Who would you rank above Chen on the list of free agent starters?

[Il BuonO]

Kazmir

Buehrle

Iwakuma

Samardjia

Lackey

All good choices, I'd maybe add Fister as a good bounce back guy.

[MDtransplant757]

We need to resign Chen, trade Ubaldo and then sign Kazmir.

[Il BuonO]

We need to resign Chen, trade Ubaldo and then sign Kazmir.

No pick associated with Kazmir who's a LHP and they get one as compensation for Chen. Who is trading for Ubaldo?

[weams]

No pick associated with Kazmir who's a LHP and they get one as compensation for Chen. Who is trading for Ubaldo?

As a Harbaugh would say..."No-Body."

[Frobby]

I still can't get over that game on Tuesday. Ubaldo looked really good for five innings, then boom! That good five innings gives me at least some slim hope that he can turn things around in his last 7 starts.

[Il BuonO]

I still can't get over that game on Tuesday. Ubaldo looked really good for five innings, then boom! That good five innings gives me at least some slim hope that he can turn things around in his last 7 starts.

Before those five innings you've thought he's looked consistently good in recent outings?

[Frobby]

Before those five innings you've thought he's looked consistently good in recent outings?

Nope, not at all.

[Nevermore]

I still can't get over that game on Tuesday. Ubaldo looked really good for five innings, then boom! That good five innings gives me at least some slim hope that he can turn things around in his last 7 starts.

That's my feelings as well. He turned it around before, he can do it again.

We can't trade away all of our starters having mediocre years in 2015: Gonzo, Tillman. And the up-and-down Ubaldo. The pitching coaches will need to work with them during the off season.

I would re-sign Wei-Yin rather than search for another FA starter.

[Nevermore]

Before those five innings you've thought he's looked consistently good in recent outings?

Actually, there was a recent 8-inning outing that Ubaldo had against the Angels. He carried a no-hitter into the 7th inning and ended up pitching 8 innings of shut-out baseball.

[orioles4lyfe]

Guys I think the Orioles will do what they did when they signed Ubaldo, due to the surplus of FA SP this year.

Let the market "percolate" and then sign 2 SP from the leftovers once the dust settles.

1 sure fire starter for the rotation and 1 scrap heap on the rebound type of guy for depth purposes.

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[Il BuonO]

Actually, there was a recent 8-inning outing that Ubaldo had against the Angels. He carried a no-hitter into the 7th inning and ended up pitching 8 innings of shut-out baseball.

It was four starts ago back on the 8th of August, so ok. Other than that, he's had starts of 4.2, 5, 5, and 5.2 IP and looked underwhelming in each of them.

It was a BAD signing and no amount of cheerleading by anyone will make it any better. I can remember some guys calling him the ace we've never had when it happened. If they salvage a 5th starter spot out of his $12.5 million salary I'll be surprised.

[srock]

OK, I've pared down the list to eliminate the four who clearly outrank Chen and those who nobody has mentioned as being above or as good as Chen. That leaves 12 players and I've given a little info here:

Brett Anderson: age 27, career 112 ERA+, 2015 112 ERA+, 147 innings in 2015 but has only made 20+ starts twice in 7 years. Lefty.

Mark Buehrle: age 36, career 117 ERA+, 2015 109 ERA+, 165 innings in 2015 and had thrown 200+ innings 15 years in a row, soon to be 15. Lefty.

Marco Estrada: age 31, career ERA+ 98, 2015 121 ERA+, 129 innings and has never thrown more than 150.2.

Doug Fister: age 31, career ERA+ 116, 2015 ERA+ 83, 92 innings in 2015 but has exceeded 200 a couple of times previously.

Yovani Gallardo: age 29, career ERA+ 111, 2015 ERA+ 128, 149 innings in 2015 and has been over 180 IP 5 years in a row, topping 200 twice.

Jaime Garcia: age 28, career ERA+ 116, 2015 ERA+ 218, 86.2 innings in 2015 and this will be his fourth year in a row of making 20 or fewer starts. Lefty.

Hisashi Iwakuma: age 34, career ERA+ of 114, 2015 ERA+ of 97, 84 innings in 2015 after two healthy years.

Scott Kazmir: age 31, career ERA+ 107, 2015 ERA+ 166, 147 innings in 2015 and has been relatively healthy the last 3 years after missing 2011-12 with injuries. Lefty.

John Lackey: age 36, career ERA+ 109, 2015 ERA+ 132, 172 innings in 2015 and has been durable in his long career except 2012 which he missed with TJ surgery.

Mat Latos: age 27, career ERA+ 109, 2015 ERA+ 80, 103 innings in 2015 after throwing 200+ innings in 2012-13.

Mike Leake: age 27, career ERA+ 101, 2015 ERA+ 114, 149 innings in 2015 and has been relatively durable.

Jeff Samardzija: age 30, career ERA+ 97, 2015 ERA+ 80, 176 innings in 2015 and threw 200+ in 2013-14.

Wei-Yin Chen: age 29, career ERA+ 110, 2015 ERA+ 128, 156 innings in 2015 and has been relatively durable except for an oblique injury in 2013 that cost him 9 starts. Lefty.

I think due to age and risk factors, only Gallardo gets as long a deal as Chen. I still think he's looking at 5/$80 mm or so.

I'm not sure Jordan Zimmerman is definitetly better then Chen, maybe a bit better but my list is:

Tier 1

Price

Grienke

Cueto

Tier 2

Zimmerman

Gallardo

Chen

Garcia

[Il BuonO]

I'm not sure Jordan Zimmerman is definitetly better then Chen, maybe a bit better but my list is:

Tier 1

Price

Grienke

Cueto

Tier 2

Zimmerman

Gallardo

Chen

Garcia

Cueto is looking more and more like he belongs in the second tier with every start. I wonder if the mid season injury had lingering effects.

[Aristotelian]

Cueto is looking more and more like he belongs in the second tier with every start. I wonder if the mid season injury had lingering effects.

Just bumping this because I am more interested in what the O's will do about pitching right now. Cueto terrifies me, but I think he has dropped out of the top tier and that could be good for the O's. No draft pick compensation. I love Cueto when healthy but he is a risk.

He has a horrible (Norris-esque) stretch including vs the O's, but has been somewhere in between the rest of the way.

What approach do you take if you are the O's, go for a shorter term deal with less downside risk, or a longer term deal on the theory that you can recoup value even if you lose a year to TJ? What approach do you take if you are Cueto?

[waroriole]

Not much interest in Cueto. Too big of a risk. I'd look at someone like Fister, though the velocity dip is concerning.

Chen might be the best alternative, depending on what he's seeking.