Orioles interested in Seth Smith

[SamsHorn]

Dumpster diving?

Holy moly. Some of you have completely lost touch with reality. Seth Smith is a fine baseball player and would be an excellent addition to the Orioles.

[Crazysilver03]

DeAza and Matuzs for Seth Smith. Bam!

Doesn't really solve the problem they are trying to solve by trading Smith.

[33rdst]

Doesn't really solve the problem they are trying to solve by trading Smith.

What do they need? Catcher? Starter?

[theobird]

Doesn't really solve the problem they are trying to solve by trading Smith.

Ehhh, I don't know. Its just a one year commitment to DeAza, and then they are free of that obligation. And we could always kick in a few bucks. To me, Lough is much more valuable to us as a great defensive 4th OFer and a platoon partner.

[Ruzious]

De Aza will have to play everyday. His glove in the lineup every day is enough. Most every day. He will hit enough too.

De Aza's pretty average in the field. He's got a noodle for an arm, he doesn't have Lough's range. And offensively, he's been up and down like a yoyo.

[stomperspc]

I am just spitballing here, but I think the Padres agreeing to terms with Morrow this morning could be the predecessor to them trading for Upton which in turn would make them trading an OF almost a necessity.

The Padres had six starters last season who made 12 or more starts and only one (Eric Stults) had an FIP over 4.00. Morrow gives them seven major league starters now. We know they are interested in Upton and the Braves could use a starter, particularly one under team control for several years. Tyson Ross might fit that bill. The Braves would likely have to add something else to the deal to get it done, but in any event they would likely move Gattis to LF and give Bethancourt the starting catching job. The Padres would need to free up salary in that scenario. There are questions as to how they can afford Upton without at least moving some salary. Smith has the most trade value of their outfielders and in this scenario would be moved for salary relief more than anything which probably means minor leaguers in return. Just speculation, but I could see the dominoes falling that way.

If Smith does get traded, I would like to see the O's make an effort to get him. He would make a nice left-handed part of a DH platoon and his .347 career OBP would partially replace the OBP lost with Markakis.

[Crazysilver03]

What do they need? Catcher? Starter?

Ehhh, I don't know. Its just a one year commitment to DeAza, and then they are free of that obligation. And we could always kick in a few bucks. To me, Lough is much more valuable to us as a great defensive 4th OFer and a platoon partner.

The idea is that they are trying to also add Upton, so moving Smith enables them to free up a roster spot and cash. His salary was posted earlier in this thread. Sending De Aza and Matusz is more than the cost of Smith, so if their goal is to reduce salary, this doesnt do it.

[33rdst]

The idea is that they are trying to also add Upton, so moving Smith enables them to free up a roster spot and cash. His salary was posted earlier in this thread. Sending De Aza and Matusz is more than the cost of Smith, so if their goal is to reduce salary, this doesnt do it.

Yeah, I agree the dollars are a major issue for them but I also think that they are for us. We're going to need them to take back some money. That's why Matusz is part of my scenario.

I'm uncomfortable giving up lough because we'll need his defense. I prefer sending them a prospect instead.

[21xxxv]

Check out Smith's career OBP, then check out the returning Orioles and their OBP. He can help. Arguably, he would be second to SP in that stat! The O's are one of the worse in either league in getting guys on base with any regularity that doesn't involve a HR

[Babypowder]

De Aza's pretty average in the field. He's got a noodle for an arm, he doesn't have Lough's range. And offensively, he's been up and down like a yoyo.

If one of De Aza and Lough is starting in one of the corners, I think I'd prefer Lough.

[clapdiddy]

If one of De Aza and Lough is starting in one of the corners, I think I'd prefer Lough.

I think they'll both be starting against RHP.

[Babypowder]

I think they'll both be starting against RHP.

If the current roster is the final version, you're probably right. I suspect it will not be.

[clapdiddy]

I would like for us to perhaps go after a guy like Bonifacio to be the second "platoon" guy for the outfield. His splits are better as a RH hitter and he would give this team a piece of versatility that would be very handy.

[mdbdotcom]

I think they'll both be starting against RHP.

I would prefer to see De Aza start in LF and Pearce in RF, with Lough replacing Pearce late in games with a lead.

[wildbillhiccup]

I'm sure there's a bit of a silver lining in there in terms of his OBP, but is Smith really any better than Steve Pearce. Last season he hit .266 with 12 hrs and 48 rbis in 443 ABs. Even if he regresses, I find it hard to believe that Pearce can't at least reach those numbers.

If Smith was 26, then fine, you could argue he still has some room to improve, but he's 32. I think it's safe to say that we've seen the best of Seth Smith and it's been pretty mediocre.

You can argue splits, and preach about a platoon, but I think this is much closer to dumpster diving than I think many of you want to admit.

I think we'd be better off gambling on a 28 year old Rasmus than a 32 year old Smith. The move we should have made, short of trading for Kemp or Upton, was signing Rios to a 1 year deal. Was it a bit pricy? Yes, but we have the money to spend and he wouldn't have jeopardized the long term future of the club. He might not equal his 2013 numbers, but he's not nearly as bad as his 2014 numbers would indicate. And he would have given us a nice injection of speed.