oriole

Not sure I said punt, actually I’m completely sure I did not insinuate that. I think when you’ve got too many valuable prospects for too little positions then you’ve got to figure out which ones are a fit contextually with the players they’re competing with for spots AND how they fit in the overall demand of that team. Mayo doesn’t have a clear path to the majors and his best offensive attribute would be flattened by the park he’d play in for half his games. I think it’s a stretch to call it punting on him with all that considered.

A right handed pull side power hitter at a crowded position is not really in demand on this team in this ballpark. Count me as one that would like to see what’s out there that he could be traded for. I won’t cry about it if they keep him though, the prospects are heavily left handed so a good right handed bat would help balance that. But as a 3B he’d have to supplant to Henderson or Holliday. He could play 1B but that’d mean replacing our only other right handed power hitter. DH is a cop out, especially with Rutschman needing a lot of at bats there and Kjerstad possibly being a full time DH. And LF is too big for someone who hasn’t played the outfield. I don’t know about RF, his arm could work there but again…he doesn’t have any OF experience. it just seems easier to package him for a trade for a solid SP.

If we’re just talking internal candidates then I think it’s pretty easy to put something accurate together. Personally, I don’t believe for a second that Holliday has a real chance at breaking OD. I think Urias at 3B, Henderson at SS, and Westburg at 2B is the most likely every day configuration if they’re not adding anyone significant from outside the organization. If we start talking about potential moves for outside players then this gets a lot more dicey, but fun. Personally, I’d like to see two mid-rotation starters added. Give me something like Jordan Montgomery and Logan Gilbert. Tell me that a rotation of Rodriguez, Bradish, Montgomery, Gilbert, and Means is not one of the most balanced rotations in baseball. Insert similar names for the additions, I’m not particularly hung up on specifics right now. That’d push Wells and Kremer to the BP full time. Id probably resign both Fuji and Hicks, if he’s interested. That leaves a bullpen with something like Cano, Fuji, Webb, Coulombe, Hall, Wells, Kremer, and Perez. I gotta agree about Bautista, unfortunately. Big if, but if we are thinking that Holliday is a legit consideration then I’d be moving Urias. Mateo seems like a easy DFA. Ortiz can be the backup infielder. I may even consider moving Urias anyways and slotting Ortiz at SS until Holliday is ready. Anyways, that’s really just an addition of a couple mid rotation starters (one through FA, one through trade), an okay bullpen addition, and possibly a veteran presence if Hicks is okay with a backup role in the OF. I don’t really feel the veteran presence is totally necessary, but judging by offseasons of the past, Elias finds it very necessary no matter how redundant the piece may be. Also, there’s no room for all of Hays, Mullins, Santander, Cowser, Kjerstad, and Stowers. I’m thinking at least one of these OF guys can be part of the aforementioned trade for a mid rotation starter. Does something like Kjerstad, Basallo, and Urias get Gilbert? I dunno…getting too specific now.

Makes sense, I hadn’t heard particularly negative things about his defense so I was just confused why he wasn’t being used. It’s good to hear

I’m sure this has been discussed elsewhere but is Kjerstad considered a DH only at the MLB level? That’s a significant degradation of his value if so

I didn’t say elite. Just better than Kremer. And it’s not an absolute necessity or anything…like I said, you gotta upgrade where you can and we’ve got two rotation spots that could easily be taken by better pitchers. It’s also worth noting that just because they’ve done so well this year with these players does not at all mean that it is repeatable. Yankees and Red Sox will be better and we’ve won a ton of one run games which ultimately could go either way when it’s that close. Don’t get complacent or cocky

They’ve got the means to trade for a very good starter AND sign one. Kremer is a good back of the rotation guy but since there’s not too many areas on the team that could realistically be upgraded, why not the rotation?

Out of the playoff rotation? When the alternatives are Gibson, Flaherty, and Irvin? Nope However, I’d be looking to get at least two SP upgrades over the offseason so Kremer could be the 6th or 7th option, depending if Wells is considered a SP going forward.

Westburg is a keeper…Santander is pretty much valueless in trade. If they go after Garrett it probably starts with something like Kjerstad and Mayo and you’d likely have to add from there to make it happen.

If it’s Toronto then we better hope Mountcastles shoulder gets better quick

That ones a head scratcher for sure. I’m tempted to say we can write that one off and try and win the other 3 at least, but crazier things have happened. Flaherty was a good pitcher at one point in his career. But yea, why choose the sold out crowd for an almost definite loss?

Akin and Lopez are good as gone. One of Irvin or Perez as well, possibly both. As guys enter arbitration I can see them being traded or waived just to save a few million.

The only team out there dumb enough to take on Trouts contract AND send prospects are the Angels. I wouldn’t want him even if it was purely taking on the rest of his contract. $37 million a year for the next 7 years is stupid money for a guy who is on the wrong side of 30 and is creating a habit of going on the IL every year. That’s not to say the guy isn’t going to be a great player, but it’s not worth the risk. I would do something along the lines of trading a couple of our top pieces if it meant they pay like $20 million a year on his contract. But that ain’t happening

I hope they keep him. I think the players to trade are the ones in arbitration right now that have a player right behind them. Santander, Mullins, Hays…one of these guys should be traded plus Mateo should be DFA or traded if anyone wants him. Keep Urias for one more year until Holliday is ready and then move him as well. Money saved from trading a couple arb-eligible pieces should make up for the increase in arb-eligible salaries of whoever is retained and then hopefully an actually good SP can be signed with whatever is left over. All of that to say, Westburg is cheap, controlled for a while, proven to be able to handle the majors…exactly the type of player I hope they keep. There’s other moves that can be made to improve the club.

Holliday will be part of the equation by the end of 2024 I’m sure, but I highly doubt Elias is gonna go into the offseason assuming Hollidays on the roster on opening day. I think Westburg at 2nd, Henderson at SS, Urias at 3B to start and see where it goes. Ortiz could be in the mix there too, possibly moving Henderson to 3B. If Ortiz can play high level defense and hit around a .700 OPS then he is poor mans Urias considering Urias hits arbitration this year. I really like the combo of O’Hearn and Mountcastle. I hope that stays.

Oh no, how will they win without Lopez in the postseason?!?

Wow. Those are some names I haven’t heard in a while. It really makes me appreciate Elias.

My apologies for a potentially dumb question but don’t players need to be on the active roster before September starts to be eligible for the post season?

If they’re worth a waiver claim, they won’t make it far enough for us to claim. That’s the downside of being the 2nd best team in baseball and I can live with that.

Obviously this is just extra money for John. He’s poor didn’t ya know

Are you telling me you reached out to customer service to try to figure out why your work around wouldn’t work anymore? Please tell me I’m misunderstanding I also use Express VPN and can only consistently watch games on my phone with it. I use it with my fire stick also and it’s a coin toss as to whether or not it’ll work. But what does seem to work if I feel like putting in the effort is deleting the MLB app and then downloading it again. Still isn’t really 100% though. Also, sometimes just changing your city works. Hope you figure it out! But please don’t email MLB about it. They’ll eventually figure out how to keep us out

I was thinking about going to the last game of the season because it’s the closest to playoffs I’ll be able to afford lol but then again it might be a chance to rest some regulars…

If there’s any team in baseball that will break the sweepless streak…it’d be the 2023 Oakland Athletics. It’s unfortunate they’re going in while on a tough stretch of not so great baseball…this can either be a chance to get back to their winning ways or it can be the twist of the knife after a couple poor series.

Means can’t possibly help us this year based of this outing Not really, I’m not so sure the results matter just yet. He’s just getting his work in like he would in ST. Just getting through without any health issues is a plus right now.

Ah, an optimist I see. I feel the opposite, but not necessarily a pessimist. I think Rodriguez will be better, but it’s gonna real hard for Bradish to be better than he is this year. Means is a complete question mark. Kremer should be the 6th man to fill in when needed. I’d give Wells the inside track to getting a rotation spot next year for sure. That leaves one spot open, in my mind. There’s room on the payroll and a big hole. Maybe Flaherty or someone like Montgomery? Nothing crazy