Filling holes this Winter

[Ruzious]

No one has ever accepted a QO. You think two of ours might? I guess. When I see one, I''ll see one.

edit: I see, you think we could work out contract, not get Qualifying offers accepted. Maybe true.

The QO system started in 2011, so there's not a lot of history. And I think several players who declined wish they would have accepted it.

[El Gordo]

What's wrong with Pablo? ESPN named him defensive player of the month for July, and he's got a career 125 OPS+. Remember, he plays half his games in SF.

And why would Manny's knee injuries have anything to do with him changing positions? 3rd base is a more dangerous position to play.

. Panda has weight issues which would make a long term contract problematic. 3B doesn't demand the range of SS. Bad knees likely limit range. 3B is not exposed to runners breaking up DP's. SS is more dangerous.

[foxfield]

See. I think Headley stinks. And Pablo? Wow. Especially with Manny's knees, I think they days of moving him over are, well, over.

I posted the same thing the other day. I do not think two injuries to his knees will be overlooked. That's the bad news. The good news is we have a great third baseman.

[kyleott]

So you would go all in house? Henry, Alverez, Pearce, Lough, for COF. Delmon, Henry, Pearce for DH, and Manny. or DeJesus at SS. Who are you, PA?

No, but at a certain point you have to look at what the players leaving would be taking with them.

Markakis and Hardy are two of the most consistent players on the entire roster -- in a sense, while Jones is the vocal leader, they are the model of the "Oriole Way." They go about their business as professionals, and you have to think that rubs off on those around them.

If I were forced to choose between Hardy and Markakis, it would be Nick. Ironically, for all the flak his extension got, it ended up being somewhat fair value. If we were to sign him for 3-years, $33 million -- I'm happy. The decision for Nick over J.J. is due to Nick being arguably our best OBP asset at the present time, so for a team looking to trend forward in that department, it would be foolish to cast away such a productive hitter. Not crazy about losing Hardy's defense and bat, but if his price tag is too high (which is likely, due to the dearth of quality production at short) then you can work around that. Machado has the instincts and first step to play shortstop, and I would be lying if I said it hasn't always intrigued me.

For designated hitter, what is Cruz going to cost? 3-years, $45 million? No thank you. I would much prefer the QO route and piece the DH together around Delmon. He has actually hit righties better than lefties, so no need to platoon. Delmon could be had for so much less money, and as Cruz is entering his age-35 season and Young his age-29...

So, no, I'm not Peter Angelos. But I'm realistic in the sense that we are still operating within Peter Angelo's landscape. We won't all of a sudden start ponying up $100+ million dollar contracts because we won the division -- we are clearly trying to take the route of allocating resources throughout the organization. So, yes, I could see Alvarez, Urrutia, Lough, and others competing for a spot in some capacity. They would gladly take a cost-controlled player proving himself over a longterm risk. As we have seen, the Orioles have specialized in stockpiling low-risk investments -- you know the saying, eventually, some of it will stick to the wall.

I would consider moving Davis to LF and starting Christian Walker. His advanced approach is something that we have talked about needing more of -- why not? He has hit at every level.

Our holes would then be at 3B/2B (depending on Schoop) and LF/1B, and this allows more flexibility in finding an option that fits into the puzzle. As I said before, Michael Cuddyer's bat would look very nice in this lineup. He can play 1B and LF, and while he isn't a great defender, we have done alright for ourselves with Cruz/Young in LF at times.

As for 3B, I don't think Sandoval is a smart investment. Headley, depending on his price, could be alright. Again, part of the problem is there aren't any options out there that are appealing longterm. Davis at third is still an option, as well. The Orioles' players are versatile fielders -- we will use it to our advantage.

[DrungoHazewood]

And why would Manny's knee injuries have anything to do with him changing positions? 3rd base is a more dangerous position to play.

I think it's fairly well documented that changing positions increases injury risks.

And 3rd is more dangerous? That's an interesting position to take and I'm curious about your reasoning. Just the involvement of the shortstop on double plays would be pretty strong evidence to the contrary. My half-informed guess is that SSs are involved in baserunner collisions five times as often as third basemen.

[DrungoHazewood]

For designated hitter, what is Cruz going to cost? 3-years, $45 million? No thank you. I would much prefer the QO route and piece the DH together around Delmon. He has actually hit righties better than lefties, so no need to platoon. Delmon could be had for so much less money, and as Cruz is entering his age-35 season and Young his age-29...

Young has been in the league for 1045 games and nine years. He has a .740 OPS and a 99 OPS+. That's what you can expect for next year, maybe a hair less because he's probably past peak. A DH with a 99 OPS+ is a replacement-level player. If Young is retained he has to be platooned. I would give Cruz a QO and the home version of the game, and wish him well. I wouldn't even talk about whatever free agent deal he and his agent might want.

So, yes, I could see Alvarez, Urrutia, Lough, and others competing for a spot in some capacity.

I think that's pretty likely, along with some other similar players brought in over the winter.

I would consider moving Davis to LF and starting Christian Walker. His advanced approach is something that we have talked about needing more of -- why not? He has hit at every level.

Maybe. Not a big fan of Davis' glove in the outfield, but he couldn't be much worse than Cruz.

As I said before, Michael Cuddyer's bat would look very nice in this lineup. He can play 1B and LF, and while he isn't a great defender, we have done alright for ourselves with Cruz/Young in LF at times.

If the Orioles could move to Colorado and freeze time that might be a good option. But barring those unlikely events I can't see a scenario where I'd pay free agent rates for a 36-year-old .278 hitter who's magically discovered how to hit .331 at altitude.

As for 3B, I don't think Sandoval is a smart investment. Headley, depending on his price, could be alright. Again, part of the problem is there aren't any options out there that are appealing longterm. Davis at third is still an option, as well. The Orioles' players are versatile fielders -- we will used it to our advantage.

Davis is an abysmal third baseman. Sandoval will be quite expensive and he has some worrying qualities. My first, second, and third choices at 3B are Machado.

[PaulFolk]

I suspect that the reason you and many others are ready to give Ubaldo away is that the O's have 5 starters that are better than he is. Its not a bad reason but I think the O's know better.

No, the reason I'm ready to give Ubaldo away is because he's been lousy, and the O's are paying him $50 million for four years for the privilege of being lousy. His velocity has been down 1.5 mph this year compared to last, which is worrisome, since pitchers don't often recover lost velocity at Ubaldo's age. Jimenez's control has been nonexistent. He leads the AL in walks, and in fact he had such a head start in that category that he continued to lead the AL in walks even during his entire month on the DL.

So far, Jimenez's contract is shaping up to be disastrous. Perhaps he could improve next year, but the trends aren't encouraging. Right now, the Orioles would gladly give him away to any team that would take the rest of his contract off his hands, as it would free up $50 million that could be put to much better use. They could, for instance, sign a much cheaper starting pitcher who would be just as effective as 2014 Ubaldo for a fraction of the cost.

The O's aren't going to keep a $50 million contract for a struggling pitcher on the books just because they're afraid one of their other 5 SPs could get hurt with six weeks left in the season. That's bad business. If the O's had any option to rid themselves of Ubaldo's salary, they would.

[Ruzious]

I think it's fairly well documented that changing positions increases injury risks.

And 3rd is more dangerous? That's an interesting position to take and I'm curious about your reasoning. Just the involvement of the shortstop on double plays would be pretty strong evidence to the contrary. My half-informed guess is that SSs are involved in baserunner collisions five times as often as third basemen.

I was thinking in terms of the ball coming much harder and faster at the defender at 3rd base - plus the requirement to react quicker in the first step. But I could see that being offset by taking on sliding runners more often than at 3B.

If it's documented that changing positions causes injuries... I've never heard of that, but if you say it's true, I'm not going to argue about it.

[wildcard]

No, the reason I'm ready to give Ubaldo away is because he's been lousy, and the O's are paying him $50 million for four years for the privilege of being lousy. His velocity has been down 1.5 mph this year compared to last, which is worrisome, since pitchers don't often recover lost velocity at Ubaldo's age. Jimenez's control has been nonexistent. He leads the AL in walks, and in fact he had such a head start in that category that he continued to lead the AL in walks even during his entire month on the DL.

So far, Jimenez's contract is shaping up to be disastrous. Perhaps he could improve next year, but the trends aren't encouraging. Right now, the Orioles would gladly give him away to any team that would take the rest of his contract off his hands, as it would free up $50 million that could be put to much better use. They could, for instance, sign a much cheaper starting pitcher who would be just as effective as 2014 Ubaldo for a fraction of the cost.

The O's aren't going to keep a $50 million contract for a struggling pitcher on the books just because they're afraid one of their other 5 SPs could get hurt with six weeks left in the season. That's bad business. If the O's had any option to rid themselves of Ubaldo's salary, they would.

Well, we disagree on whether the O's would trade/or accept a claim on Ubaldo over the last 6 weeks. If a starter gets hurt or has a tired arm before the season is finished, then we will see what the O's do.

[Morgan423]

I dont see Manny moving to SS, in spite of all the wishing by the OH gang.

Drives me nuts that all the wishing is going on, but that's another story entirely. :laughlol:

[tntoriole]

Well, if you dont move Manny, then you must also resign Hardy because there are no shortstops in the farm system and free agent options are not good.

[Scrat1]

Well, if you dont move Manny, then you must also resign Hardy because there are no shortstops in the farm system and free agent options are not good.

Plus he'll probably be in NY if we don't.

- Extend Hardy

- Attempt to extend Markakis. If he won't take 3/30 or so, let him walk. I love him, but he's no longer worth big money.

- QO for Cruz. Take the pick. Walker to DH.

[srock]

Markakis option is $17.5 million.

We can do better for that money.

However, if Nick will sign an extension for more reasonable yearly dollars, I think I'm okay with it. There is value in keeping him an Oriole his entire career.

If Cruz takes the QO, I'm cool with him. Otherwise, lets take the pick and roll with Delmon/Pearce/AAA guy/whomever they can bring in cheap.

On the other hand, Cruz may be so upset with the rest of MLB (any they of him) that he takes a hometown discount on a 2-3 year deal. If he does, I'm okay with that also.

Gotta keep Hardy, he just fits this team better then the other options out there. Gonna have to pay for his services, but oh well, got him on the cheap so far.

[TheDirtyBird]

Idk what it is, but i keep redoing the offseason in MLB the Show, and the Orioles always pick up Melky Cabrera, psychic game? Maybe lol

[TheDirtyBird]

Idk what it is, but i keep redoing the offseason in MLB the Show, and the Orioles always pick up Melky Cabrera, psychic video game?