Just go trade for Jay Bruce or Markakis

[Roll Tide]

I just don't see how Jay Bruce is a fit. He's a .230 hitter over the last few years with a low OBP. He's expensive and the Reds would have to eat enough contract to get him to 10 million or less.

I think the O's are still talking to Alvarez and he's a better bet if they are going all offense. I think we can get by with Trumbo in RF and have Rickard and Reimold on the roster.

I think the best option would be to trade a middling prospect or two for Ethier and 5 million per. Or expand a deal and try to get one of their LH starters.

[Roll Tide]

My suggestion at this point. Sign Alvarez. Platoon him with Reimold at DH. Spot Rickard in LF for Kim and as late inning defensive replacement for Trumbo in RF. Hope Trumbo isn't awful in RF. Alvarez is lowest cost to acquire. One year commitment.

I hate one years deals ...if the player rebounds he's all the sudden too pricey and gone like Cruz.

Give him 2 years with an option.

[Redskins Rick]

I hate one years deals ...if the player rebounds he's all the sudden too pricey and gone like Cruz.

Give him 2 years with an option.

They almost kept Cruz here, nobody else went 4 years for a solid Bat like Cruz? Why was that?

[Roll Tide]

They almost kept Cruz here, nobody else went 4 years for a solid Bat like Cruz? Why was that?

Age was the main factor!

[Redskins Rick]

Age was the main factor!

I know, but you said you hate 1 year deal.

With the question marks that Cruz had going into 2014, you would have gone 2 years for him?

Not sure if Cruz would have taken a 2 year deal, he wanted a 1 year bounce back and then mega deal.

[Roll Tide]

I know, but you said you hate 1 year deal.

With the question marks that Cruz had going into 2014, you would have gone 2 years for him?

Not sure if Cruz would have taken a 2 year deal, he wanted a 1 year bounce back and then mega deal.

Considering we gave up the pick would have preferred a 2 year w/ an option.

The O's weren't competing for free agents back then so I knew when he hit free agency again he was gone.

[Redskins Rick]

Sure. One year with a club option is even better. A one year 3-5M contract is one that Alvarez will agree to. If he has a great year, you make the QO. His history suggests he won't be that great.

Then why go that route?

[Frobby]

If the Orioles were worried about 2016 and 17 for Nick, why did they offer him 3 years? It was 2018 that worried them.

Not necessarily. They knew his neck surgery presented a risk. I think in almost any case, the risk that was presented was most likely to manifest immediately in 2015, if at all. They were willing to risk ~$33 mm that he'd be OK, but they weren't willing to risk $44 mm. Or, if you want to be more cynical about it, the 3-year deal was one they knew he wouldn't take, but they put it out there for PR purposes.

[Roll Tide]

Sure. One year with a club option is even better. A one year 3-5M contract is one that Alvarez will agree to. If he has a great year, you make the QO. His history suggests he won't be that great.

Okay so give him 3/18 (6per) . He's in his prime years 29-31 and if you give him 400 + abs he going to OBP .320 with 30 homers and 80 ish RBIs. Tell him not to try to hit homers as they will come easier at Camden and maybe you get in the 240-250 average and a higher OBP

[Tony-OH]

I on the other hand am glad we're not paying a cement footed, singles hitter $11 million a year.

This is absolutely the worse reason about losing Fowler. Now we have to hear from all the Markakis fans. Ultimately, I think they put Trumbo in RF and use Paredes and Reimold (Reimold would play RF in his part of the platoon and Trumbo would DH) at DH. the other option is a Reimold or Alvarez and Urrutia platoon in RF.

[Roll Tide]

I on the other hand am glad we're not paying a cement footed, singles hitter $11 million a year.

This is absolutely the worse reason about losing Fowler. Now we have to hear from all the Markakis fans. Ultimately, I think they put Trumbo in RF and use Paredes and Reimold (Reimold would play RF in his part of the platoon and Trumbo would DH) at DH. the other option is a Reimold or Alvarez and Urrutia platoon in RF.

Tony, What are your thought on Either if you can get him for a couple of middling prospects and 5 million per from the Dodgers? I think hes the best option of the guys rumored to be available.

[25 Nuggets]

The job of a leadoff hitter is to get on base AND score runs. Nick Markakis gets on base. Last year he scored 73 runs. The year before he scored 81 for the Orioles. The year before that he scored 89. He's slow. He had a nice year last year despite 3 home runs. Not interested.

Yeah... it's not just the ability to steal bases. The ability to score from first or second base is for example a big part of it.

That said, Atlanta's offense around Kakes and Freddie Freeman was atrocious. Markakis batted 3rd or even cleanup often last year.

[TheDirtyBird]

Manny is going to be hitting leadoff... :slytf:

WHAT A WASTE

[Roll Tide]

Manny is going to be hitting leadoff... :slytf:

WHAT A WASTE

Yeah ....I would think if Kim or Rickard can handle the bat I'd have them in the lead off hole. It would be nice if they could hit at 1 & 2 and OPS .330-.350. Manny hitting third is whats best for the Orioles and not wasting the majority of his homers being 1 run jacks. Plus it keeps Davis at 4th and drops Adam to 5th and that is good since he goes through periods where he cant avoid swinging at the low and away pitches.

[Frobby]

The job of a leadoff hitter is to get on base AND score runs. Nick Markakis gets on base. Last year he scored 73 runs. The year before he scored 81 for the Orioles. The year before that he scored 89. He's slow. He had a nice year last year despite 3 home runs. Not interested.

I'm not going to make the argument for Nick here, because it's not going to happen. However, the explanation for Nick scoring 73 runs last year mostly lies with the feeble Atlanta lineup, not with Nick being slow. The Braves were dead last in runs scored, SLG and OPS. Nick certainly didn't help with the SLG, but he would have scored a lot more runs if anyone on the team had been hitting.

I've mentioned this a few times, but when you look at Nick advancing an extra base on a single or a double the last few years, here's what you see:

2012: 39%

2013: 34%

2014: 17%

2015: 36%

League average is 39%. So, Nick typically has not been epically slow on the bases, just a little below average in recent years, with the glaring exception of 2014, when he was David Ortiz-level on taking extra bases. The 81 runs he scored in 2014 was definitely affected by the fact that he ran station-to-station so much. I really scratch my head about what happened that year -- was it related tio the neck injury? Was he under instructions? Did he just get really conservative compared to all other years? It's a complete mystery to me. Whatever it was, he was back to normal in 2015.