jamalshw

This. Often when teams are going into a rebuild they need to slash spending. Revenues are going to go down when you are not any good. Fortunately, TV contracts stay stagnant, but ticket sales and merchandise takes a hit when a team isn't very good.

I'm game for taking Kemp if he's available on waivers, but if he's not and it would take a trade, i'm not sure it's worth the effort. A PTNL or Cash type deal is fine, but as others have said, I'm not sure the upgrade is enough to actually offer up anything in a deal.

Lets see what they do over the next week. I think it's possible we see a flurry of promotions right after the trade deadline. If Villar or Alberto is dealt, I think we see Wilkerson more in the infield and Stewart or Williams promoted (maybe Hays), opening up a starting OF spot in Triple-A which would allow Diaz to be promoted.

A agree completely with this! 164 plate appearances is still a small sample size. I'm anticipating a Smith Jr. type regression in the near future. If he can sustain through the end of the year, however, I'll be more inclined to believe in Santander as a potential piece for the future.

I would think it would be a win if you get one of those two (along with a GCL/DSL prospect or two) and would be surprised if the Orioles could land both unless there's more to the deal than just Givens.

I think there's a big enough market for Givens we get more than we did for Cashner. I think he ultimately yields a Low-A level prospect with good upside but risk in reaching it (likely somewhere in the 20-30 range of a team's rankings) as the front piece with maybe a guy or two from the GCL/DSL ranks.

I think San Francisco does a bit of both. With how they're playing, I don't think they go into full sell-mode (though they should). I think MadBum stays and most of the relievers stay, but I could see them sending off Will Smith and sliding Moronta or someone else into the closer's role if they get a huge package...and maybe targeting a ready-now offensive piece in the return.

He took a bit to adjust to the league it seems. Hopefully he can finish out the season strong and go to Triple-A next year and adjust a big quicker.

I'd be extremely happy to get our No.4 and No.5 starters and a couple relievers from the batch.

I voted for: Mychal Givens - We're heard a lot of whispers about him lately and I think there's enough smoke to be believe there's fire. I think there's enough interest and he'll yield an interesting package or low-A type players, probably a couple lottery tickets that are a bit further along than the DSL guys we got for Cashner Jonathan Villar - I think the lack of a waiver deadline in August helps here. Teams are likely to be looking for Plan B and Plan C now since options will be much more limited in August to replace injured players. Villar brings some speed and versatility which can be a huge bench boost. Having someone like Villar who is a near league average bat (95 OPS+) and can play up the middle in the infield has an appeal. He won't net a haul, but I expect a prospect with a solid ceiling (though likely a bit raw). Paul Fry - There are enough teams (like the Nationals) looking for relievers and I could see Fry packaged with Givens, particularly in a deal to someone like Washington. I think he's an add-in on a deal for someone else to help us get a bit of a better package. Other - I think it's fair to assume someone gets moved out of nowhere in a small move. It's been a rough go for Bleier this year, but he could go for a future considerations or someone else like Jesus Sucre or even Mason Williams may be an option for somebody's Triple-A team as a stash/depth option--again--because of the lack of options that will be available in August. I think teams are going to be eager to have back-up plans and back-up plans to their back-up plans. None of these potential "Other" guys will net much more than "future considerations" or a figurative "bag of balls". I think it's possible Mancini moves (though it would have to be a big deal and I don't see the market strong enough for him to make Elias pull the trigger). I think if Nunez or Alberto got any interest, they'd be done for a GCL or DSL flier, but I'm not sure there's enough interest.

I'm not sure I adequately communicated my point. My point is not that he shouldn't be promoted until he dominates. My points were: (i) age is mostly irrelevant to me in the promotion debate and (ii) he probably should be promoted soon and I'd like to see it, but I don't view it as egregious that he's not given all the circumstances.

With all the talk about the walks, how realistic is it to expect someone to develop a better batting eye and/or more patient approach at the plate? Also, would him getting to The Show and having success, particularly with some power, lead to pitchers pitching him differently and more carefully and thus lead to more walks? I'll defer to those more in the know on this kind of thing, but there are my questions.

The age factor is worth noting for evaluation purposes of how he's doing and how he looks as a prospect, but has no baring on the argument to be promoted or not. The 15th in the league ranking is noteworthy and a good argument for a promotion. He's been one of the better hitters in the league. That would seemingly warrant a promotion, but it's not like he's standing out as a man amongst boys and demanding that promotion. He's playing well and putting up well above average numbers for the league, but he's not dominating it either. I would like to see him in Triple-A, but can certainly understand keeping him in Double-A, particularly considering the team is winning and competing for a championship. Having exposure and a part in a title--even at the minor league level--cannot be a bad thing. I'm not sure I fully believe in the idea of needing to "learn how to win," but I do think there's something to be gained by being in a winning environment while developing.

I went a few years back. Of course, Anaheim is basically the stadium and Disneyland and then the hotels, stores and restaurants that all cater heavily to the Disney crowd. To me it was a solid ballpark. I've been to a good chunk of the 30 and it's in the middle of the pack of the stadiums I've been. The surrounding area, as most have said, is just parking lot until you get out of the immediate area. Driving in and out was actually quite easy and the onsite parking price wasn't bad (at least a couple years ago). All in all, nothing huge sticks out in my mind about this park (good or bad).

Kingham is one of those "meh" pick up options to me. If the Orioles scouting and analytics think there is something there to fix or tweak to get improved results, then sure. After all, it's not like we are full of quality pitching. If nothing else, Kingham can eat innings as well as Wojo. There's a need to get through the season and to try and add assets for the future. Kingham can at least take the ball a few times to help with the former. Can he be a positive asset beyond that? Maybe. Like with most waiver wire guys, it's a slim chance, but this is a season to throw everyone at the wall and see who sticks. Kingham can be one of them...or not...whatever.

I'm all for the lower level, higher upside, higher risk approach. With that in mind, would someone like Jeremy De La Rosa be an option from the Nationals?

If you're willing to include Manny in this list, he becomes No.8 even with the limited number of games played, ahead of the below replacement level guys.

I'd like to see them sign some guys in the off season mostly as good veteran leaders for the young guys (at positions that won't block people) and then try and flip any that are playing well enough to flip for literally anything at the deadline.

This. Santander in CF isn't a longterm solution, but would be on board with him there to get Stewart on the roster and in the lineup.

Honestly, if Kremer becomes a solid mid-rotation arm, Zimmerman becomes a No.5, and Diaz becomes a league average OF it makes the overall return not all that bad. Then, factoring Bannon as a possible utility guy and some bullpen arms in Pop, Tate, Ortiz, etc. and while it's not the superstar return we wanted, it's not terrible.

I, personally, don't view Davis's threat to being release coming from his spot on the 25-man roster (or 26) as much as the 40-man. The 25-man roster spot only becomes an issue when we are trying to win (or at the least show marketed improvement in W/L record). That doesn't comes in 2020. Right now there are still guys that can easily be dropped from the 40-man without batting much of an eye, but who all needs to be added in the off season? And do we add any guys that could be 40-man crunch guys at the trade deadline this year?

I didn't think anyone would trade for Schoop and play him at SS in a third of the teams he played the rest of the way either. While it obviously didn't work out, it was because of the bat more than anything. In this scenario, I don't see them playing him at RF exclusively, but they've done some weird things playing guys out of position recently. Schoop to Milwaukee came out of nowhere last year. All I'm saying is I wouldn't be shocked if Milwaukee or another team that's not a seeming fit comes out of nowhere again this year. The question is: will the offer be enough for Elias who would obviously value a different type of return than DD.

Are the Brewers an option? Aguilar has been better lately and Thames is an option at 1B, but we saw them acquire Schoop and Moustakas last year without a clear position for either. With Lorenzo Cain not hitting, would they limit his playing time despite the defense and slide Yelich to CF (where he played before in Miami)? If that's the case, Mancini could go to RF. The team is sputtering and could use an extra bat. It's not conventional nor what I would do, but given what the team did last year--and still got to the NLCS--I wouldn't be shocked if they made a play.

A few weeks ago, I would have agreed, but not now. They expect Kluber back in August and depending on treatment for Carrasco, we could be back near the end of the season, too. Add that to Bauer, Bieber, and Clevinger who is now back and that's a strong rotation for the postseason. The team also has the best bullpen ERA in baseball. The offense is the issue, but they won six straight after our back-to-back wins over them. They're only 5.5-games back of a Twins team that's hit a bit of a bump in the road and currently holding a wildcard spot. I think this team will add, but not necessarily expiring contracts which makes Mancini an option. Putting Santana at DH to save him some wear and tear and Mancini at 1B (or even in the OF despite the defense given the lack of offense there) could be an interesting solution. The issue is, I think you end up with a couple of guys in short season ball right now from the Indians. Is that enough?

I'm on board with limiting the lefties so far to help him build confidence, but he's swinging well. I'd love to see him get a bit more exposure against LHP in the second half to see what we really have here. Can he be an "everyday" option or is he a platoon guy?