Replacing Cruz's Bat

[Bahama O's Fan]

Let's be real; this is what we are worried about. We finally have a big bopper in the middle of our lineup and he's gone. We don't really care about his contributions defensively, just his hitting. How will it be replaced? I assume Dan has a plan B or maybe it is his plan A and he never thought he would get Cruz. What do you think that is? What do you think it should be? There is talk of Hunter and/or Kemp? Good ideas/bad ideas? Maybe the hitting will come from somewhere else.

[Guest]

Kemp is the only one that can come close to replacing those 40 HR.

[AlbionHero]

Kemp is the only one that can come close to replacing those 40 HR.

If we were going to go that route, why not just sign Cruz?

Kemp isn't gonna be walking through that door. Most likely it'll be Pearce at DH, and we'll need to go with more speed in the outfield with DeAza/Lough.

[Guest]

If we were going to go that route, why not just sign Cruz?

Kemp isn't gonna be walking through that door. Most likely it'll be Pearce at DH, and we'll need to go with more speed in the outfield with DeAza/Lough.

If this happens the Orioles won't win 82 games.

[Bahama O's Fan]

Perhaps Delmon Young comes back? And do you need to replace Cruz's HR's or just general offensive production (OBP, Slugging, OBP)?

[MemorialStadKid]

I get that the Orioles didn't want to go one more year on Cruz (although this is a very strange thing to draw a line in the sand about) and Seattle will definitely benefit from having the guy on the squad.

For much of the first half of 2014, Cruz carried this team with his bat. We literally have no one else on the squad who can do that for us in 2015 unless we find another miracle deal during this offseason with someone who can match that kind of offensive output.

Cruz was the "big bat" the Orioles had been missing for such a long time and with Chris Davis imploding and Matt W. most likely on his way out and Adam Jones possibly plateauing in terms of offense, who can we get who can fill the massive hole left by Cruz's departure?

This happens all of the time in baseball but I still feel the Orioles are in a precarious state (maybe it's all the years of losing still circling over the franchise like vultures) but I'm not 100% confident in who we have at this time. It always feels like we're one bad game away from sliding back into a losing culture.

I need to go back and look at how many games Cruz singlehandedly won for the Orioles and look ahead to see what next year's schedule looks like. We've got holes and we got to fill them via trade or FA - I don't care which - but we need another big bat and there's not a lot of them out there at a deal.

MSK

[wildcard]

The homers aren't that important. Its the ability to hit with runners in scoring position and drive in runs. Cruz is preferable to Hunter but Hunter would do on a one year contract. There are so many issues with Kemp. Money, attitude, defense. I don't see that happening.

[Tx Oriole]

I get that the Orioles didn't want to go one more year on Cruz (although this is a very strange thing to draw a line in the sand about) and Seattle will definitely benefit from having the guy on the squad.

For much of the first half of 2014, Cruz carried this team with his bat. We literally have no one else on the squad who can do that for us in 2015 unless we find another miracle deal during this offseason with someone who can match that kind of offensive output.

Cruz was the "big bat" the Orioles had been missing for such a long time and with Chris Davis imploding and Matt W. most likely on his way out and Adam Jones possibly plateauing in terms of offense, who can we get who can fill the massive hole left by Cruz's departure?

This happens all of the time in baseball but I still feel the Orioles are in a precarious state (maybe it's all the years of losing still circling over the franchise like vultures) but I'm not 100% confident in who we have at this time. It always feels like we're one bad game away from sliding back into a losing culture.

I need to go back and look at how many games Cruz singlehandedly won for the Orioles and look ahead to see what next year's schedule looks like. We've got holes and we got to fill them via trade or FA - I don't care which - but we need another big bat and there's not a lot of them out there at a deal.

MSK

I am sure DD will find someone.

[kemosabe]

Trade for Kemp and sign Markakis or Hunter. Kemp gets on base and thats the kind of player we need more then a big bopper. Im still hoping for a Davis trade so we can get Nick Kemp and Hunter and Just put pearce at first.

[AlbionHero]

Trade for Kemp and sign Markakis or Hunter. Kemp gets on base and thats the kind of player we need more then a big bopper. Im still hoping for a Davis trade so we can get Nick Kemp and Hunter and Just put pearce at first.

Is paying Kemp like 60 mil over 5 years while also trading Bundy and Norris for him really worth it over just giving Cruz 4 years/57 mil?

I'd rather take my chances with Cruz in that situation.

[Mayor McCheese]

No Cruz means the Orioles should be upgrading at least one corner outfield spot.

De Aza is not the answer. Pearce is a nice DH / OF platoon.

Hunter / Jones / Markakis could be your 2015 starting OF.

[UMDTerrapins]

I get that the Orioles didn't want to go one more year on Cruz (although this is a very strange thing to draw a line in the sand about) and Seattle will definitely benefit from having the guy on the squad.

For much of the first half of 2014, Cruz carried this team with his bat. We literally have no one else on the squad who can do that for us in 2015 unless we find another miracle deal during this offseason with someone who can match that kind of offensive output.

Cruz was the "big bat" the Orioles had been missing for such a long time and with Chris Davis imploding and Matt W. most likely on his way out and Adam Jones possibly plateauing in terms of offense, who can we get who can fill the massive hole left by Cruz's departure?

This happens all of the time in baseball but I still feel the Orioles are in a precarious state (maybe it's all the years of losing still circling over the franchise like vultures) but I'm not 100% confident in who we have at this time. It always feels like we're one bad game away from sliding back into a losing culture.

I need to go back and look at how many games Cruz singlehandedly won for the Orioles and look ahead to see what next year's schedule looks like. We've got holes and we got to fill them via trade or FA - I don't care which - but we need another big bat and there's not a lot of them out there at a deal.

MSK

The Orioles went 52-29 in June, July and August. In that time Cruz hit .214 and slugged .398. I wish we had him back (not for that contract), but we shouldn't overstate our dependence on his bat in order to be a winner.

[mdbdotcom]

I'm actually more excited about the prospect of having Manny and Wieters back than I am concerned about Cruz leaving.

[AlbionHero]

I'm actually more excited about the prospect of having Manny and Wieters back than I am concerned about Cruz leaving.

Yeah, if these guys come back healthy then I think that makes up for the loss of Cruz right there. Plus Davis could always play better than replacement level next year too.

[TheDirtyBird]

If trading for Matt Kemp means we get Rihanna I'm all for it, I will donate $1