Pressbox: Position battles

[wildcard]

Paul does a nice job of outlining the ST battles.

1) Lefty Lough vs righty Reimold for the last OF spot and leadoff vs lefties.

Lough is out for options. Reimold is on a minor league contract. Bet on Lough to start the season.

2) Starting pitching. Ubaldo has to beat out one of the O's top five starters or go to pen. Bet on the pen.

3) Pen. Matusz vs Webb vs Garcia vs Verrett for one spot. Bet on a trade or two. Or maybe someone to the DL.

http://www.pressboxonline.com/2015/02/12/2015-orioles-spring-training-preview-position-battles

[Ven6]

On 3) Pen, I think it could play out slightly differently.

Britton

O'Day

Hunter

Wright

Brach

that's 5 I have "in"

If a starter is traded or Gausman is optioned, that opens things up a lot.

So the Matusz vs Webb vs Garcia vs Verrett battle could be for 2 spots, which makes a huge difference.

I'm not as down on Matusz as most, and I really want to keep the flame-throwing Garcia if he looks good in ST.

[wildcard]

On 3) Pen, I think it could play out slightly differently.

Britton

O'Day

Hunter

Wright

Brach

that's 5 I have "in"

If a starter is traded or Gausman is optioned, that opens things up a lot.

So the Matusz vs Webb vs Garcia vs Verrett battle could be for 2 spots, which makes a huge difference.

I'm not as down on Matusz as most, and I really want to keep the flame-throwing Garcia if he looks good in ST.

I don't see the O's trading a starter. I think DD and Buck know they were lucky last year to dodge injuries to the starters. It probably will not happen again this year.

[Aristotelian]

Trading Matusz would open things up without us having to give up a starter. I would accept a bag of balls at this point. Then we could go with Garcia plus Miguel in the bullpen along with the five guys mentioned by ven6 and a rotation of Tillman, Chen, Norris, Ubaldo, Gausman.

If Ubaldo really stinks in the spring that could also force our hand.

[tntoriole]

Trading Matusz would open things up without us having to give up a starter. I would accept a bag of balls at this point. Then we could go with Garcia plus Miguel in the bullpen along with the five guys mentioned by ven6 and a rotation of Tillman, Chen, Norris, Ubaldo, Gausman.

If Ubaldo really stinks in the spring that could also force our hand.

I like that DD and Buck keep all their options open. Performance, injury, etc. can all decide how this needs to go and we don't have to make any decision at all until going north. Maybe Matusz looks great and they showcase him for a trade for more than a bag of balls. Maybe the Rule 5s show a lot less than what we think. DD and Buck will likely play it all the way out to get the best possible mix.

[Can_of_corn]

Trading Matusz would open things up without us having to give up a starter. I would accept a bag of balls at this point. Then we could go with Garcia plus Miguel in the bullpen along with the five guys mentioned by ven6 and a rotation of Tillman, Chen, Norris, Ubaldo, Gausman.

If Ubaldo really stinks in the spring that could also force our hand.

Not sure if anyone would give up a bag of balls for him.

Maybe if the O's bought the bag of balls, for say a million dollars...

[sportsfan8703]

Webb is going to make the team. He's a good regular season pitcher and a great fit for our defense. Proven 7th inning guy who we owe guaranteed money too. With the off days at the beginning of the year I could see us use Gausman and Gonzo's options and carry 8 relievers for the first 2 weeks.

Tillman

Chen

Norris

Ubaldo

1. Britton

2. O'day

3. Hunter

4. Brach

5. Matusz

6. W.Wright

7. Webb

8. Verrett/Garcia

When we need a starter we have 3 options. Give back the rule 5 guy. Trade Webb. Trade Matusz. I wonder if Webb would clear waivers with his salary because he is not an MLB minimum guy? That could be an option as well.

[BohKnowsBmore]

Not sure if anyone would give up a bag of balls for him.

Maybe if the O's bought the bag of balls, for say a million dollars...

Jeremy Guthrie had done far less in the majors than Matusz. That being said, he was selected off waivers. We were able to trade Troy Patton and his 1.2M salary for Nick Hundley, and Patton has way less value than Patton did IMO, despite the salary. I would have liked a deal like Lough and Matusz for Dom Brown, but that isn't going to happen (nor should it at this point with Snider on board). I could see us getting a bag of balls for him or something for Webb/Hunter.

[wildcard]

Webb is going to make the team. He's a good regular season pitcher and a great fit for our defense. Proven 7th inning guy who we owe guaranteed money too. With the off days at the beginning of the year I could see us use Gausman and Gonzo's options and carry 8 relievers for the first 2 weeks.

Tillman

Chen

Norris

Ubaldo

1. Britton

2. O'day

3. Hunter

4. Brach

5. Matusz

6. W.Wright

7. Webb

8. Verrett/Garcia

When we need a starter we have 3 options. Give back the rule 5 guy. Trade Webb. Trade Matusz. I wonder if Webb would clear waivers with his salary because he is not an MLB minimum guy? That could be an option as well.

IMO the problem with your plan is that Gausman and Gonzo are much better pitchers than Matusz and Webb. Buck is going to want to keep the more talented pitchers on the major league 25 man roster.

[scOtt]

As always, a well written article by Paul. This is going to be a fun ST. Last year or two there weren't a lot of battles. Many this year.

[MarylandAaron]

Paul does a nice job of outlining the ST battles.

1) Lefty Lough vs righty Reimold for the last OF spot and leadoff vs lefties.

Lough is out for options. Reimold is on a minor league contract. Bet on Lough to start the season.

2) Starting pitching. Ubaldo has to beat out one of the O's top five starters or go to pen. Bet on the pen.

3) Pen. Matusz vs Webb vs Garcia vs Verrett for one spot. Bet on a trade or two. Or maybe someone to the DL.

http://www.pressboxonline.com/2015/02/12/2015-orioles-spring-training-preview-position-battles

1) I thought Lough was going to be pretty close to a lock anyway since he's a great defender and really heated up in the second half. The fact that he is out of options makes him a slam dunk imo.

2) I would like to see Ubaldo start in the pen as well, but since he is our highest paid pitcher I don't see it happening unless he is awful in ST.

3) My money would be on Garcia to make the club if he does well in ST. The simple fact that he throws 100 is enticing enough to give him a try. We saw how that worked out for Britton last year.

[ReclaimTheCrown]

I like that DD and Buck keep all their options open. Performance, injury, etc. can all decide how this needs to go and we don't have to make any decision at all until going north. Maybe Matusz looks great and they showcase him for a trade for more than a bag of balls. Maybe the Rule 5s show a lot less than what we think. DD and Buck will likely play it all the way out to get the best possible mix.

I think this is a really good point. Like a lot of others, I'm a bit frustrated that we A) tendered Matusz a contract and B) haven't moved him, especially after signing Wesley Wright. All that said, there's a lot of merit to flexibility throughout spring training; at present, we're looking at a glut of pitchers with potential (not only the six starters for five spots, but also the numerous bullpen options we have), but that could easily be thinned out by injuries and ineffectiveness. In a perfect world, one of the rule V guys impresses and we're able to keep him, while dealing a more expensive bullpen piece (either Matusz or, less likely, Webb) for a respectable return. However, both of these guys could get into camp and struggle, and we'll just send them back.

[DoubleStufOriole]

As Roch mentions in today's post, the roster structure gets a bit more complicated if Wieters can't play behind the plate.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2015/02/wondering-about-wieters-if-he-isnt-ready-to-catch.html

Carrying the equivalent of a third catcher would complicate Showalter's roster construction. Who's the odd man out in this scenario?

For the sake of argument, let's say that Wieters is the designated hitter, Alejandro De Aza is the left fielder, Travis Snider is the right fielder and Chris Davis is the first baseman after serving the final game of his suspension. Delmon Young and Steve Pearce are extra outfielders and Ryan Flaherty is the utility infielder. The winner of the backup catcher competition completes the four-man bench.

How does David Lough fit into this equation?

There's no way that Young and Pearce fail to make the club, and Showalter needs a utility infielder and backup catcher. Flaherty isn't a lock - Paul Janish is considered a plus defender at shortstop and he's spent parts of six seasons in the majors - but he's the favorite heading into camp.

[theobird]

IMO, finding a trade partner for Matuzs and DeAza is the best possible scenario. I would look to move both of those guys for minor league depth. A decent prospect or two for the future, without further complication of the roster. Just my two cents.

[Crazysilver03]

IMO, finding a trade partner for Matuzs and DeAza is the best possible scenario. I would look to move both of those guys for minor league depth. A decent prospect or two for the future, without further complication of the roster. Just my two cents.

Why would you trade DeAza when he is most likely the starting LF?

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