Jen Royle: Orioles open to trading Valencia ( Traded to KC for OF David Lough)

[Moose Milligan]

The same way Nickleback is someone's favorite band.

If you were a real hipster, you'd be down with Nickleback since it'd go against the grain and be the ironic thing to do.

The more I read about this guy, the more excited I get. Cheaper, younger version of McClouth.

[AlbionHero]

Not sure if its been mentioned yet, but Lough had pretty dramatic splits in home and away

Home: .635 OPS

Away: .815 OPS

Maybe he just needed to come to a more friendly park.

[Guest]

In a vacuum, I would like this move- Lough is a much more complete player than Valencia and Valencia's skill set can be easily replaced. So from a purely utilitarian point of view, it's a win. But, and this is a huge "but," I really dislike the implications that can be inferred from the move itself, the way the roster shakes out in light of it, and the comments DD made prior to it and in its wake. I think the 25 man roster is pretty much set now in terms of position players, and I don't really like what I see. Follow me here.

DD has said that Lough replaces McLouth so there's your LF and since he doesn't appear to have significant platoon splits, I think it can safely be assumed that he's going to be the everyday LF more or less. Also, Reimold will almost certainly make the OD roster if he appears to be healthy(regardless of his production during ST) so Pearce will likely start the year in Norfolk. DD has raved about Urrutia and Peguero so both are likely to make the team out of the gate(I don't think DD will risk losing Peguero by trying to pass him through waivers). So now we have a 25 man roster that includes 6 OFs- Jones, Markakis, Lough, Reimold, Urrutia, and Peguero.

So where do they all fit in? Jones, Markakis, and Lough will obviously be starting in CF, RF, and LF respectively while the oft-discussed and much maligned Urrutia/Reimold DH platoon becomes a virtual lock- there simply aren't any better options left in free agency to address our hole at DH. Many of us(myself included) think that this was DD's plan all along and certainly enough evidence exists to make a convincing case for this theory. Peguero will serve as the official 4th OF and probably pinch run quite a bit as well, while Urrutia and Reimold will see some ABs as pinch hitters when he is not starting. So the lineup and bench probably shake out something like this:

LF Lough

RF Markakis

3B Machado

1B Davis

CF Jones

C Wieters

SS Hardy

DH Reimold/Urrutia

2B Flaherty/Weeks

Bench:

PH/Backup OF Urrutia/Reimold

Utility Flaherty/Weeks

Backup OF/ PR Peguero

Backup C Clevenger/Monell/Whoever

It's possible that Urrutia starts the year in Norfolk to make room for Almanzar(if we're really dead-set on carrying a guy with almost no value to a major league club- seriously, he has negative value defensively and struggles to hit AA pitching), in which case Reimold becomes the full-time DH. In either case, whether it's Reimold everyday or a Urrutia/Reimold platoon, it's hard to gauge exactly what kind of production to expect from the DH spot in the lineup. If Reimold isn't healthy or productive as the full-time DH, which is hardly out of the realm of possibilty, then I think the plan would be to switch over to a Urrutia-Pearce/Almanzar/Peguero platoon. If Urrutia also fails to produce, which is also hardly out of the realm of possibility, then DH becomes a major hole again just as it was for most of last year. If Lough also fails to produce, which like the other scenarios listed previously is also hardly out of the realm of possibility(his already mediocre OBP is completely AVG-driven and if that falls off, he's going to be dead weight from an offensive standpoint), then we'll find ourselves using words like "catastrophe" and "disaster" on a regular basis to describe the situation. And that's not even factoring in a possible failure as full-time second baseman on the part of Flaherty and/or Weeks and our question marks at the back of the rotation. If neither is up to the task and none of the rotation candidates step up, then 2014 could be very ugly indeed.

All in all, it's pretty disappointing to me that coming off its first 2 winning seasons since the Clinton administration, the organization is perfectly comfortable settling for question marks- and they are legion as of right now- rather than make real, concrete improvements. I'm not even in the "SPEND ALL THE MONEYZ" camp; I didn't want or expect the team to pursue Choo, Cano, Garza, etc. I guess I was just longing for something better than "maybe this guy will step up" or "maybe that guy will step up" at 3 out of 9 spots in the lineup and 2 out of 5 spots in the rotation.

As we saw last year with our flurry of frantic hole-patching via trade in June and July, that's not always a strategy that pays off for any team, much less a team with supposed playoff aspirations.

/end rant

Well said. That lineup would look so much better with a full time DH. Kendrys Morales offer him 3 for 36m.

LF Lough

RF Markakis

3B Machado

1B Davis

CF Jones

C Wieters

SS Hardy

DH Morales

2B Flaherty/Weeks

[BillySmith]

The Brooksie avatar guy pointed our new "Brother Low." He can't take John's nickname, but maybe something else. "Baby Low?"

[weams]

The more I read about this guy, the more excited I get. Cheaper, younger version of McClouth.

Better hair.

[Can_of_corn]

I see the defensive metrics look really good but I have to ask.

Does he have the arm for Right Field?

[weams]

I see the defensive metrics look really good but I have to ask.

Does he have the arm for Right Field?

Cannon arm. Did you watch the video? Threw from the corner. It was off line about a foot and a half, Getz made it look much harder than Flash would have (my wife said that).

[Can_of_corn]

Cannon arm. Did you watch the video?

No, just got home and it's a cluttered thread at this point.

Anyway someone with skills could make Nate's arm look good in a video.

Would be nice if the O's could just shift him over to right in 2015.

[AlbionHero]

I see the defensive metrics look really good but I have to ask.

Does he have the arm for Right Field?

Yeah, his arm is great. I could see him moving over to RF after next year if he is able to hit well enough.

[jabba72]

Lough is apparently a very good defensive player but I thought Valencia could easily be productive at DH next year and also outhit Lough in the process. At first glance I didnt see the point in the trade. But its possible Buck wanted to rotate every day players into DH instead.

[Can_of_corn]

Lough is apparently a very good defensive player but I thought Valencia could easily be productive at DH next year and also outhit Lough in the process. At first glance I didnt see the point in the trade. But its possible Buck wanted to rotate every day players into DH instead.

The O's needed a left fielder.

I would much rather see Henry and Nolan at DH then in LF.

[AlbionHero]

You know what my favorite part of this trade is, though?

The fact the Orioles feel that they don't NEED to have an experienced 3B on the roster right now... which means that Manny must be making great progress.

[survivedc]

Cannon arm. Did you watch the video? Threw from the corner. It was off line about a foot and a half, Getz made it look much harder than Flash would have (my wife said that).

Do you think his arm looks any better than Kakes? I certainly didn't with my untrained eye, but it was still pretty good. Definitely an upgrade by a long shot over mclouth

[Frobby]

In a vacuum, I would like this move- Lough is a much more complete player than Valencia and Valencia's skill set can be easily replaced. So from a purely utilitarian point of view, it's a win. But, and this is a huge "but," I really dislike the implications that can be inferred from the move itself, the way the roster shakes out in light of it, and the comments DD made prior to it and in its wake. I think the 25 man roster is pretty much set now in terms of position players, and I don't really like what I see. Follow me here.

DD has said that Lough replaces McLouth so there's your LF and since he doesn't appear to have significant platoon splits, I think it can safely be assumed that he's going to be the everyday LF more or less. Also, Reimold will almost certainly make the OD roster if he appears to be healthy(regardless of his production during ST) so Pearce will likely start the year in Norfolk. DD has raved about Urrutia and Peguero so both are likely to make the team out of the gate(I don't think DD will risk losing Peguero by trying to pass him through waivers). So now we have a 25 man roster that includes 6 OFs- Jones, Markakis, Lough, Reimold, Urrutia, and Peguero.

If I agreed with your premise, I'd probably react the same way you did. But I don't think all of Lough, Reimold, Urrutia and Peguero will make the team. I think Dan will go get one more established bat before the winter is through and at least one of Reimold, Urrutia and Peguero won't be on the roster.

[Can_of_corn]

Do you think his arm looks any better than Kakes? I certainly didn't with my untrained eye, but it was still pretty good. Definitely an upgrade by a long shot over mclouth

Nick's arm isn't what it was a few years ago.