seak05

Just went and looked it up, major league avg for innings pitched per starter last year was 5. Orioles were the worst at 4.5, Tampa Bay was next at 4.6. Think the Orioles would be best served by re-thinking "starting" pitching, and stop trying to get much more then 4 out of guys not named Means (and maybe Lyles).

The MLB avg for innings pitched by starter was 5 last year. So if Wells really could give you 5/game that would be major league avg & make him an exceptionally usefull starting pitcher

Yes, and a couple of the other utility candidates could also play in a pinch. Especially with the new LF, I really think you need a third solid defensive outfielder who can handle both LF and CF

I would assume Mayo goes to Aberdeen, especially since they've already brought him to big league camp. I wonder if they will start Cowser at double-A.

Not sure I'd agree with this. He swung and missed exactly once. One could argue that he should have been more aggressive

Didn't see a ton of Gunnar last year, but from some Milb stuff it does seem as if he takes a lot of pitches. I think this is part of the Orioles current hitting philosophy, that you swing at your pitch, rather then just any strike.

Even pre-bruise would've taken McKenna over Stewart for 4th OF. If you need a 5th OF in a pinch Mancini can fill in. No idea what Stewart gives you

Gunnar Henderson in at SS. Vavra in as well, definitely seem to be looking at him as a super utility type

If you extend Means at this point you're buying out 3 years of arbitration. Not sure why you'd do that if you didn't also intend to buy out at least a couple years of free agency

Independent of anything else, the Orioles going to arbitration with Means and Mancini is completely defensible, and not uncommon. But as a cumulative; with the very small payroll, and the lack of announcers on the road etc...it's yet another point of evidence in the Orioles are cheap bastards narrative

I had thought he was likely to start in Triple-A this year, but after giving him the start last night I'm wondering if he has a real shot at being part of the Orioles opening week rotation

Bauman getting crushed. They aren't missing the fastball

This. Not entirely sure what's going on with the Orioles right field situation right now

Also, not sure what to make (if anything) of the fact that Santander hasn't played the field yet

Seems pretty clear that the Orioles think both Wesburg and Ortiz might be up this year (and not just at the end of it), with Henderson further away.

I'm not really sure any of the Lowther, Akin, Zimmerman, Kremer group "belong" in triple-A. They're all relatively old, and have spent a lot of time at that level. They're either ready for MLB....or they're probably not MLB players. Bradish and Bauman could maybe use more time in Triple-A, but again it's not like they haven't made a good number of starts at that level, and I don't think the Orioles will rush them. If they're on the roster, it's because the team thinks they're ready. I suspect we'll see a lot of piggyback starts in April. I'm curious to see if Bradish makes the team, and I think it would be a surprise if Zimmerman wasn't in the rotation

Owners and players have apparently agreed on a 28 man opening day roster (plus return of the runner starting on 2b in extra innings). Wonder who will be on it?

Have I missed something or has Santander only DH'd? Is this some strategy? An undisclosed injury? Just a random blip of spring training? It just seems odd, all our other OFers and Mancini have all played the field

Angelos wasn't even remotely tight fisted when he bought the team, and he clearly loved baseball. He meddled because he loved, not because he didn't care. As he got older and sicker, the money seemed to dry up. It might be his sons, or that he doesn't have the assets anymore, or he's just bitter

Try fangraphs next time. You have to add in the arbitration eligible players salaries. They have estimates for Means and Mancini included https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/payroll/orioles

You all are aware that the orioles projected payroll for 2022 is ~65m right? (Gotta love Chris Davis, maybe he can pitch out of the bullpen). Also Alex Cobb is significantly better then the guys you are mentioning. The chances of any of them giving the orioles 5 consistently decent innings is low

Sure Diaz has the higher ceiling, but has to go play well at Norfolk. The conversation was about who should make the Orioles this year out of spring training, as presumably the 4th OF

But what do you think Diaz provides? At Norfolk McKenna had a higher OPS, higher OBP, higher Avg, and more homers (and McKenna is the best defensive of on the roster)

What is your definition of "real" SS etc? Because if you're talking about a multi WAR player coming to the Orioles you're absolutely talking about a multi year deal, worth well over 10mil a year. Chris Taylor received a 4 year 60 million dollar contract. For what you're talking about you're looking at adding minimum 60mil a year to the payroll each of the next several years, and blocking guys like Westburg and Gunnar.

This one is complex. Basically I agree with you...if the Orioles weren't in the AL East. I think in any other division in baseball the Orioles would have a shot at pushing towards the top of the division. Of the 6 teams in the AL with a 50%* chance or better at the playoffs this year though, 4 are in the AL East. Orioles could theoretically be the 6th or 7th best team in the AL and still finish last in the division *technically the Red Sox are at 49% on fangraphs, but that is pre-Story signing.