oriole

Yea I saw that right after I posted. My point stands, Phillips has no business on this team but that’s for a different thread.

Then why is he on the roster at all? Some of these young guys should be given a chance to play consistently, it’s exactly what a year like 2022 is supposed to be for. We already know McKenna is, at best, a fourth outfielder and that Odor is in the twilight of his career before he turns 30. Yet they still get starts over the young guys, who have a really limited window to prove themselves before the actual prospects show up.

Didn’t expect to see Vavra today but I thought Diaz was a possibility. Definitely didn’t expect McKenna over Diaz.

I get that the optics are good but I don’t like either players chances of making it. McDermott isn’t going to stop walking hitters the higher he progresses and Johnson will be clogging up the 40 man (during the off-season and post-TJ IL time) and using up all his options while rehabbing and working his way up from high A ball. By the time he has a couple seasons experience in AA and AAA, he will be out of options during what we all are hoping to be a competitive season. If Elias didn’t grab a couple of highly flawed but interesting prospects then he’d have ended up with a couple 18 year old lottery tickets so I recognize that, on paper, it looks like a nice haul for Mancini. But this team is overachieving and close to a playoff appearance and a couple key players were traded for the “future” when honestly, none of the 6 pitchers that were traded for are likely to make any real contributions to future teams. To keep my rambling on topic for the post…Santander probably would’ve netted a similar return to Lopez so I’m happy Elias made the choice to keep him.

Prior to yesterday, I was excited to see what Santander could bring in via trade. After seeing the type of players Elias was getting back from other trades, I’m happy to see he stayed. We’d have gotten a pitcher who is old for their league but still can’t get guys out and another with a peg leg. Obviously, I’m being sarcastic/dramatic but the point stands. Elias either wasn’t being offered anyone of actual value or Elias thinks himself a wizard. I’m glad that the rest of the team stayed put. Anyways, regarding OP, my guess is 1.

We also won the 2021 World Series

This makes too much sense to actually happen. You know Elias likes to keep everyone second guessing wtf he is doing at any given moment.

I’d love to see them at least give him a chance there. But the way they’ve handled his playing time since his call up is insane to me. He’d be better off staying at Norfolk and getting everyday at bats while playing 2B and let Martin come up and ride the bench and platoon with Odor in Baltimore.

Considering Lopez was a non tender candidate last year, it’s good to see that he was able to have a half year of success as a reliever and get at least one interesting prospect in return. This type of trade makes me think that everyone expects Lopez to drop off at some point, which wouldn’t be that surprising. We’ve already seen glimpses of that. This also shows that Elias is not going take any consideration whatsoever into actually improving the team for a chance at the wild card this season. I wouldn’t say he is “punting” but Elias is certainly indifferent to the potential of a few play off games. That means we’re unlikely to see any controllable major league talent targeted or aggressive call ups.

Okay, then Elias doesn’t seem to think Vavra is a major league 2B. It would make sense since he’s been consistently hitting all year at AAA while Odor plays like hot garbage every night yet Elias did not call him up. I can’t wait til Vavra gets in a game at 2B so I can see for myself but I’m just getting vibes like he sucks defensively and that’s why he’s been used the way he has.

It’s pretty obvious that Hyde doesn’t view Vavra as a major league 2B. So that pushes him into a crowded OF battle and maybe DH if he gets a chance to prove he can hit major league pitching.

I recognize that it was a good move to trade him and that the prospects are better than what we could have expected. But I just don’t feel totally excited about a guy that can’t throw strikes and another that is unbelievably far from being ready yet needs almost immediate action to retain him. I can easily envision Johnson being left off the roster this off-season and being taken in the rule 5 or being added to the roster and then just not being ready by 2026 to have a permanent place on the active roster. I can also easily envision McDermott having even more struggles as he gets to the upper minors as his competition will be even less likely to swing and his walks go up even further. Again, I recognize that it was a return for a rental DH/1B so to get two prospects that land at #8 and #12 on an already solid farm system seems like a win. I just have a hard time believing these two players are going to have any more impact than what they got in return for Schoop or Cashner.

It would be funny if the O’s didn’t add him to the 40 man roster and then the Rays take him in the rule 5. I could see him being left off the roster, Elias left Pop knowing damn well that he’d be taken but took the risk anyways so there’s precedent. If he’s added then that leaves 2 years where he can be optioned while he climbs the ladder from A ball while also being on an innings limit. That means he will have to sink or swim in a few years with no room for error because hopefully by that time, the O’s will actually be trying to compete and won’t have room for experiments in the bullpen.

Highly improbable that Elias would actually consider signing Mancini as a free agent unless Mountcastle is traded, and that’s not something I see happening. When you’ve got a catcher that hits as well as Rutschman does, you’re going to want to keep the DH open. I thought it was a pretty dumb to move Trey but now that it’s happened, it seems like the right thing to do. I’m not exactly overjoyed with getting a right handed Tanner Scott and another pitcher who won’t play til 2024 but I do recognize that they’re a good return for a player like Mancini. It’s also interesting to get a glimpse into how a GM approaches this new expanded playoff world. It seems like the rules were changed so there was more competition towards the end of the year but Elias seems pretty disinterested in fighting for a WC spot. He has his eyes set on deep playoff runs, which is good but feels counterproductive. Especially when you’ve been as bad as the Orioles and finally start to get a taste of success.

I don’t really know how to find this information out but I’d imagine the 40 man roster is going to be pretty inflexible pretty soon. I’m sure there’s got to be a few decent players that need to be added to protect from the rule 5. Carrying Johnson for a whole year knowing he will be just taking up space during the off-season seems like a head scratcher to me. But maybe there’s not as many Rule 5 eligible guys as I’m expecting. There’s just a lot of talent in the upper minors which usually coincides with minor league service time.

I started having doubts he’d be traded but I still expected it. Still feels weird that it’s actually happening though, I almost felt shocked when I first read it…which is weird since despite my doubts, I knew it was still probably going to happen. The return is likely to be underwhelming and I’ll probably feel disappointed even though I’m expecting it.

I’m getting the vibe like Hyde doesn’t have confidence in Vavra’s defense. If that’s the case, then what role could he possibly have? Unless he hits enough to DH or even play 1B then he’s sort of useless.

I wouldn’t be opposed to it. A straight up Mountcastle for Urquidy trade seems fair. Mountcastle has an extra year of control but Urquidy is probably a bit more valuable. I don’t know if that would mean signing Mancini to an extension or not but if it did, I don’t think that’s a bad move assuming it’s not a dumb contract. But if you asked me if I preferred Mountcastle over the next four years or Urquidy and Mancini over the next three, I’d probably choose the latter even with the increased cost attached.

It’s a no brainer to make that trade IMO. Mancini is a rental and Lopez is a ticking time bomb. Peterson would make a lot more than 12-13 starts over the next few years plus he’d solidify a rotation this year that is held together by some kind of witchcraft. There’s guys that could immediately step into the Mancini and Lopez roles but the rotation has nothing in the works outside of DL Hall, who is an injury risk and wildly inconsistent in his effectiveness in addition to being an unknown. I no longer believe that Mancini will be traded to the Mets so the conversation is pretty futile in my eyes at this point. But Peterson would’ve been a fantastic return assuming a low level prospect or two were also included.

I feel like earlier this season we were all ready to consider him a big part of the future. It’s funny how a few bad starts can bring expectations down to earth.

3 games that I had the ability to go to but chose not to because of prior commitments… Curse of the Andino game vs Red Sox Delmon Young playoff hit Trey Mancini inside the park HR Ill let you all know next time I’m offered tickets for a game but can’t go because of work/school. It’ll be one to remember for sure

Disappointing to hear the Mets trade very likely won’t happen. I liked the idea of getting Peterson back. Stacking the rotation with LHP seems like a smart move…RHH will have trouble with the new dimensions and LHP limit the damage from the rest.

Hope for 6-3 The realist says 5-4 Settle for 4-5 Anything less and it’s a disappointment Anything more and I’m ecstatic

You obviously don’t follow Adley Rutschmans Big Tits on Twitter then

He should have played last night…Vavra isn’t great against lefties. Good to see Odor out of the lineup…but honestly I’ve forgotten Nevin was even still on the active roster.