TommyPickles

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.

Buck belongs in the Orioles Hall of Fame.

According to Defensive Runs Saved on Fielding Bible, the best defender this season on our team is: 1. Austin Hays (5) 2. Ramon Urias (4) 3. Jorge Mateo (3)

Big game tonight. Gerrit Cole vs. Grayson Rodriquez Aaron Judge returns to the lineup. Gunnar Henderson returns to the lineup.

Jordan Montgomery.

DL Hall for Jordan Montgomery. Cardinals are looking for "controllable, near MLB ready pitching." O's could use another starter. Montgomery spent most of his career in the AL East. He's got a 3.37 ERA/2.1 WAR this season. He's 30. He's got a career 1.35 ERA in the postseason (2 outings). I know a lot of people hate rentals, but (if the Cardinals were interested) I think this would be a nice move.

If Gunnar is out for a few days (gulp), I’m fine with a starting infield of: vs RHP: 1B- O’Hearn (.864 OPS) 2B- Frazier (.750 OPS) SS- Westburg (.689 OPS) 3B- Urias (.782 OPS) vs LHP: 1B- Mountcastle (1.043 OPS) 2B- Westburg (.863 OPS) SS- Mateo (.792 OPS) 3B- Urias (.573 OPS)

If I had to look at only three player stats for the rest of my life, I think I'd choose: OPS, ERA, and WAR. Plenty of other good stats, and in some ways OPS+ is a better version of OPS, since it is park-adjusted. But these are the three my eyes always go to first.

I haven't looked up any numbers to back this up, but teams with a true ace starting pitcher (or two) seem best structured for the postseason. An ace being able to start 2 out of 5 games in a series, means they play a larger role than they do during the regular season. (They start 40% of the games, instead of the usual 20% of the games) A lockdown closer is a huge factor too. The 2014 Royals come to mind as a team that rode the back end of their bullpen to a World Series birth. As much as I hated the Royals, that Holland/Davis/Herrera trio was one of the best ever.