oriole

At least Ty Wigginton played 2B throughout his career...Pearce didn’t play a single inning at 2B til Buck put him there in 2015.

If Steve Pearce can do it I don’t see why Ruiz wouldn’t be able to.

But I already started drinking and grilling hot dogs...

Teams have to adapt when there is such a huge gap in payroll between teams. That should be the embarrassing part about MLB

Haha he waited til he got in the rotation to have a bad game

Yea, of course. I’m just following what I believe is the line of thinking regarding Franco being signed at all. If he was traded, who would play 3B? Bannon? Urias? It’s arguable whether either of those players are any better or worse than Ruiz but it seems logical to me to keep him as a fall back plan and depth, especially if he can handle 2B.

Elias has shown in the past he will trade a player for very little. The Franco signing seems to me to be more of taking advantage of situation where a player has no where else to go. Whether he eventually nets a couple kids from the DR or maybe a low level prospect from a desperate team at the deadline I think it’s safe to assume he will be traded. At least it seems clear to me that that is the plan. Otherwise why sign a guy when we have Ruiz here? It’s not like Elias wants to win right now. He’ll never say it out loud and I wouldn’t expect him to but high draft picks are one of the goals in a rebuild like this so I don’t think Franco was signed because Ruiz stinks.

It’s worth mentioning that Franco won’t be at 3B all year, he’ll very likely be traded at some point and there is a severe shortage of 3B in this organization. So I imagine Ruiz at 2B is just a mixture of experimenting with his positional flexibility and also seeing about keeping him on the 26 man roster while 3B is taken up. Of course this assumes that Elias sees Ruiz as a long term piece worth doing any of that with which is a whole other conversation. But I don’t see it as an issue if Ruiz is the OD 2B. It’s not like winning games matters right now anyways.

Aw rats, count me as one of the ones who was hoping he was in trade talks.

I cut the cord years ago so I go off box scores and radio most the time. I’d have no idea if he really gained weight either. Either way he’ll definitely get a lot of chances to pitch better throughout the season

I haven’t been able to watch games or know if there’s any credit to the claim I’ve read around here that Akin has gained weight but if it’s true then the guy needs a wake up call and handing a spot on the OD roster after a bad spring isn’t going to help him in that regard. He’ll be up and make plenty of starts this season without a doubt.

If they were going easy on him to ensure he stays healthy i would imagine they’d at least put him at DH.

Yeah, but it’s not like Burger is a top 10 prospect or has even played in like three years. It’d be like trading Stewart for a lottery ticket and Chicago would be trading for a little bit more of a known commodity than a blocked prospect who hasn’t played in a while.

I’d rather see them trade Stewart. Maybe Stewart for Burger? Stewart honestly has no future here with so many outfielders and Burger is blocked by Moncada for the time being. Plus there is no imminent 3B prospect in the system outside of Bannon who isn’t really a 3B prospect as much as a long shot utility guy.

I’m hoping to see it line up something like Means, Kremer, Zimmerman, Harvey, Lopez to start the season. Keep Akin and LeBlanc ready at the alternate site for when one of these guys inevitably gets hurt or implodes. Hernandez is a possibility to be the first one called up post-opening day but it’s hard to say with his injuries and questionable abilities. Valdez seems like the perfect guy to have on hand for long stretches in the BP and as much as I want to see him start it just doesn’t make much sense squeezing him in the rotation. I could just as easily see Akin making it instead of Lopez. But that would mean there would need to be room made in the BP for Lopez.

It’s hard for me to believe LeBlanc makes the team on OD. I think it seems clear that Zimmerman has made his way into the rotation, at least to start the season. And Lopez seems like he’s at least pushed his way into the bullpen and if he isn’t on the O’s OD roster then he’ll be on someone’s because he’ll certainly get claimed. That leaves little to no room for LeBlanc who has the contractual flexibility to start out AAA while we wait for an injury or something.

Good lord, I can see why the man held out for so long. If this was the best offer he received he’s gotta be frustrated.

Meh, if it’s a one year cheap deal then it’s whatever but I’m also totally fine seeing them give Ruiz one last shot before turning the page.

I’m hoping Hays and Mullins can combine for a solid CF, LF combo with Diaz or Santander in RF, Mountcastle at 1B and Stewart relegated to strictly DH duties. But I’m showing my bias. Call me Homer

Did he learn to hit the ball the other way or bunt? If he’s still swinging for the fences every time he’s still gonna strike out, fly out, or hit into the shift every single at bat.

Scott’s had too much of a history with walks to be a closer imo. If a closer has good stuff and still gets hit then it’s just baseball but if they’re walking hitters in a close game with 3 or less outs to go it’s hard to take. I’ll say they go with Harvey assuming he’s healthy. But it’s a rebuild so maybe it’ll be Valdez again or Abad or the other Harvey.

I can’t say I expect him to play in Baltimore but if he does that means he probably isn’t totally washed up. But maybe that’s wishful thinking??

I agree that it’s likely Cobb, but considering the Angels gave up a prospect and decided to pay a few million for him when a washed up guy like Hernandez was available for such a low price will keep me comparing the two

Who has the better season...Cobb or Hernandez? That’ll be a fun quirk to follow

Maybe I’m being too optimistic but I’m hoping he is released as soon as there’s clarity whether they have to pay the entire salary or if the season is shortened this year.