Will the O's take a flier on C Justin O'Connor?

[Luke-OH]

Sorry for bumping a random thread, but he was converted to pitching this year.

MiLB free agent

I couldn't find anything on how hard he's throwing, but it looks like some serious armspeed. Curveball flashes average as well. Delivery still a work in progress, don't effectively use his lower half, but the arm is free and easy. 

 

[Philip]

29 minutes ago, Luke-OH said:

Sorry for bumping a random thread, but he was converted to pitching this year.

MiLB free agent

I couldn't find anything on how hard he's throwing, but it looks like some serious armspeed. Curveball flashes average as well. Delivery still a work in progress, don't effectively use his lower half, but the arm is free and easy. 

 

Is he young enough to make the switch? It sure worked for Givens.

[Luke-OH]

17 minutes ago, Philip said:

Is he young enough to make the switch? It sure worked for Givens.

He's 27, so it'll either come fast or not at all. Without knowing velocity, I can't say how good of a chance he has. 

[Tony-OH]

2 hours ago, Luke-OH said:

Sorry for bumping a random thread, but he was converted to pitching this year.

MiLB free agent

I couldn't find anything on how hard he's throwing, but it looks like some serious armspeed. Curveball flashes average as well. Delivery still a work in progress, don't effectively use his lower half, but the arm is free and easy. 

 

Wow, I was like, why in the world was this bumped?

 

[Luke-OH]

34 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Wow, I was like, why in the world was this bumped?

 

Looks like a workable conversion arm, this thread popped up on Google when I was trying to find out more about the guy. 

[ArtVanDelay]

OFFNY hacked Luke's account.

[NCRaven]

This thread begs the question, will the Orioles take a flier on anyone?  They are the only team in baseball that has done nothing since the winter meetings.  No major league contracts.  No minor league contracts.  No trades.  No announcement on the ML coaching staff.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  Having a card board cut out of Chris Tillman as your fifth starter is cheap, but not particularly helpful.  Okay, rant out of boredom with the front office inactivity complete.   

[weams]

On 12/12/2016 at 1:12 PM, Tony-OH said:

Tampa just designated former #1 pick and top prospect Catcher Justin O'Conner. Seems like the kind of guy Duquette likes to take a flier on. Seems to have a rocket arm but definitely can't hit. He's coming off back surgery as well. Here's what MLB Trade Rumors had to say: 

The Rays announced on Monday that minor league catcher Justin O’Conner has been designated for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to Wilson Ramos, whose two-year deal with Tampa Bay is now official.

O’Conner, 25 in March, was drafted with the No. 31 overall pick by the Rays in 2010 and rated as one of the organization’s top 30 prospects (per Baseball America) each year since. Prior to the 2015 season, BA rated him as highly as No. 3 on Tampa Bay’s top 30, and MLB.com entered the season with O’Conner ranked 61st overall among MLB prospects that same season. That ranking came on the heels of a very solid .278/.316/.466 batting line compiled between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, but O’Conner limped to a .231/.255/.371 performance in 2015 — his first full season at Double-A.

Injuries have been an issue for O’Conner, though, and the Rays announced today that he’s undergone a pair of back surgeries after being limited to just 20 games in 2016. He also underwent a pair of hip surgeries early in his career, so durability concerns aren’t exactly a new phenomenon for O’Conner.

Last winter, O’Conner rated 13th among Rays farmhands, per BA, though their scouting reported questioned his ability to hit breaking pitches and changeups while also raising questions about his “decision-making on defense and aptitude for game management.” BA does note that he’s gotten 80 grades on his throwing arm — O’Conner has halted 46 percent of stolen bases attempted against him in his career — and has above-average raw power."

I would!

[Enjoy Terror]

8 hours ago, NCRaven said:

This thread begs the question, will the Orioles take a flier on anyone?  They are the only team in baseball that has done nothing since the winter meetings.  No major league contracts.  No minor league contracts.  No trades.  No announcement on the ML coaching staff.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  Having a card board cut out of Chris Tillman as your fifth starter is cheap, but not particularly helpful.  Okay, rant out of boredom with the front office inactivity complete.   

No major league contracts but added four new players to the 40-man, all of whom will play this year undoubtedly. Also they’ve added four players on minor league contracts (not none).

Compare to the Astros; added two players (majors and minors) and re-upped Joe Smith.

[NCRaven]

Who have we added since the winter meetings? The Rule 5 draft was during the meetings.  The Bundy and Villar trades were before the meetings.  We did finally announce the ML coaching staff additions.

1 hour ago, Enjoy Terror said:

No major league contracts but added four new players to the 40-man, all of whom will play this year undoubtedly. Also they’ve added four players on minor league contracts (not none).

Compare to the Astros; added two players (majors and minors) and re-upped Joe Smith.