Kim vs Santander

[Richmond Bird 9]

This is not a bash Kim thread. Kim has been in 16 of the first 30 games and started less. If Buck is not going to play/use Kim, then we should trade him and activate Santander. Santander may not be able to play in the field, however he can hit and pinch run. The biggest gain we get is that Santander will get his time in. Trade Kim to the White Sox for inf/of Jake Peters. He hits left and has played all four inf positions and the corner of. 

[Ohfan67]

First, they won't add Santander to the 25 man until they absolutely must. He will play the full rehab time in the minors before DD makes a move involving him. Second, not much movement on the trade market in early May. I think a bag-of-balls trade involving Kim could happen, but more like June. Although I shouldn't denigrate DD's small time trades too much. He's getting useable pieces for cash. He's pretty good at finding things at other GM's garage sales. 

[Tony-OH]

I would have called bunk on this before the season started, but honestly, at this point, Kim is not really bringing much. He has no power, can only hit righties, hasn't even gotten on base much, and is a below average in LF. The more I see Mancini in LF the more I think he can handle the position as well as Kim. We know Kim is not a longterm answer to the organization, so if the Orioles can use his roster spot to keep a guy with Santander's potential, then why not.

Before the season started I would have said Gentry would be the guy, but the fact is Buck likes having him to use for defense and its worked so far. Gentry can't hit, but he can play defense and run. Now his roster spot might be in jeopardy when Bourne is ready to play, but if and when Santander is ready to be activated (I imagine after a nice long minor league rehab), Kim's roster spot could be the one in jeopardy.

[MurphDogg]

I like Kim and I think he could be a successful Major Leaguer but you are right, Buck isn't really using him. I hope the O's are able to trade Kim and that he finds success with another team.

[Tx Oriole]

31 minutes ago, MurphDogg said:

I like Kim and I think he could be a successful Major Leaguer but you are right, Buck isn't really using him. I hope the O's are able to trade Kim and that he finds success with another team.

I hope the same for Kim. He does seem to be the odd man out. When Buck won't even play Kim when the team is facing a RH. I hope Kim is traded and has success in MLB. Hope the O's win with  Bucks two golden boys Trey and Joey.

[Aristotelian]

I believe we could keep Santander without activating him if he is in fact injured. Then his clock would reset next year and we could kick the Rule 5 game down the road after Kim's contract expires. So there is no point in activating him just to start his clock.

I do agree, for whatever reason Buck is not giving Kim the benefit of the doubt and is clearly prioritizing Mancini and Rickard even vs RHPs. As long as Mancini is producing and Kim is not, there is nothing wrong with that. 

[DirtyBird]

What's the obsession with keeping Santander?

 

[webbrick2010]

4 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

What's the obsession with keeping Santander?

 

I don't get the Santander love either... he is a below average fielder and base runner... just what the O's need another DH

I wanted Taverez, who they sent back to Boston. After hitting .377 in 18 games at AA they promoted him to AAA where he has a 1.038 OPS so far

Tavarez could have helped us this year

[sportsfan8703]

5 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

What's the obsession with keeping Santander?

 

That he's a player that we can have cheap control of for 6 years.  Kim has value. We shouldn't rush to trade him just yet.  He's a good insurance policy to have in case of injury. But it does look like the only value he has is in his bat. He has no defense or speed. Can't hit lefties and doesn't for power. Kim relies on a high BABIP and it's looking like he was a tad lucky last year. 

[Tony-OH]

2 hours ago, DirtyBird said:

What's the obsession with keeping Santander?

 

Well, not sure it's an obsession, but Santander is a 22-year old switch hitter with power from both sides of the plate. He showed enough during spring training for the orioles to try and find a way to keep him. The way Buck is using his roster, they can probably afford to keep him this year without hurting the team and gives the organization a guy who could profile as a an everyday big leaguer. Let me tell you as something one follows the system very closely, they don't have a ton of those guys. In fact, they don't have one switch-hitter in the organization that is actually a prospect.

I don't think it's the end of the world if he has to go back, but if I'm the Orioles, I'd try and find a way to get him on the active roster for 90 days in order to be able to keep him. 

[DirtyBird]

2 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Well, not sure it's an obsession, but Santander is a 22-year old switch hitter with power from both sides of the plate. He showed enough during spring training for the orioles to try and find a way to keep him. The way Buck is using his roster, they can probably afford to keep him this year without hurting the team and gives the organization a guy who could profile as a an everyday big leaguer. Let me tell you as something one follows the system very closely, they don't have a ton of those guys. In fact, they don't have one switch-hitter in the organization that is actually a prospect.

I don't think it's the end of the world if he has to go back, but if I'm the Orioles, I'd try and find a way to get him on the active roster for 90 days in order to be able to keep him. 

Thanks.

[FlipTheBird]

3 hours ago, Tx Oriole said:

I hope the same for Kim. He does seem to be the odd man out. When Buck won't even play Kim when the team is facing a RH. I hope Kim is traded and has success in MLB. Hope the O's win with  Bucks two golden boys Trey and Joey.

You say this like Mancini hasn't been hitting the cover off the ball.

[FlipTheBird]

2 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

That he's a player that we can have cheap control of for 6 years.  Kim has value. We shouldn't rush to trade him just yet.  He's a good insurance policy to have in case of injury. But it does look like the only value he has is in his bat. He has no defense or speed. Can't hit lefties and doesn't for power. Kim relies on a high BABIP and it's looking like he was a tad lucky last year. 

Santander, if he makes it, also potentially has a future with the O's. I don't think it's much of a secret that Hyun Soo Kim will not be suiting up in orange and black next year, unless it's for the Giants.

[ChuckS]

Kim hasn't gotten much of a chance to play.  I'm not ready to let him go yet.  His on base skills and ability to put that bat on the ball in crucial situations are important for this lineup.  

Where would we have been without Kim last September?  Probably not in the playoffs.  

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, dan-O said:

IMO he's already a ML hitter. He just need to get healthy and get some game time in the minors for a bit. 

Where do you come up with opinions like this?    There a very few guys who are already major league hitters after playing high A ball.    I've got nothing against the kid, and maybe he can be developed into a good major league hitter over time, but it's crazy to think he's likely to be an asset to the big league club in 2017.     If we keep him, it's strictly a play for the future, not for 2017.