Grade the O's offseason

[SteveA]

18 hours ago, Frobby said:

With the Bourn addition today, I think our offseason's about done.   

Or not.

[FlipTheBird]

33 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Or not.

Probably done in terms of moves that will have an effect on the Opening Day MLB roster, at least. I don't doubt that Dan will tinker with depth guys (aka guys that'll be in Norfolk) all month.

[Frobby]

52 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Or not.

I didn't mean to suggest Dan wouldn't make another move or two, just that the moves likely to impact the 25-man roster are probably done.    

[LookitsPuck]

I'm giving it a C. 

Starting pitching depth is still nowhere to be seen. I get wanting to trade Gallardo...but there isn't anything in the minors. So we're essentially hoping/praying that the rotation is healthy in 2017. That's a huge gamble and Duquette has done nothing to try and mitigate that. If anything, by trading Gallardo he's made this worse.

The team's OF defense is still a problem. It's arguably just as a bad as it was last year with very little flexibility considering there are a variety of DH's on the roster: Kim, Smith, Trumbo or people that "appear" to have defensive prowess, but really don't and are unknowns: Joey Rickard or any of the other guys picked up recently.

The team is still entirely dependent on the homer. 

The team still lacks OBP.

There is very little depth behind Hardy who we all know is going to be injured at some point this season...possibly even to start.

I just don't see how this team has gotten better. Or what this team has done to improve for the future either. 

[Ruzious]

C-.  I liked the catcher they got.  Keeping the Trumbo/Davis combo didn't make a lot of sense to me.  Failed to add an impact OFer - or anything even close to one.  Overall, a very uninspired offseason.  

[theobird]

40 minutes ago, LookitsPuck said:

I'm giving it a C. 

Starting pitching depth is still nowhere to be seen. I get wanting to trade Gallardo...but there isn't anything in the minors. So we're essentially hoping/praying that the rotation is healthy in 2017. That's a huge gamble and Duquette has done nothing to try and mitigate that. If anything, by trading Gallardo he's made this worse.

The team's OF defense is still a problem. It's arguably just as a bad as it was last year with very little flexibility considering there are a variety of DH's on the roster: Kim, Smith, Trumbo or people that "appear" to have defensive prowess, but really don't and are unknowns: Joey Rickard or any of the other guys picked up recently.

The team is still entirely dependent on the homer. 

The team still lacks OBP.

There is very little depth behind Hardy who we all know is going to be injured at some point this season...possibly even to start.

I just don't see how this team has gotten better. Or what this team has done to improve for the future either. 

This is pretty much how I see it also. Hope springs eternal, but an objective look reveals no real improvement.

[Bahama O's Fan]

Last season, I scratched my head at the Gallardo signing. This season, it's the Trumbo one. I do like getting rid of Gallardo, acquiring Seth Smith and the deep depth again. I just wish we would have not gotten Trumbo, give Mancini the shot and got a better RF and/or SP

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, Roy Firestone said:

My problem with letting Wieters go is that we now are down to two veteran catchers and one of them had a God awful offensive year last year and is no sure thing as a MLB bat. Sisco is not a legt defender right now and so If Castillo goes down...youre left with Joseph and whatever else you can find. Wieters wasnt worth nearly 11 mil for 2 more years.He'll be 31 in May and though he had some good moments, he was on the downside defensively. I would like to see some more depth at THAT position.

Pena is still controlled by the team.

[weams]

14 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Pena is still controlled by the team.

Norris is available cheap.

[Norfolk orioles]

3 hours ago, weams said:

Norris is available cheap.

That seems like a no brainer trade to me.

The Nats have 3 catchers and we have one.

 

Maybe they'd take Christian Walker and some cash for Norris?

[Frobby]

9 hours ago, Norfolk orioles said:

That seems like a no brainer trade to me.

The Nats have 3 catchers and we have one.

 

Maybe they'd take Christian Walker and some cash for Norris?

How do we have one?    We have Castillo and Joseph, with Pena available in AAA.    I know Joseph didn't hit last year, but neither did Norris.

[Aristotelian]

B. Did not overpay for Trumbo or Castillo. Got rid of Gallardo without eating too much money. A deal for Granderson or an every-day RF would have made the offseason complete, but I can settle for Trumbo and role players. 

I have a feeling Bourn is not going to make the club and will opt out, so I don't count him. Just doesn't have a spot with Smith and Kim both lefties. He would have to beat out Rickard, and Rickard has a huge advantage being righty. Would they really send Mancini back to AAA and/or get rid of the Rule 5 guys in order to carry another lefty OF? 

[MDtransplant757]

On 2/21/2017 at 7:59 AM, Camden_yardbird said:

I think if the FO and coaching staff is happy with the bullpen depth you could still see a Brach trade to a team who has a big injury or is need of a shutdown arm.

Mets for an OF guy

[FlipTheBird]

21 minutes ago, MDtransplant757 said:

Mets for an OF guy

Jeurys Familia is still expected to be suspended here shortly, which could admittedly put the Mets back in play for a relief arm.

That said, I don't think the O's are a match, short of having an excess of arms to trade. The Mets have tried the hardest to move Bruce. We know from earlier in the offseason that the O's have no interest, there. 

There's also the question of salary. Granderson is due to make a mint, and the O's wouldn't want to pay much of that at all.

Plus, since those initial rumors back in December, the Orioles have acquired Seth Smith. Who they certainly seem comfortable with using in a RF platoon. With the acquisition of another regular OFer, either he or Kim would have to go.

Long story short, I severely, severely doubt the O's and Mets revisit their talks.

[Enjoy Terror]

If I'm grading them today, C+.

Pros:

• Welington Castillo for 2/13 is a better value than MW's 2/21 for similar production. You can argue for MW's familiarity with the pitching staff is favorable, but I was happy with O's walking away.
• Seth Smith as a replacement for Pedro Alvarez is kind of a wash, but if this is what it took to get rid of Yovanni Gallardo, that's fine.
• Anthony Santander is a nice grab.
• There are some other small moves like Nuno, Bleier, Ynoa, and Verrett that really bolstered an already great bullpen.
• Happy to see Bourn back.

Cons:

• This was a playoff team with a glaring flaw; starting pitching. This team is not better than it was, and with Tillman hurt, it's probably worse. This entire season hinges on the success of Bundy and Gausman. 
• We still do not have a farm system to speak of, and very little depth. In the event Hardy can't recover from his back spasms, we're left with Flaherty and Machado but NOTHING in AAA to back them up except Robert Andino. What's the backup plan for the middle infield?
• The team has a reputation of being great defensively but it seems like everyone forgot to update that opinion; we weren't outstanding last year. The outfield looks much worse on that front than this past year.

Summary: We're the hare sleeping at the finish line while other tortoise teams made real moves to improve. I see a team spinning it's wheels in the mud; there aren't any "wow" prospects to be excited about because DD routinely trades them away for players that don't amount to anything (see Parra, K-Rod, Snider, etc.) We had big flaws in the starting rotation and didn't address them. What is DD's vision? Are we all in? I'm not sure I see what at which he's aiming.