TommyPickles

I think one takeaway from these numbers is that it is probably naive to expect all of these prospects to immediately outperform their veteran counterparts at the major league level. You need a mix of rookies and vets. For example, here's their projected OPS when you average all three: Infield: Urias- .715 vs. Ortiz- .699 Mountcastle- .774 vs. Mayo- .723 Outfield: Santander- .783 vs. Cowser- .707 Hays- .751 vs. Kjerstad- .743 Don't freakout when guys like Urias and Hays are getting starts in the early part of 2024, or when guys like Mayo or Norby are starting the year in AAA.

Chapman seems like a scumbag. Fired his gun off eight times inside a house party after an altercation with his girlfriend. One bullet flew through a neighbor's window. Then he punched out a car window. She accused him of also choking her during the incident (he said he just poked her and she fell over). Was suspended for 30 days under MLB's Domestic Violence rules. I don't want him or Trevor Bauer on the team, personally.

3 years, $75 million. The first guy to get less than MLBTradeRumors predicted this year. This is a deal I would have liked to see the O's make, but oh well. I'd like to see them target Shoto Imanaga now.

I don't have any data on this, but it seems like the Cardinals love older players. In 2022, for example, they had Wainwright, Pujols, and Yadi all in their 40's. Along with a 35-year-old first baseman in Goldy.

Man. Tough call, because I'm someone who believes the Os should keep Santander for 2024. I'd even be down with him playing a lot more first base. The playoffs showed us the importance of veteran sluggers... That said, I think I'd bite my lip and say yes. Bradish, Grayson, Means, Bieber, Kremer is a legit rotation.

I think Grayson is more likely to throw a no-hitter. I think Bradish will have a lower ERA.

Adley, Gunnar, Holiday, Grayson, Bradish

I think Westburg will have about a .745 OPS, up from .715 in 2023. I think he'll lose more than a couple of home runs to Lord Walltimore. But I hope I'm being too conservative and it is more like the .775-.780 you guys are predicting!

From MLBTradeRumors: Bummer was tagged for nearly seven earned runs per nine over 58 1/3 innings. Among pitchers with 50+ frames, only 12 had a higher ERA than his 6.79 mark. While that’ll make this a head-scratching move for many Atlanta fans, it’s clear the front office is placing a lot more stock in Bummer’s promising underlying indicators. Bummer struck out an above-average 29.2% of batters faced this year. He has fanned just under 27% of opponents over the course of his career. He averaged 94.5 MPH on his sinker (a solid mark for a left-hander) and missed bats against hitters of either handedness. While he’s no longer posting ground-ball numbers reminiscent of peak Zach Britton, he kept the ball on the ground at a lofty 58.2% clip. That’s the 10th-highest rate among relievers who logged at least 50 innings.

The nine voters who don't think Gunnar Henderson was a top 10 player in the AL last year are out of their minds. Gunnar should be a little higher up. Adley and Julio Rodriguez could each be a little lower. I think they're both benefiting a bit from the narrative that they turned their respective teams around.

How about: Kremer, Ortiz, Stowers for Cease? Throw in Mateo if it gets the White Sox over the edge. I agree with @Sports Guy that Mateo would have some value to the 2024 White Sox, even if most other teams wouldn't value him at all.

His total DRS was 13 in 2023. He got 10 of those playing SS. Henderson is a really good defender.

Also, I like the Locked on Orioles podcast...

Good point. It could easily be Urias to start the year. But they could also put Ortiz at SS and Henderson at 3B until Holiday shows up. Knowing Hyde, it'll probably be more of an infield-by-committee situation.

Cease seems like the best pitcher we might actually get. I like that he's so durable. He's made at least 32 starts for three years in a row. I also think the White Sox organization and clubhouse was a disaster last year. The good vibes of the Orioles' clubhouse would do him good. I also think Adley would help him cut down on those wild pitches (he's led the AL in wild pitches 2 of the last 3 seasons).

Urias was third on the team in OBP and hits righties better than lefties. I think he makes a lot of sense as the utility guy. At least until Holiday gets called up.

I'm not sure if the O's will exceed their 2023 win total in any of these years. Hard to match the record in 1-run games we had. That said, you can make the World Series with 84 wins and a negative run differential these days. I'm just hopeful the O's will make the playoffs 3-4 times in the next 5 years.

I'd like to keep Santander for this last year and experiment with him playing more 1B. He's been a considerably better hitter than Mountcastle for two years in a row. That would also open up playtime in the outfield. Watching the postseason this year it seems clear that we need power hitters in the lineup.

I love Hyde. But I was at the game last night and I don’t think he managed it well.

This team won 101 games…

Had to scroll through 25 pages to find this thread. Found it! Here goes: Urias has reached base multiple times in his last five games in a row. He has a 1.095 OPS over that stretch. His .330 OBP this season is higher than Mullins' or Gunnar's. It is actually 5th best on the team, out of guys who have at least 300 PAs. Heating up in a big way! So valuable to this lineup.

Really like Westburg at second. Really like Ramon at 3rd. According to Fielding Bible, the two best defenders on the 2023 Orioles are: Gunnar Henderson and Ramon Urias. 1b- Mountcastle 2b- Westburg SS- Gunnar 3b- Urias Inf Bench 1- Joey Ortiz Inf Bench 2- Ryan O'Hearn Then Holiday, Norby, and others can challenge the players above for spots as the season (and injuries) unfold. I could also see Santander playing more 1B next year if we don't have O'Hearn.

I think they should keep McCann. He's a steal at the price we got him for and he seems to have really meshed with the team and culture. Some of his comments about the team have sounded really positive. Based on Fielding Bible's DRS metric, he's the best defensive catcher in baseball with fewer than 350 innings on the field this season.

Grayson always seems to match up against some other team's ace. It is uncanny. Tonight is just his 16th MLB start. Take a look at some of the pitchers he's faced of with: Jacob deGrom Dylan Cease Eduardo Rodriguez Zach Eflin Shohei Ohtani Alex Manoah Jon Gray Shane McClanahan Gerrit Cole Framer Valdez Yu Darvish

In five starts since returning, Grayson has allowed 0 home runs. In his previous five starts before being sent down, he allowed 11 home runs.