HandsomeQuack

I had no idea McCann was career .258/.325/.452 against lefties. Definitely worse guys to plug as a DH with multiple starters sitting. I'm more triggered that Frazier is in. wrong thread

I understand, but I still don't think that necessitates carrying a third catcher. They didn't do it last year, and I don't remember the Mauer Twins or the Posey Giants ever doing that, although I could be wrong about those teams. I know it's a 26-man roster now but surely there is a better use for that spot than Bemboom.

Hopefully Wells

I agree, but I see a possible reality where it's June or July and Mateo has a .260 OBP and has regressed defensively, and suddenly Ortiz is the SS that gives the team the best chance to win. Norby and Westburg seem much more blocked and therefore expendable.

Speaking for myself, it is odd that Vavra was getting ABs and corner OF starts over Stowers against RHP. But you are right, if the org views Vavra>Stowers vs RHP (which they clearly do), their only options were to let Stowers ride the bench with the big league club or let him get Triple-A reps and let an O'Hearn or Cordero occupy the last spot. Both of those scenarios are forum panic-inducing, although the former is less so. The real question is why they are seemingly bearish on Stowers... But how long will they ride with three catchers, and who will come up when Bemboom gets sent down? The extra catcher was nice the other day when they were able to pinch-hit for McCann and keep Adley in the DH spot, but the third catcher is pointless when Adley is catching.

Like others have said, Mateo does not have value outside of SS. There is no situation or defensive alignment where he should be anywhere other than SS or bench. I don't see what the point would be of him working out anywhere else.

I believe it's some function of the player's height, meaning that a player's stance doesn't affect his zone.

I would rather roll the dice on Wells, not to say that Wacha would be a bad addition. I don't trust Wacha's 2022 to be anything more than an outlier.

Adding any of the "tier two" starting pitchers would have done it for me. The deals that Bassitt, Taillon, and Walker signed with other teams should have been very reasonable for the O's to give.

Exactly. The fact that most of the key pieces don't hit FA until 2026 or later makes it particularly disappointing they didn't sign someone to fill out the payroll until then.

Not saying they won't, but I don't know what another low-end SP brings to the table. By my count they already have six or seven "guys" that will be in the rotation mix, not counting GR, Hall, or Means.

I agree with this, but even Lyles is somewhat of a category 2 guy since the team had no intentions to be good last year and his purpose was solely to eat innings and be nice to the younger guys. Yes, he was (relatively) expensive, but I don't think Elias was going to be fussed about whether his ERA was under 5. This season is Elias's chance to make a good first impression as it relates to using FA and low level trades to plug wholes on a "competitive" team.