luismatos4prez

Wow! Elias is ruthless. He didn't like what he saw from Sanchez and Akin so he didn't wait around. Just cut them. Who plays 2B?

Hyde/Elias are working with a lot more information than we are. They see his conditioning, pitch data, side sessions, daily work ethic, attitude, and they can actually talk to him. That doesn't mean they're automatically right, but they certainly aren't basing this decision on just ST game performance.

Akin had a rough spring, but I still thought he'd make the team. I would guess the rotation is Means, Kremer, Harvey, Lopez, and LeBlanc now with Zimmermann and the Rule 5 guys in the pen.

A good core of hitters is forming here again. But it is a clear step down from the Showalter/Duquette teams which had a stacked core of position players. Maybe the next playoff Orioles will be more balanced though. The 2012-6 Orioles never developed the pitching. On a side note, the Orioles absolutely have the budget to sign some of the top FAs next year and put a contender together. They won't, but they could. I think next year it's time to start trying to win, but maybe I'm impatient.

I like this if it's an Iglesias style 1 year deal with a club option for next year. He's a small step up from Ruiz and there are no good SS/3B prospects that are close.

I think you're all missing the exciting future possibilities with this trade. In 5 years, Dominguez will be AA ready and we can flip him for 3 teenagers with sky high potential!

Rays: Trade stars when they become arbitration eligible for minor league prospects Orioles: Trade prospects when they hit AA for Latin American teenagers. The team won't be good until 2030, but gosh darn it they'll be unstoppable then.

It's hard to believe that they would only let people with smartphones into Camden Yards. I recommend contacting the Ticket Sales Department. I'm sure there's a way for you to go to games still.

Someone posted this on Twitter under Roch's tweet.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/03/start-of-triple-a-season-delayed.html It's good that they're being safe with all the health concerns, but I am disappointed. Our AAA team will have a lot of interesting prospects that I was looking forward to tracking in April. It seems the alternate site will return at least for the beginning of the season.

Worth a shot I guess. We'll probably get a competent season from one of LeBlanc, Hernandez, and Harvey. You can count on the Rule 5 guys not working out and one of Means, Akin, and Kremer getting hurt. The Norfolk guys (Zimmermann, Lowther, Baumann, Wells) will need to step up. Finding 5 starters out of those 12 names is iffy, but it will be interesting to watch all the tryouts.

Keith Law thinks very highly of Jahmai Jones. Put him as the Orioles' #9 prospect in his list today with positive comments about his bat and work ethic. When asked if the Orioles won the trade, he responded "Yes, no-brainer for them. I love Jones and think he'll thrive there."

You want two major league signings in one offseason? Some of the hot dog vendors are going to have to get axed for that to happen. It's a good idea for a rebuilding club, but I feel certain that Rio Ruiz's Pre-Arb salary earns him the OD 3B job.

The Orioles will have about the lowest payroll in baseball this year and they can't afford to pay coaches or broadcasters?! Bro, sell the team. Cash out for yourselves and stop embarrassing the city. Why would you own a baseball team if you can't pay for baseball players? Or even coaches and broadcasters? By 2022, all games will be day games since we can't afford to turn the lights on. No TV either, only a radio broadcast done by a local high school Radio Club. Players must bring quarters to the stadium to wash their uniforms in the locker room. The groundskeepers will be replaced by me and my push lawnmower.

The options as I see them: 1. Play someone who is unqualified to be a ML SS (i.e. Valaika, Martin) 2. Sign Freddy Galvis or re-sign Alberto to play SS. (not Profar) 3. Move Sanchez to SS (square peg, round hole as OP said) and let Valaika/Urias/Bannon fight it out for 2B. Door #2 is clearly the best to me, but it also costs money so we'll see.

Valaika could be a utility guy, but he doesn't play good defense anywhere. Plus, he's arbitration eligible and his career OPS+ is still 72 even after last year. I'm not a believer, and I doubt Mike gives him a million dollars. DFA and minor league contract to compete with Urias next year is most likely. I'm still naively hoping that Sanchez, Iglesias, and Alberto are 2B/3B/SS next year. There are Tom Eshelmans on the waiver wire at any point during the season. His 2.42 HR/9 isn't a fluke, he just doesn't have ML stuff. Fair point about Ruiz. He is who he is: an above average 3B defender with a weak bat. But you're right that he probably stays on over the winter.

I would like to note that there is a whole lot of room on the 40 man roster. Including Mancini and Martin, there are currently 35. But I don't expect Eshelman, Ruiz, and Nunez to be on for long. Plenty of other guys (i.e. Valaika, Wynns, Sulser) could get axed as well. 6 guys could get added without a problem. That still leaves room for waiver claims, our own Rule 5 picks, a FA signing or two, etc.

Mason McCoy types from the looks of them.

Good glove at 3B, too. And under team control for 2 years. I really like this waiver claim. The Orioles have no ML-ready prospects at 2B/3B/SS. Yet, they can have an actually good infield with Alberto, Sanchez, and Iglesias for ~7-8M combined. I hope they don't cut Alberto. The payroll is already looking to come in around 50M next year which is pathetically low no matter what revenue was lost this year.

I am surprised that Eshelman didn't get cut with this group.

There's no one left that Mike is interested in. He's already traded for every shortstop born from 2002-2004 in the Dominican Republic.

I think a case could be made for Adam Hall being in the 10-12 range. I'm interested to read why he's fallen so far in your rankings.

How different would the game be if the strike zone was a constant? Maybe the current strike zone of the average height player (6'1). Would Jose "Buzzer" Altuve (5'6) be able to compete? Would Aaron Judge (6'7) have a huge advantage?

It's kind of crazy how baseball adjusts the strike zone to the player's height, isn't it? I can't think of another sport where the official rules vary based on the player's height.

Matt Swartz at MLBTradeRumors has made some predictions about arbitration eligible cases around the league. Below are his projections for the Orioles: Hanser Alberto – $2.3MM Shawn Armstrong – $800K Trey Mancini – $4.8MM Renato Nunez – $2.1MM Anthony Santander – $1.7MM Pedro Severino – $1.4MM I don't expect Mancini to go to arbitration, I would guess they work something unique out with him. Nunez is likely gone, but it will be interesting to see if they can work out a trade for him. I speculated that a team would give up a Cadyn Grenier level prospect for him, but many believed that he's destined for a DFA. I would like the team to keep Alberto. I'd be disappointed if they can't afford $2M for a ML caliber infielder next year.