dzorange

Padres seem desperate to make a splash.

I don't have a problem rolling with that rotation for the time being. But I'd like to see them spend the money they're saving on a couple of bats. Guys like Martinez and Conforto. It could give the team some added flexibility if they attempt to make any moves via trade.

Not a bad contract. The Orioles should have the opportunity to get one of these guys at a reasonable rate.

There is little chance that Elias was blindsided by the amount of money he has available to spend. You've got to be kidding me.

Jack Rose is someone who makes up tweets trying to get people to repost them on message boards in order to gain followers. According to him, we're in on Jameson Taillon, Carlos Correa, Carlos Rodon, Xander Bogaerts, Brian Reynolds. All of them. Also tweeted "Words from Executives around the industry “Huge Overpay” in regards to signing Kyle Gibson. Yes, I'm sure that is what baseball executives are focusing in on right now. A $10 million contract.

The expectation among fans and the organization is to make the playoffs this year. That is where the ball club is at right now. That doesn’t mean they will. I think it’s a fair over/under for the team this season. I’m not arguing whether or not the Orioles will make the playoffs, that’s just the level that the team is planning to be at this season.

That's fair. I consider 2020 to be a lost season and I was more referring to Elias' plan. I still think the ceiling is higher and sped up more than expected with the overall development of our farm system.

Elias joined the organization prior to the 2019 season. Covid shortened the 2020 season and stalled some development of players. If you would have laid out a timeline going into the 2019 season, as well as the 2022 season, and said that the Orioles would be going into the 2023 season with the expectation of the making the playoffs, I don't think people would have bought it. The development of players at every level last year was unexpected as well. Fangraphs did an article midseason where the only notable Oriole prospect that didn't improve their value was Bradish. And then he came on pretty well the second half of the year. Not only did the MLB team finish .500 last year, but the overall value of the farm system also increased considerably.

The Orioles are 1-2 years ahead of schedule. Spending big (as far as the Orioles go) was not part of the plan at this point. It's still not really part of the plan, though we might get lucky and put more money into Free Agency than originally thought. If the goal is to win a World Series, it wasn't going to happen through Free Agency while the Orioles are still somewhat rebuilding. Baltimore needs to be smart with their money. This team should begin to peak in 2024 or 2025. If they haven't shelled out a decent amount of money by that point, then it's understandable to be upset. But at this point, it's still about building a roster to truly contend in a couple of years. 2023 should be an incredibly fun season. I think we should enjoy it. Much like this past season but with expectations. The team will be competing for a playoff spot. At least that's the expectation around the board. Putting together World Series caliber team is still a bit a ways, and that's part of the plan to do what's best for the organization. To maximize wins at its peak and in the long term. If the Orioles end up exceeding expectations again in 2023, and this looks like a team that can make a run in the playoffs, there will be opportunities midseason to bolster the team as well. I think it's most likely that Elias would make his biggest moves through trades. Though my gut feeling is that they are putting some competitive offers out there to starting pitchers.

Nothing changed. People just decided to not read his entire quote and only focused on the word liftoff. They bypassed the parts where he said the payroll would largely be increased through arbitration, that the Orioles won’t be going from 0-60, and that this is the beginning of a 10 year window that the team will compete in. Maybe we should stop trying to decipher every little thing he says.

Yup, Urias will spell Mateo and Gunnar on their days off. Vavra will probably slide into 2B on those days. Basically, this is just telling me that the Orioles currently plan on giving Mateo and Urias full playing time. I also think Elias puts a lot of value on guys being able to play a variety of positions all over the place. That’s key to maximizing your playing time.

I think the dilemma would be that he’s said he wants to add a bat to the team, and by trading Santander he would be trading the team’s most productive bat throughout 2022. Creating a potential need to acquire or develop another bat. Or at least the perception that there is now a void in the middle of the lineup.

I'm skeptical that that will be accomplished through Free Agency with the way the market is heading. I think if the O's are going to get a true intriguing talent for the rotation, it's going to be in the form of a trade.

This is the only quote I’ve seen from Elias, and it doesn’t say he won’t trade Santander. ”We see no real strategy in moving him, and I’m excited he’s coming back for the next two years. But obviously, we do our jobs and we listen to people.”

I haven’t seen that and it doesn’t sound like Elias. Do you have a link?

I'm actually happy the Mets got him. If not, they would be in on pretty much every other starter available.

Perhaps this was posted in one of the other threads, but Dan Connolly posted another piece today talking about Santander. https://theathletic.com/3963455/2022/12/05/orioles-anthony-santander-mike-elias/

I don’t know if I agree that he’s better than Gibson and has more upside. Even so, I think it’s mostly debating semantics. Syndergaard would also come at the cost of an extra year or two.

I’m surprised that so many people are open to Syndergaard while so many people are disappointed by the Gibson signing. Both would be short term solutions and would offer similar results. Anyways, I hope Syndergaard is off the table now that Gibson was signed.

He also mentioned that this is the beginning of a 10 year window. The Orioles are going to make some moves no question, and this team will be in a better position to win than they were at the end of last season. But it's year one of a ten year window. They are still prioritizing the long term plan, which should make expectations a little more tepid than "lift off". I'm not expecting any "wow" moves this offseason. But it could be a number of moves that add up to a sizeable increase in payroll.

2,500 is not a lot. At all. If you were going to set a number of followers for a reputable source it would be a far higher number. And again, did you actually read that person’s bio? They are a graphic designer. And an aspiring one at that. I’m just a lurker on these forums but I’m really starting to hope that you’re just some sort of troll or something. You really can’t be serious with this stuff.

It’s not real info. They are accounts that make stuff up to get followers. Even the video on Bassitt was intentionally misquoted in the tweet he shared. I wish this guy would stop posting these.

That’s not that many followers and did you even read his bio? What is the point of even posting these? Do you actually think there is something of substance here?

3 followers isn’t enough for you?

I think there is some optimism for Mountcastle in that department next year. His BB% increased from 5.1% in the first half of 2022 to 9.4% in the second half. He's a .261 career hitter and he only hit .221 in the second half last year. He's never going to be an on-base machine but I would not be surprised if he makes strides next season at the plate. Mountcastle has a career 7.1 BB%, which is not good, but it's not downright terrible and is much better than someone like Austin Hays.