Buck: Chris will be a good pitcher next year

[Nevermore]

I'd love to see  Tilly come back. He said in a Sun article that he loves Baltimore and would like to stay here with the Orioles.  Would he be willing to start next season in long relief while working on his delivery issues,  perhaps get a spot start if warranted? Would he agree to a 1 year incentive laden contract? 

I do remember how friendly he was to fans at Fan Fest.

[Three Run Homer]

I'd like someone (Buck, or someone) to offer a theory of how Tillman could be good next season given how historically bad he was this season.  

If his shoulder is not right, then he needs surgery.

If he needs a mechanical overhaul, McDowell had all summer to do it, and whatever he's done it hasn't worked.  

If Tillman loves being in Baltimore so much, then he should be willing to sign a minor league contract to stay in the organization and hopefully prove he belongs here again.  I can't imagine he will get a guaranteed major league contract from another organization.  

[OFFNY]

1 hour ago, Nevermore said:

 

I'd love to see  Tilly come back. He said in a Sun article that he loves Baltimore and would like to stay here with the Orioles.  Would he be willing to start next season in long relief while working on his delivery issues,  perhaps get a spot start, if warranted ??? Would he agree to a 1-year, incentive-laden contract ???

I do remember how friendly he was to fans at Fan Fest.

 

o

 

I don't think he'll have much choice in the matter.

He's not exactly in the driver's seat in terms of negotiating and/or demanding a multi-year contract from anyone ...... from the Orioles, or from anyone else.

Because of his fairly long track record of being a solid starting pitcher for 4 out of 5 years between 2012 and 2016, I think that the Orioles would like him to come back next spring in case he can bounce back like he did after his bad 2015 season, but I don't see how he would get anything more than (at the very most) a 1-year contract for a few million dollars.

 

o

[Tx Oriole]

15 hours ago, Frobby said:

I got the impression he'd like to have Tillman back.    He shouldn't be the one making that judgment.  

No he sure shouldn't.

[Tx Oriole]

15 hours ago, O's are Legends said:

This is why I need to start cooking dinner and get some food in my system. I literally thought this was about Chris Davis when first reading the headline.

Wouldn't surprise me if Tillman is back. Buck loves his players.

I hope not. Nothing against Chris. But I think his time as an Oriole should be up. 

[oriole]

Tillman could end up being one of the best values in the offseason. His year was so terrible this year he should feel lucky if he even gets a major league deal. Say they spend 3 million on him and he pitches to a 3.50 era in 180 innings. That's not at all impossible and well within reason.

[panick]

10 hours ago, Nevermore said:

I'd love to see  Tilly come back. He said in a Sun article that he loves Baltimore and would like to stay here with the Orioles.  Would he be willing to start next season in long relief while working on his delivery issues,  perhaps get a spot start if warranted? Would he agree to a 1 year incentive laden contract? 

I do remember how friendly he was to fans at Fan Fest.

Is there any way he could work on his delivery problems in the off-season? Maybe sometime in January so he would have spring training to see if his issues have been fixed?

It would be better if he could do that, rather than working on his delivery while pitching in long relief for the O's. I'd rather that guys not be wasting a ML roster spot and costing the O's games while fixing whatever mechanical issues they have.

[Il BuonO]

10 hours ago, Three Run Homer said:

I'd like someone (Buck, or someone) to offer a theory of how Tillman could be good next season given how historically bad he was this season.  

If his shoulder is not right, then he needs surgery.

If he needs a mechanical overhaul, McDowell had all summer to do it, and whatever he's done it hasn't worked.  

If Tillman loves being in Baltimore so much, then he should be willing to sign a minor league contract to stay in the organization and hopefully prove he belongs here again.  I can't imagine he will get a guaranteed major league contract from another organization.  

It's one thing to work on mechanical issues prior to the season when games don't count, but quite another to expect a coach to solve those same issues in season. And bullpen sessions are not cure-alls. 

I am hopeful but doubtful that Tillman can get back to the arm slot he had prior to the injury. He may have to adjust to a new post-op delivery which again allows him to command his pitches.

I'm not entirely sure he'll even have the chance with the Orioles again despite Buck's encouragement.

[SteveA]

At some point this offseason it will come out that his shoulder was bothering him all year, despite the fact that he always said he was 100% physically sound.   (No one will be upset that he basically lied about it during the season... it's considered a virtue among athletes that they don't make excuses for poor performances).

They will spin it that several months of complete rest has allowed it to heal and that he can come back strong in 2018.   Whether that's true or not, who knows?   Whether the Orioles or another team buys it enough to sign him to a major league contract, I don't know either.

To me the uncertainty means we should not be the team to sign him.   Because, as others have pointed out, due to loyalty and all the great service he has given the O's and Buck over the years, if we DO sign him, he will have to really fail badly to lose his rotation spot, and we can't afford that.

I'd rather sign some other team's failure and try a reclamation project, because then there is  no loyalty or sentimentality involved.   If we sign, just off the top of my head let's say Matt Cain, and he shows us in spring training or in April that he simply isn't a major league pitcher anymore, it would be easy to say "Thanks for trying, we gave you a chance and it didn't work out" and cut him.   It would be a lot harder to do that with TIlly.

[wildbillhiccup]

42 minutes ago, oriole said:

Tillman could end up being one of the best values in the offseason. His year was so terrible this year he should feel lucky if he even gets a major league deal. Say they spend 3 million on him and he pitches to a 3.50 era in 180 innings. That's not at all impossible and well within reason.

I think I might have a better shot at winning the lottery than Chris Tillman posting a 3.50 era next season. He hasn't eclipsed 200 innings since 2014 and he's about to turn 30. He also issues too many walks for a non strikeout guy. And if you look at his era by month (for this season) he's shown no signs of turning things around. He's been consistently awful. Hard pass on Tillman. We've seen his best (and worst). I just don't see him recapturing his 2014 glory. I'd rather spend our money on some new blood. 

[TouchemAll]

16 hours ago, Frobby said:

I got the impression he'd like to have Tillman back.    He shouldn't be the one making that judgment.  

Buck's biggest failing, unrelenting loyalty to players who it's time to let go.

[LC_O's_87]

No sense kicking a guy while he's down.

That said, Tillman is in minor league contract with spring training invite territory at this point.  

Hey if Buck thinks Tillman can be "good" on that type of contract, I won't object.

[Tony-OH]

17 hours ago, phillyOs119 said:

I appreciate all Tillman has done for the Orioles and I wouldn't mind bringing him back on an extremely low guarantee-incentive laden 1 year deal to hopefully rebuild his value.

My fear is that if the O's bring him back, Buck will put him in the rotation, period.  If he's bad, nope, doesn't matter.  Velocity down, arm slot all out of wack still, still in the rotation.  If that's how it's going to be, I wouldn't want him back for free.

This, times 100!! 

[osfan83]

This board loves to buy high and sell low. Tillman is the perfect guy to sign to a very low risk deal. He's not an unknown, He has proven he can pitch at the Yard with success, he is just turning 30 (not that old yet). He wants to stay here. I say pitch him the first 6 weeks of 2018.....if it's obvious he is done, then waive him.

[Three Run Homer]

It's not that I don't want Tillman back, it's that I don't want the O's to COUNT on Tillman.  If they give him 3-4 million and a major league contract, then they will check his rotation slot off their off-season checklist and not sign someone else.  Even if they give him a short leash, they won't have good options to replace him with if necessary--they will have some AAAA types in Norfolk, who may or may not be viable replacements.  (This year, they weren't).  

I'd rather that they go into the season with 5 guys who they feel more confident in than Tillman, and let Tillman be the guy in Norfolk who hopefully proves that he deserves another shot.   No team gets through the entire season with just 5 guys in the rotation.