Potential Free Agent 2B

[SilentJames]

What about giving Greg Miclat a shot at the job, and see if he can handle lead off.

He is doing well at Bowie, definitely got the OBP. How do you think his defense would translate to the bigs?

[OFFNY]

.

Last year, B-Rob was sidelined for most of the season with a back injury.

This year, B-Rob was sidelined for most of the season with a concussion.

The back injury looked like it might be a career-ender, but it wasn't.

The concussion looks like it could be possibly be a career-ender ... but I'm going to put my money on it not being so ... all 75 cents of it.

[SilentJames]

Can't believe it but I actually agree with Trea. Barmes would be my main target, mainly for his defense but he's not a zero with the bat either. A lot of these other guys are not great in the field.

And yes, if Roberts is done or can only be a part time player, I would kick the tires on Rollins and would be willing to move Hardy to 2B for him. That said I can't imagine him not only leaving Philly but then signing with us.

I personally think Rollins is a terrible idea. The type of contract he would want is not what the Orioles need to be looking for in this situation. Hardy is fine at short right now, no reason to mess with that. We need insurance for Brian, Barmes is interesting though that OBP is pretty poor.

Giving Miclat a shot is interesting as well, but jumping from AA to the majors is going to be a shock.

[jamalshw]

I'm intrigued by the idea of Omar Infante. I think he'd be a great super utility guy if Roberts is healthy and a solid option at 2B if he's not.

[SilentJames]

.

Last year, B-Rob was sidelined for most of the season with a back injury.

This year, B-Rob was sidelined for most of the season with a concussion.

The back injury looked like it might be a career-ender, but it wasn't.

The concussion looks like it could be possibly be a career-ender ... but I'm going to put my money on it not being so ... all 75 cents of it.

I don't think anyone really thought that his back injury was a career-ender (at least I didn't think so) but the concussion thing is an entirely different beast. You simply can not mess around with this stuff. Surgery can fix backs (for the most part), but surgery can't fix post-concussion syndrome.

Brian's career is really in jeopardy, and that is very very sad.

[waroriole]

I don't understand, why Baker? I mean if AM has proven one thing is that he knows how to make an effective trade. He got Hardy for a song, Reynolds as well.

I agree that a trade is our best bet at getting a real return, but who is really available?

B/c he's a Cub.

[SilentJames]

Again, it really comes down to OBP.

The thing that is holding this offense back right now is its in-ability to take a walk. Brian being out and Markakis' BB numbers down + Vlad and Pie have really hurt this team in a lot of ways.

We need to find a way to replace Brian's OBP on this team. That is not an easy task, but we need to find it somewhere.

[SilentJames]

B/c he's a Cub.

Cub sure, but come on. Hasn't MacPhail proven himself a pretty good assayer of trade value?

[waroriole]

I personally think Rollins is a terrible idea. The type of contract he would want is not what the Orioles need to be looking for in this situation. Hardy is fine at short right now, no reason to mess with that. We need insurance for Brian, Barmes is interesting though that OBP is pretty poor.

Giving Miclat a shot is interesting as well, but jumping from AA to the majors is going to be a shock.

Yeah, I'm surprised TGO backed Rollins. We would have to pay him an absurd amount of money to go from the best in baseball to the worst. That's just not worth it when we can get our MI elsewhere.

Miclat should have zero chance to make the team in the spring, if he does then we screwed up again.

[waroriole]

Cub sure, but come on. Hasn't MacPhail proven himself a pretty good assayer of trade value?

Baker is having a pretty good season, he wouldn't be terrible in the Andino role.

[CanadianOriole]

I'd love to see Ryan Adams get a prolonged shot at 2b for the last 6 weeks or so of this year. Let's find out if his defense can play at the MLB level and get some at bats under his belt.

That crop of FA's is very uninspiring. Johnson might be ok, Infante perhaps in a pinch, the rest are pretty bad. Why not find out what he have in Adams?

[SilentJames]

Baker is having a pretty good season, he wouldn't be terrible in the Andino role.

No he's not, .301 OBP, sub 700 OPS? no thank you.

Here is a theory. If the Brewers go into rebuild after this season (losing Fielder, going out early in the playoffs etc.) Do you think Weeks would be on the market? Do you think we could get him?

Just a passing thought.

[OFFNY]

I don't think anyone really thought that his back injury was a career-ender (at least I didn't think so) but the concussion thing is an entirely different beast. You simply can not mess around with this stuff. Surgery can fix backs (for the most part), but surgery can't fix post-concussion syndrome.

Brian's career is really in jeopardy, and that is very very sad.

Last year, I was posting on the Baltimore Sun where a lot of posters were concerned and anxious about B-Rob's back being a career-ender, so my bad on that if you guys weren't as worried.

Regarding the concussion, I know full well about the seriousness that they include, but IMRAOAO, B-Rob has 2 things going for him ... A. He took the entire year off, and played it very conservatively (unlike Luke Scott, who had to be dragged off of the field before his arm fell off) ... and B. Baseball is not nearly as physical and brutal as sports such as football and boxing (where concussions and brain damage are much more prevalent), so the risks are there, but not nearly as high. That's why I'm going out on a limb and betting my 75 cents that B-Rob will be back in 2012.

[TGO]

I personally think Rollins is a terrible idea. The type of contract he would want is not what the Orioles need to be looking for in this situation. Hardy is fine at short right now, no reason to mess with that. We need insurance for Brian, Barmes is interesting though that OBP is pretty poor.

Giving Miclat a shot is interesting as well, but jumping from AA to the majors is going to be a shock.

Don't get me wrong here, my own opinion is that if Roberts is done that's just one more reason to blow the whole thing up, though I'd prefer to think of it as a controlled demolition. However, the O's clearly think they aren't that far away from competing, and if that's your point of view you need to go out and make not just one but several big splashes in FA/trades. But in any event, I never said I'd hand Rollins a blank check, and I did say I don't think he would come here. He wants to win and he doesn't have any sort of connection to us either (he's from California).

[waroriole]

No he's not, .301 OBP, sub 700 OPS? no thank you.

Here is a theory. If the Brewers go into rebuild after this season (losing Fielder, going out early in the playoffs etc.) Do you think Weeks would be on the market? Do you think we could get him?

Just a passing thought.

Oh wow, didn't realize he had slumped so much. I picked him up for my fantasy team (deep league) and he was hitting very well. I dropped him a while back, and didn't realized how much he dropped off.

I doubt the Brewers go full rebuild. They still have some very good players in Braun, Greinke, Marcum etc.