For all the people who said they would reserve their judgement...

[millertime]

I am strictly asking this because I am curious...not because I am trying to start any arguments but there were A LOT of people on here who, at the beginning of the offseason, told A LOT of other posters who seemed impatient because the Orioles had not made a lot of moves, to be patient because the offseason had just started and DD usually waits until January/February to make moves and to reserve their judgements until the end of the offseason. Well...Spring Training is a week away and it is likely that the team we have now is the team we go into the season with. So my question is this...are you now disappointed? Aside from the Travis Snider trade, the Orioles made a couple of their usual "depth" trades/signings and did not really do anything else to improve. For a team that was one series win away from the World Series, I for one am extremely disappointed. Instead of keeping the petal to the metal, we let off the gas and now are relying on a lot of "what ifs". It sure seems to me like this is a situation where we are satisfied with just being competitive and not trying to win the World Series. Just my opinion. But again, the point of this thread is to get the opinions of those who said to just be patient. Are those people truly satisfied with the Orioles offseason?

[weams]

I am strictly asking this because I am curious...not because I am trying to start any arguments but there were A LOT of people on here who, at the beginning of the offseason, told A LOT of other posters who seemed impatient because the Orioles had not made a lot of moves, to be patient because the offseason had just started and DD usually waits until January/February to make moves and to reserve their judgements until the end of the offseason. Well...Spring Training is a week away and it is likely that the team we have now is the team we go into the season with. So my question is this...are you now disappointed? Aside from the Travis Snider trade, the Orioles made a couple of their usual "depth" trades/signings and did not really do anything else to improve. For a team that was one series win away from the World Series, I for one am extremely disappointed. Instead of keeping the petal to the metal, we let off the gas and now are relying on a lot of "what ifs". It sure seems to me like this is a situation where we are satisfied with just being competitive and not trying to win the World Series. Just my opinion. But again, the point of this thread is to get the opinions of those who said to just be patient. Are those people truly satisfied with the Orioles offseason?

I'm Thrilled to have Wesley Wright, Travis Snider, Manny Machado, Matt Wieters, and Dylan Bundy ready to help this season.

[mdbdotcom]

I'm fine with the offseason. I didn't expect any major additions, and at no time did the team lead us to believe there would be major additions.

The team we put on the field will have the best defense in the division and the 2nd best pitching staff. The offense won't have Cruz's home runs, but it should have a healthy Manny Machado and, perhaps, a healthy Matt Wieters. Nick Markakis will be impossible to replace in the clubhouse, but his on-field contributions were run of the mill, Gold Glove notwithstanding.

There wasn't a single big free agent signing by any club that I wish the Orioles had made.

At the onset of the offseason, I wrote that we should wait and see how Davis, Machado, and Wieters contribute in 2015 before deciding whether we're all in or want to be sellers. I still feel that way.

[MurphDogg]

The only moves that the Orioles could have made without going over budget to improve the team this year would have involved trading players like Gausman, Bundy and Harvey. I would rather have a slightly weaker 2015 team so as to maintain a better team in 2016-18. The farm system isn't strong enough to trade from at this point. Hopefully we make good use of all of our 2015 picks and that won't be the case in a year or two.

[AlbionHero]

I'm fine with the offseason since I went in knowing we wouldn't have much money to spend because of all the arbitration raises. And I don't like giving long free agent contracts to players on the wrong side of 30 either, so most of the free agents out there didn't appeal to me. I would have let go all 3 of our big free agents as well.

Its not sexy but given the budget we're working with, its about all you can hope for.

[Mayor McCheese]

The only moves that the Orioles could have made without going over budget to improve the team this year would have involved trading players like Gausman, Bundy and Harvey. I would rather have a slightly weaker 2015 team so as to maintain a better team in 2016-18. The farm system isn't strong enough to trade from at this point. Hopefully we make good use of all of our 2015 picks and that won't be the case in a year or two.

What about all the compensation picks we will have in 2016.

I'm fine with the offseason since I went in knowing we wouldn't have much money to spend because of all the arbitration raises. And I don't like giving long free agent contracts to players on the wrong side of 30 either, so most of the free agents out there didn't appeal to me. I would have let go all 3 of our big free agents as well.

Its not sexy but given the budget we're working with, its about all you can hope for.

The offseason is the offseason. Winning the offseason is pointless. We filled our needs. Like you said its not sexy but its about the best we can do on our budget.

The question is, next offseason how are we going to fill the holes of the FAs leaving. Will we sign/trade for top talent or settle for the travis snider's of MLB who are cheap and have control and maybe show more promise? Thats the million(s) dollar question but I wont worry about that until 2015 is over.

[Reboulet'sStache]

I love what we did. Let Markakis walk. Got a QO pick. Avoided trading our prospects for horrible values like Upton and Kemp. And added a player to a position of need that will probably bring value, and there's a chance could bring a lot of value. It's the exact type of off-season we need to have going forward.

[Frobby]

It boils down to money. BB-ref estimates we're at $121 mm now, up from $109 mm last year. If that's the budget, then I don't disagree with how Duquette played his hand. It's been a pretty boring offseason and I can't say I think we'll win 96 games again, but we should have a shot at 90+ and a chance for the playoff crapshoot. I also suspect we may have a bit of dry powder to spend at the trade deadline if we are in contention.

[sportsfan8703]

The only moves that the Orioles could have made without going over budget to improve the team this year would have involved trading players like Gausman, Bundy and Harvey. I would rather have a slightly weaker 2015 team so as to maintain a better team in 2016-18. The farm system isn't strong enough to trade from at this point. Hopefully we make good use of all of our 2015 picks and that won't be the case in a year or two.

This is exactly what DD was saying before the trade deadline. That it was important to keep Gausman, Bundy, Harvey for the long term success of this franchise. In fact I really like this team. We are coming off an ALCS appearance. Basically our only loss was Cruz. Miller was awesome, but we didn't get him till July. Bullpen guys are available every year at the deadline. Markakis was basically a replacement level player with no power. I think we're the team to beat in the AL East. Then I trust that DD will be able to fill the holes in 2016. Which could only be 1b,DH and C, based on what we have coming up through the system.

[Mayor McCheese]

This is exactly what DD was saying before the trade deadline. That it was important to keep Gausman, Bundy, Harvey for the long term success of this franchise. In fact I really like this team. We are coming off an ALCS appearance. Basically our only loss was Cruz. Miller was awesome, but we didn't get him till July. Bullpen guys are available every year at the deadline. Markakis was basically a replacement level player with no power. I think we're the team to beat in the AL East. Then I trust that DD will be able to fill the holes in 2016. Which could only be 1b,DH and C, based on what we have coming up through the system.

How do you replace Norris, Chen, O'day, etc.... Please don't say Bundy.

[weams]

How do you replace Norris, Chen, O'day, etc.... Please don't say Bundy.

Bundy. Wright. McFarland. Berry. Gamboa. And if we keep him, Gonzalez. Ubaldo is still our starter through 2017.

[mdbdotcom]

How do you replace Norris, Chen, O'day, etc.... Please don't say Bundy.

Maybe you should start a thread about that subject instead of hijacking this one. This thread has a well defined subject.

[weams]

Miller was awesome, but we didn't get him till July. Bullpen guys are available every year at the deadline.

Jul 31, 2014

So. August.

[Aristotelian]

Disappointed but not surprised. Assuming payroll is the max of our budget, I can't see how DD could do anything differently. We just have too many arb guys getting raises. Even with the losses of Nick and Nelson, our payroll still increased about $8M. I can't fault DD for not adding a big free agent under these circumstances.

Also keep in mind that extending JJ happened technically during the regular season, but that is probably our most important move for 2015 and I think it is the right one. I hate to think where we would be without JJ.

[33rdst]

A fair question for sure from the OP. I like our team but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't apprehensive going into the year. There are a ton of questions, especially regarding the offense. Now this doesn't mean I think that we should have exceeded our payroll limits or traded our top prospects. Our leadership team has done a good job, once again, of assembling a lot of depth. They have remained true to their model of knowing who we are. It just means the fans have to live with the uncertainty of being a small market club.