We need Prince Fielder as much as any team needs a single player!

[vab]

In answer to the thread title - not if he doesn't pitch.

[GoldGlove21]

I think the Orioles wasted a golden opportunity to operate in the $55M realm and spend $30M on signing, drafting, and developing the best talent by any means. That being said, I think a team like the Orioles should operate in the same price range as the Chicago Cubs. The Orioles should be able to afford a team in excess of $100M. Considering how much young talent we have run out there this year it boggles my mond how we have invested almost $35M on Lee, Guerrero, Gregg, Gonzalez, Uehara, and Scott. NON of those players are likely to help us become contenders in the next 2-3 years.

[GoldGlove21]

This is true...but it shouldn't be.

This team could deal a bunch of players and still be in as good or better shape entering 2012 as they would be if they kept all of those guys.

They just don't see it...Everything is short term thinking...There is very little vision or long term planning going on.

This is the real problem IMO. If they had just picked a direction 5 years ago and went all in we would be fine. Look at the Nationals and imagine what they could have done has Strasburg been healthy and Harper been called up. Imagine what they can do next year if things work out. The Orioles can deal guys like Lee, Scott, Guerrero, Gregg and even Guthrie if the offer is solid and still be good moving forward, BUT it comes back to that same young starting pitching that is leading the argument for why we do not sign a guy like Fielder. If the weight of this entire organization is on 5 young starting pitchers to pan out then we have already failed.

[HokieOs]

I disagree with this assessment. If I'm the O's, I'm seriously considering keeping Guthrie and Hardy, hoping Roberts is healthy, throwing a ton of money at Fielder and banking on the starting pitching taking the next developmental step.

I don't think Matusz has suddenly washed up. He'll be a good pitcher for us unless he becomes chronically injured. Guthrie is a valuable pitcher. Britton is a bona fide starter and so is Arrieta. With Fielder, our only "hole" on offense (on paper) would be LF/DH. You're basically looking at a team that needs health and one good starting pitcher, in addition to Fielder, to give the fans some hope of winning.

I know it seems like we're terrible, but our offensive catalyst has missed most of the year, our supposed Ace has missed most of the year and been ineffective when he's been back, our power hitting left fielder has been injured and our 1B hasn't produced at all. With some luck (health), this team really could have been a .500 team.

I agree that Matusz will likely rebound and become a solid pitcher. I see Britton as a potential 1/2 type starter. I see Matusz as a 2/3 guy. Arrieta is 3/4 type guy. Guthrie also currently fits into the mix as a 2/3 type guy. The problem is, Arrieta is the only young one performing at his expected level right now. Britton has also played well in spurts. That said, what else do we have? What evidence is there that Bergersen will ever be what he was in 2009? Tillman could be a 4/5 guy max... but he may never make it.

With that in mind, we need more arms.... especially given the fact that Guthrie is likely to be traded. There are no guarantees that all the guys above will actually end up making it.

As far as the bats, I see far more holes. LF is a gaping hole. 1B is a gaping hole. 2B is also a hole right now as far as I'm concerned. DH will be a hole in 2012 and frankly, Vlad isn't cutting it either. That's four holes. We DO have our power guy in Mark Reynolds who appears to be figuring it out.... but if he has to move to DH, we have another hole at 3B (though I'd imagine that the only way we move him to DH is by getting another 3B... or Josh Bell suddenly turning it around and actually becomming a decent MLB 3B).

[Dannyboy]

Well, then in order to do that you're going to have to go 7/175, and I don't see the O's doing it.

[JTrea81]

Prince Fielder would be a bad investment. He is not Mark Teixeira or Adrian Gonzalez. I disagree.

We had our chance at both and passed. So he's the best of what's left...

The more options we pass on, the more years we add before we compete again. You can make a case to not sign any FA, but at some point you have to take the risk and go for it.

Prince isn't the best fit, but we've passed on so many other options, we can't really afford to pass on him if we want to compete before 2014.

[JTrea81]

Well, then in order to do that you're going to have to go 7/175, and I don't see the O's doing it.

7/160 + 15 million deferred might do it.

Boras took deferred money for Holliday. That would give him his 7/175 deal.

[GoldGlove21]

The issue here is timing and it is the Orioles fault if they miss the boat. You bring up guys like Jones, Wieters and Britton quickly because they are needed, but in reality you could have lost a little more and cemented the higher draft selection while avoiding servie time issues. Now we face a middle ground, go young or go all in.

[GoldGlove21]

It is tough because most teams deal a strength for a weakness, but the Orioles can't do that. There is no starting pitching depth for Guthrie to be a strength. There is no middle infield depth for Hardy to be traded either. We do have a ton of DH depth with Scott, Guerrero and Lee, but all of them are likely AL only players (Scott being the possible exception). Same goes for the bullpen with Gregg, Gonzalez and Uehara. The bottom line is that the Orioles are horrible and they just really need to pick a direction IMO. Guthrie, Hardy and Uehara would likely bring back a killing in this market. If the Orioles are 2+ years away then deal all three of these guys for somewhat known quantities.

[JTrea81]

And he's another really fat guy.

So was David Wells. Curt Schilling wasn't exactly svelte either.

Being fat doesn't mean you are bad baseball player.

[JTrea81]

The issue here is timing and it is the Orioles fault if they miss the boat. You bring up guys like Jones, Wieters and Britton quickly because they are needed, but in reality you could have lost a little more and cemented the higher draft selection while avoiding servie time issues. Now we face a middle ground, go young or go all in.

The Orioles should have gone for it earlier or blown it up earlier. Right about the offseason when Tex was a FA was when they should have made that decision. Roberts and Markakis could have been traded instead of extended for pieces we'd have today.

Instead they pissed away 2 years and here we are at year #3 we are throwing away as well...

[Moose Milligan]

So was David Wells. Curt Schilling wasn't exactly svelte either.

That's comparing apples to cheeseburgers and you know it. That's just an awful, awful comparison.

[GoldGlove21]

The Orioles should have gone for it earlier or blown it up earlier. Right about the offseason when Tex was a FA was when they should have made that decision. Roberts and Markakis could have been traded instead of extended for pieces we'd have today.

Instead they pissed away 2 years and here we are at year #3 we are throwing away as well...

It is like their plan revolved around Tex and when they didn't get him they were lost. At this point if Fielder is out of the question then go young and blow it up. Get what you can for Guthrie, Scott, Lee, Guerrero, Uehara, Gregg and Hardy. I bet the Orioles could do a very nice job of rebuilding a weak farm system by dealing those guys. We would also save some money. Maybe then we could take a bad contract off of someone's hands for a good prospect and then possibly net picks for them moving forward.

[HokieOs]

I must say that I really hate to "blow it up" four years after blowing it up before.... but I almost wonder whether we have another choice. As mentioned, we really need to pick a direction and STICK TO IT. Frankly, given the fact that we're not a large market team, we're going to have to go with young guys. Wieters, Britton, and Arrieta are about the only guys I'm not willing to put out there as trade bait. Matusz too to an extent, but given his injuries it's incredibly unlikely that he'd yield a worthy return right now. Markakis is also unlikely to yield a worthwhile return.

I'd like to trade Guthrie for Alonso and another Reds prospect or two (Cozart and/or Boxberger ideally). I'd prefer to keep Markakis/Jones together as an OF tandem for now but a good trade would be plenty for me. Let's get a good return for Uehara (he would mean more to someone else than for us at this point). Scott is being traded a year too late. Vlad won't net much. Neither will Lee. I'd like to keep Hardy, if for no other reason than for the draft picks next year... but again, a great deal for him would be good.... and if we can sign him to a decent contract, he's not a bad guy to build around.... as long as he can stay healthy.

[El Gordo]

If we have the meltdown I think we're on the brink of, AM just might move some players at the TD for young talent. If the W/L record is obviously a disaster, then he would be free to do so, providing PA doesn't throw a fit about trading the likes of Jones, Guthrie, and Markakis. Jones, Guthrie, Hardy, Markakis(to a team tha can afford him like the Yankees or Sux)Reynolds, Koji and Gregg could bring back a lot.