Orioles interested in Justin Upton, others

[GoldGlove21]

You can absolutely build around most players outperforming their contracts. MLB and the union makes that relatively easy by allowing you to pay pre-arb players a tiny fraction of their market value, and pay arb players at a substantial discount. If you structure your team so that most of your players are in those categories you'll do okay. If you rely on a substantial number of 30-something year old free agents you will probably fail with a $120M budget.

Right I didn't mean drafted talent. I meant on the FA side. If I were a GM I would blow it up minus a handful of guys an try to go young and controlled. Trying to fill multiple starting FA voids a year makes no sense for a team like the Orioles.

[weams]

Nobody outside of fans ever said anything about going all in. There was never any indication that anyone with an responsibility to the organization ever even hinted that even a short-term large payroll increase was a possibility. This idea of a $20M-$50M payroll bump is a figment of the imaginations of overenthusiastic fans.

It always was. And maintaining this level next season without resolution of the MASN dispute is a hope. Not a given.

[DrungoHazewood]

I thought we had one of those?

He has too much power. The O's would be far better off giving him fewer at bats while spending a ton of cash money and prospects on somebody else with a good OBP but no power to give more at bats to. It would also be great if he stole a ton of bases, because when the lineup gets into a slump you want to steal a lot. They won't score any more runs, but it's fun.

[weams]

It took ERod to get Miller.

He was behind Bundy, Gausman, Harvey and maybe even Zach Davies on the list at that time. Certainly he was not sold at the top of his market.

[GoldGlove21]

Miguel Gonzalez, Oliver Drake, Jason Garcia, and Travis Snyder for Cueto and Bruce. We take on all of their salaries.

Both Cueto and Bruce would be top trade targets so a top 60 guy will be in the package IMO.

[mdbdotcom]

Both Cueto and Bruce would be top trade targets so a top 60 guy will be in the package IMO.

You're probably right. I was just trying to think of a way to get them without giving up Harvey, Cisco, or Mancini.

[weams]

Both Cueto and Bruce would be top trade targets so a top 60 guy will be in the package IMO.

Read this. Interesting.

http://nypost.com/2015/07/20/johnny-cueto-trade-is-obvious-cole-hamels-gets-trickier/

“Cueto is getting traded. That’s a fact.”

[EagleOriole]

Good take. He signs a bunch of guys to fill holes and then sees if anyone sticks. Which I'm fine with. But you have to be ready to be aggressive and take risks around deadline time.

I don't get the interest in Bruce. He's too similar to what we already have. Plus I worry about him moving out of the NL and that bandbox in Cinncy. The sooner we get a high OBP guy at leadoff the better.

Too similar to whom? Snyder? Pearce? Or guys like Parades and Davis?

Jay Bruce -- .252/.338/.468/.806 - 14-46

Travis Snyder -- .255/.332/.370/.702 - 3-20

Nolan Reimold -- .224/.309/.408/.717 - 2-5

Steve Pearce -- .227/.290/.392/.682 - 7-24

Chris Parmalee -- .238/.273/.488/.761 - 4-9

Jimmy Parades -- .294/.326/.463/.790 - 10-39

Adam Jones -- .291/.333/.503/.836 - 15-44

Chris Davis -- .238/.320/.463/.782 - 19-53

BTW our leadoff hitter has a .367 OBP and has 13 steals.

BTW, the home run factor for Great American Ball Park is 1.462. The home run factor for Camden Yards is 1.462.

Bruce would give us a 28 year old power hitter who has 2.5 years left on his deal at a pretty good price. Can we find a match is a much tougher question.

[sportsfan8703]

He has too much power. The O's would be far better off giving him fewer at bats while spending a ton of cash money and prospects on somebody else with a good OBP but no power to give more at bats to. It would also be great if he stole a ton of bases, because when the lineup gets into a slump you want to steal a lot. They won't score any more runs, but it's fun.

I'm talking about trading for Zobrist and having someone on base for all that production Manny gives us. I couldn't care less about SB's. I think zobrist would be a better fit than Bruce and would be cheaper in terms of prospects and salary. Heck Seth Smith would be a good fit too at leadoff.

[weams]

And this

Scott Kazmir turned in a dominant effort against the Twins on Saturday, easing a good deal of the worry that stemmed from a previous exit to a start after three innings. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, one AL scout told her: “I saw what I needed to see. He did everything. He worked out of trouble. He worked deep into the game.” Perhaps more interestingly, Slusser hears that the Athletics would prefer to acquire Triple-A prospects in exchange for Kazmir. It would seem that GM Billy Beane, then, is hoping to acquire players that can contribute to his club immediately, or at least in the near-term,

[weams]

I'm talking about trading for Zobrist and having someone on base for all that production Manny gives us. I couldn't care less about SB's. I think zobrist would be a better fit than Bruce and would be cheaper in terms of prospects and salary. Heck Seth Smith would be a good fit too at leadoff.

Yeah. I'll pass on Zobrist and Smith. They're not my bag, baby.

[EagleOriole]

I'm talking about trading for Zobrist and having someone on base for all that production Manny gives us. I couldn't care less about SB's. I think zobrist would be a better fit than Bruce and would be cheaper in terms of prospects and salary. Heck Seth Smith would be a good fit too at leadoff.

Zobrist also is a free agent. So you pay more for Bruce in prospects, but you get a guy that has 2.5 years on his contract and is a better overall hitter than Zobrist (also 6 years younger). Smith is four years older and while he would have been a great get in the off-season, he is strictly a platoon player where as Bruce is an everyday player.

[sportsfan8703]

Too similar to whom? Snyder? Pearce? Or guys like Parades and Davis?

Jay Bruce -- .252/.338/.468/.806 - 14-46

Travis Snyder -- .255/.332/.370/.702 - 3-20

Nolan Reimold -- .224/.309/.408/.717 - 2-5

Steve Pearce -- .227/.290/.392/.682 - 7-24

Chris Parmalee -- .238/.273/.488/.761 - 4-9

Jimmy Parades -- .294/.326/.463/.790 - 10-39

Adam Jones -- .291/.333/.503/.836 - 15-44

Chris Davis -- .238/.320/.463/.782 - 19-53

BTW our leadoff hitter has a .367 OBP and has 13 steals.

BTW, the home run factor for Great American Ball Park is 1.462. The home run factor for Camden Yards is 1.462.

Bruce would give us a 28 year old power hitter who has 2.5 years left on his deal at a pretty good price. Can we find a match is a much tougher question.

Pitchers bat there, and they don't have to face 3 of the top 6 teams in terms of runs in all of baseball. You have to get down to 15th for the first NL Central team to pop up.

Ideally my lineup would be

Zobrist/S.Smith

Machado

Parades

Jones

Davis

And I really like Bruce. He is too similar to what we already have. Tons of K's and hits HR's. I'd be really happy if we got him but I don't think its the best fit.

[weams]

Cueto, per KR

Cueto’s six-walk performance on Sunday likely renewed concerns for teams already worried about his elbow; his average fastball velocity of 92.68 mph was his second-lowest of the season, according to Brooksbaseball.net (the only game in which Cueto’s velocity was lower was on May 19, after which he missed a start due to stiffness in his elbow).

[EagleOriole]

Pitchers bat there, and they don't have to face 3 of the top 6 teams in terms of runs in all of baseball. You have to get down to 15th for the first NL Central team to pop up.

Ideally my lineup would be

Zobrist/S.Smith

Machado

Parades

Jones

Davis

And I really like Bruce. He is too similar to what we already have. Tons of K's and hits HR's. I'd be really happy if we got him but I don't think its the best fit.

3 of the top 4 pitching teams come from the NL Central. I would like Zobrist - but Bruce gives us a replacement next year when Davis walks. That is why I would go for it.