Who goes and who stays in 2015

[Aristotelian]

2015 Chen- $4.75M Team Option, $372k Buyout

Right now i bet this is gonna be hard on the Orioles.

12M a year for Jiminez was hard for the O's. 4.75M for one year of Chen is a no brainer for our only LH starting pitcher.

I think Hardy gets an extension if we can get a discount for staying in Baltimore and his lack of HR production. We have no SS in the system, and the other FAs are no better than JJ. I would like to see JJ stay for 2 years/$20 million.

I think Delmon goes. Steve Pearce has earned the right to be our righty DH/OF. A decent lefty bat would be a better fit.

[DrOrioles90210]

We have no SS in the system

Yes, we do. And he's better than Hardy.

[glenn__davis]

Yes, we do. And he's better than Hardy.

It's not that simple.

Manny's bat certainly would play awesome at SS. But who takes over 3B if you move Manny?

Right now the strength of the Orioles team is their defense, and they have 2 elite defenders on the left side of the infield. By moving Manny to SS, you're essentially talking about replacing both of those defenders. Who knows if Manny's defense will translate as well to short, and who knows how we'll replace him at third.

[Just Regular]

The seller's market for Hardy and Markakis types will be interesting. Years ago we had all the annual drama around "premium" free agents. In the last few years as clubs have increased long-term signings of the very best players, it's entertaining to consider that now the good-not-great J.J./Nick type player is perhaps the new "premium" free agent.

[DrOrioles90210]

It's not that simple.

Manny's bat certainly would play awesome at SS. But who takes over 3B if you move Manny?

Right now the strength of the Orioles team is their defense, and they have 2 elite defenders on the left side of the infield. By moving Manny to SS, you're essentially talking about replacing both of those defenders. Who knows if Manny's defense will translate as well to short, and who knows how we'll replace him at third.

I'm looking at this in a long-term sense. How many more years do you think Hardy will be a valuable SS? 2, maybe 3? Instead of looking for a SS after a short Hardy deal, just look for a 3B now. Hardy is going to be a FA so someone needs to be signed. You can't look at this like the choice is keeping Hardy vs. getting rid of Hardy. At the end of the season, he's not the O's property anymore. Just move Machado over to maximize his value and find a 3B. As a fallback option, Flaherty has almost hit as well as Hardy at this point, is a better baserunner, and won't cost close to what Hardy will cost.

[Aristotelian]

Yes, we do. And he's better than Hardy.

I am assuming Manny sticks at 3B. I just don't think you move somebody from a position where they have put up 6+ WAR to a more demanding position, especially when he has had multiple knee surgeries.

We could sign a FA 3B and move Manny to SS, but I would just prefer extend Hardy if he will accept a modest discount (more for the lack of HR this year than loyalty).

[wildcard]

The seller's market for Hardy and Markakis types will be interesting. Years ago we had all the annual drama around "premium" free agents. In the last few years as clubs have increased long-term signings of the very best players, it's entertaining to consider that now the good-not-great J.J./Nick type player is perhaps the new "premium" free agent.

According to MLBTR Hardy and Markakis would not be "premium" FA. But Cruz would be.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/06/2015-free-agent-power-rankings-3.html

[DrOrioles90210]

I am assuming Manny sticks at 3B. I just don't think you move somebody from a position where they have put up 6+ WAR to a more demanding position, especially when he has had multiple knee surgeries.

We could sign a FA 3B and move Manny to SS, but I would just prefer extend Hardy if he will accept a modest discount (more for the lack of HR this year than loyalty).

Why not give Manny the opportunity to show that he can't play SS instead of just assuming he can't? He can still be a perennial all-star at 3B, but he can be even more special at SS. Hardy is not good enough to stand in the way of giving Manny that chance.

[Aristotelian]

I'm looking at this in a long-term sense. How many more years do you think Hardy will be a valuable SS? 2, maybe 3? Instead of looking for a SS after a short Hardy deal, just look for a 3B now. Hardy is going to be a FA so someone needs to be signed. You can't look at this like the choice is keeping Hardy vs. getting rid of Hardy. At the end of the season, he's not the O's property anymore. Just move Machado over to maximize his value and find a 3B.

Easier said than done. Do you like any of these guys at 3B better than Hardy at SS?

Yuniesky Betancourt (33)

Alberto Callaspo (32)

Eric Chavez (37)

Jack Hannahan (35) – $4MM club option with a $2MM buyout

Chase Headley (31)

Casey McGehee (32)

Donnie Murphy (32)

Nick Punto (37) – $2.75MM club/vesting option with a $250k buyout

Aramis Ramirez (37) – mutual option

Hanley Ramirez (31)

Pablo Sandoval (28)

Ty Wigginton (37)

Kevin Youkilis (36)

Maybe Hanley but he is going to cost too much in years and dollars. I would rather extend Hardy as a stopgap and make it a priority to develop a SS from within.

[DrOrioles90210]

Easier said than done. Do you like any of these guys at 3B better than Hardy at SS?

Yuniesky Betancourt (33)

Alberto Callaspo (32)

Eric Chavez (37)

Jack Hannahan (35) – $4MM club option with a $2MM buyout

Chase Headley (31)

Casey McGehee (32)

Donnie Murphy (32)

Nick Punto (37) – $2.75MM club/vesting option with a $250k buyout

Aramis Ramirez (37) – mutual option

Hanley Ramirez (31)

Pablo Sandoval (28)

Ty Wigginton (37)

Kevin Youkilis (36)

Maybe Hanley but he is going to cost too much in years and dollars. I would rather extend Hardy as a stopgap and make it a priority to develop a SS from within.

Giving Machado the opportunity to play SS is worth more to me than whoever we find to play 3B next year. Even if Manny at 3B and Hardy at SS is better than any possible combination of Manny at SS and whatever 3B, it's worth the downgrade to get the best value out of Machado for the future.

[backwardsk]

I am assuming Manny sticks at 3B. I just don't think you move somebody from a position where they have put up 6+ WAR to a more demanding position, especially when he has had multiple knee surgeries.

We could sign a FA 3B and move Manny to SS, but I would just prefer extend Hardy if he will accept a modest discount (more for the lack of HR this year than loyalty).

That's the problem. When Peralta gets 4/53 and teams like the Yankees and possibly the Dodgers needing shortstops, I don't see JJ settling. I think he wants to stay in Baltimore and would take the QO, but that just kicks the decision down the road one year.

[clapdiddy]

2015 Chen- $4.75M Team Option, $372k Buyout

Right now i bet this is gonna be hard on the Orioles.

What is hard about this? You accept the team option and be done with it, unless you get an offer you can't refuse in a trade.

[backwardsk]

Easier said than done. Do you like any of these guys at 3B better than Hardy at SS?

Yuniesky Betancourt (33)

Alberto Callaspo (32)

Eric Chavez (37)

Jack Hannahan (35) – $4MM club option with a $2MM buyout

Chase Headley (31)

Casey McGehee (32)

Donnie Murphy (32)

Nick Punto (37) – $2.75MM club/vesting option with a $250k buyout

Aramis Ramirez (37) – mutual option

Hanley Ramirez (31)

Pablo Sandoval (28)

Ty Wigginton (37)

Kevin Youkilis (36)

Maybe Hanley but he is going to cost too much in years and dollars. I would rather extend Hardy as a stopgap and make it a priority to develop a SS from within.

If Hardy does walk, his replacement, whether a SS or a 3B with Manny moving to SS, would ideally come in a trade rather than a FA. The FAs for both positions isn't pretty.

[Redskins Rick]

I don't understand why people are so unwilling to let Machado take over at SS. Machado is already a much better hitter than Hardy and he should continue to get better as Hardy declines. Machado may not be as good defensively right now, but the offense makes up for that and Hardy will begin to decline defensively soon too. Even with the poor start to the season, only Tulo, Hanley, and Jhonny Peralta have had significantly better offensive numbers at SS than Manny has.

The man is extremely skilled at the third base and probably will go down as one of the best, if not the best to ever play the game.

If you move him, sure, you have a great SS, but you already have a pretty darn good one there already.

Keep in mind, all the players who played 3rd before Manny, ouch, we have had some pretty bad ones.

The left side combo of Manny & JJ is outstanding and it works.

[bpilktree]

I figured it would be a good idea to see where that would put us payroll wise with the 25 man roster

Pitchers (37.8 million)

35 Brad Brach Stays (500K)

53 Zach Britton Stays (1 Million)

49 Dylan Bundy Stays (1.25 Million)

16 Wei-Yin Chen Stays (4.75 million)

39 Kevin Gausman Stays (500K)

50 Miguel Gonzalez Stays (2 million) estimated 1st year arbitration

31 Ubaldo Jimenez Stays ((11.3 million)

66 T.J. McFarland Stays (500K)

25 Bud Norris Stays (7 million) This maybe the guy they let go or trade with a high salary.

56 Darren O'Day Stays (4.25 million)

30 Chris Tillman Stays (2.5 million)

58 Ryan Webb Stays (2.75 million

18 Suk-min Yoon Stays (2 million)

# Catchers (9 million)

36 Caleb Joseph Stays (500K)

32 Matt Wieters Stays (8.5 million)

# Infielders (16.75)

19 Chris Davis Stays (12.5 million)

3 Ryan Flaherty Stays has options (500K)

12 Steve Lombardozzi Stays has option (500K)

13 Manny Machado Stays (750K)

28 Steve Pearce Stays (1.5 million)

6 Jonathan Schoop Stays has options (500K)

1 Jemile Weeks * Stays has option (500K)

# Outfielders (13.8 million)

10 Adam Jones Stays (13.3 million)

00 Henry Urrutia Stays (500 K)

These are the guys signed or you would expect to pick up options on with the salaries which puts us at 77.35 million and 24 players