think the best case scenario is a .180/.280/.400 type season and while that is a massive improvement over the last two years, it's still not where you need him to be to be useful. The problem is, however, it may just be enough to allow him to continue to hold on to his 26-man roster spot. I think the best case scenario for the team is similar results to what he got in 2018-2019 with the Orioles finally giving up and cutting bait once Mountcastle is ready.

I'm actually quite surprised at how much the Dodgers have been willing to give up on their SP depth this off season. Hill and Ryu walk which made since given their depth, particularly from the left side. They just traded Maeda and Stripling now though. Sure, they get Price and have him along with Kershaw and Buehler at the top, but what comes next? I guess they're counting on Wood bouncing back and Julio Urias finally giving them a full season in the rotation? Of course, they do still have May and Gonsolin along with some others ready to graduate, but Stripling was a righty with a bit more experience. It seems they're now set to start the year with four southpaws in the rotation. With Stripling in Anaheim now, is it possible Bundy doesn't make the rotation or gets demoted during the season? Tehran, Ohtani and Stripling are probably ahead of him (though Stripling's experience as a swing man may come into play). Heaney is the "established" guy on the team and Griffin Canning showed some promise. I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that--barring injury--Bundy could find himself going to the bullpen at some point. Unless Ohtani can become an ace after not pitching last season, this team still lacks top end arms, but the rotational depth is a lot better now.

I view him almost as injury insurance this spring. I don't think the Orioles want Akin or Kremer in the rotation to start the year. If Cobb is healthy, we have Cobb, Means and Wojo in the rotation with Stewart and Bailey? Rucker is an option, but I think he's more likely in competition for the pen. LeBlanc could beat out Stewart, but it seems more so that they're looking to fill the April and May innings with someone other than the rookies and need quantity to help ensure that.

I think 30 is a more realistic number. With the additions of the Rule-5 guys and the likes of LeBlanc and Stewart, I think it vastly decreases the changes of someone like Akin breaking camp with the team. That would be necessary to get anywhere close to 50 as you'd need to get a good 20 starts from one guy. Give that, I think we do see Akin and Kremer as many have said and a couple other guys could get a spot start here and there.

Perhaps the biggest thing is Mazara is a lefty bat and Mancini swings from the right side. They've been looking for a right-handed bat all off season. Todd Frazier addition helped that a bit, but Mancini is a bit more of a every day option at this point. He could platoon with Guzman at 1B and get the rest of his time in the OF or at DH with Choo in the OF. Ultimately, he'd make some sense. As for the type of players, Mazara has plenty of upside, but hasn't developed for them. There has been growing frustration there. He was a 0.7 WAR player last year according to Baseball Reference while Mancini was 3.3 even with his defensive questions in the OF. In four Major League seasons (more so three for Mancini), Mazara has a a 93 OPS+ to Mancini's 119. Overall, Mancini is a better hitter at this point. Even if you believe Mancini's 2018 season was a true testament to his ability (despite being sandwiched around two much better years), he still had a 95 OPS+. So his worst year is in line with what Mazara has delivered each of his four years in Texas.

Baseball still has much more variety than any other sport. No other sport has varying distances in its field of play. That in itself provides some variety. I'm onboard with a universal DH, but I wonder if it opens the door for more playing time for no-hit SS or C types. I also wonder if/when a team will use the DH to replace said light hitting defensive whiz rather than the pitcher (when, say, Ohtani or Bumgarner are on the mound). The universal DH could also open the door to more two-way players. While you don't have pitchers hitting as frequently. You have more opportunities to use a pitcher at the plate without the threat of using him in the field, too.

Honestly, I'd take a league average bat and glove in a corner spot from Diaz. The offensive season you just called out would be very respectable. I'd even take something closer to a .750 OPS.

Can you please not add "-gate" to every controversy. It makes no sense. Watergate was not a controversy about water. The word gate does not mean controversy or scandal. It was borderline creative the first 100 times it was used, but has been more-than played out. (Stepping down from the podium)

I'd take Faria over Hess.

Can we do the late-April/early-May lineup instead after Davis proves he is who we think he is (relegating him to the bench if not finally removed from the roster) and Mountcastle is promoted. When that happens, I'm going with: 1. CF- Austin Hays (R) 2. 2B- Hanser Alberto (R) 3. 1B- Trey Mancini (R) 4. DH- Renato Nunez (R) 5. RF- Anthony Santander (S) 6. LF- Ryan Mountcastle (R) 7. 3B- Rio Ruiz (L) 8. C- Pedro Severino (R) 9. SS- Jose Iglesias (R)

Chance Adams would be in competition for a starting spot on our team. He's an upgrade on Hess for sure and probably a lesser gamble than either Rule-5 guy, particularly since he doesn't have the 26-man roster requirement on him.

More like our Brandon Barnes or Matt Domingeuz

I assume Rucker is going to be looked at as a reliever (possible 2-3 inning option) in the Spring, but is Bailey in the same situation or will they try him out as a potential starter? Or are they not even going to worry about starters as much this year and piece things together more with multi-inning relievers and openers?

The earliest they'll cut Davis loose is the end of Spring Training. The fact he's still on the team right now means they'll at least give him through the Spring to show if he can rekindle any part of his past success. As long as the likes of Hess and Smith and Wilkerson (although move valuable at this point than Davis) shows there are still ways to find 40-man spots if needed. There will be another 40-man crunch (potentially) at the end of Spring Training and that's when it may make sense to part with Davis unless he shows a glimmer of hope. Otherwise, the next point may be when Mountcastle gets promoted.

I think it'll be very interesting to see the route Elias takes if it's someone more Major League ready or a stash guy (maybe both?)

This is a completely ridiculous thread and the correct answer to How they could win the 2020 World Series is: they can't. There is no way. That said, i'll play along: Get bought out by Jeff Bazos who in a fit to prove he can do anything authorizes a $400M payroll. Orioles sign Anthony Rendon, Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg for $700M total and approximately $95-100M a year, putting the payroll to $160M. Then, the Orioles still need supporting players so they would also need something like: Didi Gregorius, Daniel Hudson, Steve Cishek, Robinson Chirinos, Cesar Hernandez and maybe an Alex Wood or Julio Teheran.

I just don't see a return like that happening at all, but would love it if it did. Barreto gives us another middle infield option with some upside and plenty of youth as he will just be 24 on opening day. And Puk would offer an interesting arm to watch this year and would, hopefully, form a nice trio with Rodriguez and Hall in a few years. Overall, I'm in the don't trade Mancini camp because I think the return would be a guy that would rank somewhere in the 8-12 range in our system and another 30-40 range prospect or two. I don't think that return is enough to move him. If the return nets a top-100 type talent as the headliner, I'm onboard.

The Orioles are in a good position for position players (non-outfield) willing to take that kind of a deal because there are available ABs to be had and OPACY is a nice place to hit. Add in the lack of pressure compared to competitive environments, and it's a nice recipe to rebuild some value.

With Villar moved, the team needs some more middle infield depth. Who knows, maybe he shows something in Spring Training. He was a top prospect back in the day. Maybe we get an infield of Valaika, Alberto, and Herrera on Opening Day. That's the kind of infield that strikes fear the in the hearts of...well, nobody.

I would take a shot on a number of these guys. If the Orioles would finally give up on Davis and if they're committed on Mountcastle in LF, then I think Bird would be an interesting gamble, but alas... Would Matt Duffy be an option? I know he's primarily a 3B, but can he play some SS or 2B?

I think something like that would be possible, but only if they dump Chris Davis. He's already essentially burning a roster spot.

If Pop bounces back from Tommy John which is common, though not a guarantee, we may have a nice one-two punch in the back of the pen with Harvey and Pop. Add in a couple of the starters that get pushed to the pen and the bullpen may be pretty good. I'm still nervous about the top part of the rotation as we're putting a lot on Hall and Rodriguez to both reach (or get close to) their ceilings, but I'm starting to like some of the system pitching depth.