Orioles Will Face Tough Decision On Adam Jones After 2018 Season

[Frobby]

2 minutes ago, foxfield said:

I wasn't clear...I'm sorry.  IF they cannot play replacement level ball.  Jones is and Trumbo and Davis have.  But they are aging players...there is no guarantee that AJ can continue and RF seems like a move that could keep him in the lineup longer.  Davis and Trumbo could have huge bounce back years.  They could.   But it would be terribly difficult to be successful if the Orioles remain committed to all three IF they continue to decline.  And again, if I were to keep one, it would be Jones, the heart and soul of the club.

Thanks for clarifying, and it’s hard to argue with anything you said.  Of course, Davis and Trumbo are under contract, and there’s nothing we can do about that.     Davis in particular will have a long leash.   

[foxfield]

15 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Thanks for clarifying, and it’s hard to argue with anything you said.  Of course, Davis and Trumbo are under contract, and there’s nothing we can do about that.     Davis in particular will have a long leash.   

Contracts are tough and there are no easy solutions.  It would help if Davis especially rebounds, but the chance exists that he will not.  Its a tough spot for a team to be in and it doesn't make some of the other very difficult decisions any easier.

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

You are probably correct that if Trumbo didn’t have a 3 year deal, he probably would have been released at some point last year.     At this point, we just have to hope he bounces back and gives us 2 decent seasons.     If we can get a .750-.775 OPS and further limit his time in the OF, that would be a non-disaster.     That’s all I’m hoping for at this juncture.

If Trumbo had signed a 1/11m deal I doubt the O's would have released him at any point during the season.  Not after the year he had in 2016.

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, foxfield said:

We cannot be competitive if we continue to send guys like Trumbo Davis and Jones out onto the field IF they cannot play replacement level ball.  You can have a one guy...and for me that would be Adam, and you can move him to RF in 17 or 18 when you have someone to take the spot.

Emotionally, I like all of these guys, but realistically, you cannot even rebuild with all of them, its a tough spot to be in and how the next few months transpire will set the course for quite awhile.  Im hopeful, but there are no easy decisions and certainly no cheap ones.

I don't think it can be assumed that Davis and Trumbo will not be better next year.

[foxfield]

1 minute ago, wildcard said:

I don't think it can be assumed that Davis and Trumbo will not be better next year.

I dont assume that.  But nor can it be assumed that either will improve.  We hope...but we don't know.

[Redskins Rick]

13 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I don't think it can be assumed that Davis and Trumbo will not be better next year.

 

12 minutes ago, foxfield said:

I dont assume that.  But nor can it be assumed that either will improve.  We hope...but we don't know.

I agree. Just look at whose pitching for the Dodgers in game 2.

We all thought Jake was used up, when he left here.

You never know about this game, you can out-think the heck of it, but you never ever truly know.

[esmd]

This just in - grass is green and the world is round.

AJ and his FA status after next season has been discussed ad nauseum in multiple threads on this board.

[esmd]

BTW....this is an easy decision.  He's already shown signs of degrading skills.  If your prospects like Hays and Mullins aren't up to par in the team's opinion, offer him a short term deal (1 or 2 years, maybe with a club option), with a modest reduction in salary (maybe something in the neighborhood of $8M) reflective of the expectation of decreased production.  I doubt he'd get more than that on the open market.  If he passes, wish him well and thank him for what he's done as an Oriole.

[TouchemAll]

Bring him back and move to RF.

[esmd]

4 hours ago, TouchemAll said:

Bring him back and move to RF.

Good point, I neglected to mention that in my post above.  Bringing him back would be contingent on a move to one of the corner spots, most likely RF.

[Justinlstn]

It all depends on his asking price. We've let other fan favorites walk when they wanted more then the Orioles were willing to pay. See Melvin Mora, Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis to name a few.

[24fps]

26 minutes ago, Justinlstn said:

It all depends on his asking price. We've let other fan favorites walk when they wanted more then the Orioles were willing to pay. See Melvin Mora, Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis to name a few.

MelMo was 37 during his last year with the O's.  BRob was given a 4/40 extension when none was required and after Nick had a potentially career ending surgery the O's still offered him 3 years.  To my way of looking at things, these three players could easily be used as examples of how much the Orioles want to keep fan favorites.  

If history is what determines AJ's fate with the Orioles, then he gets offered at least an extra three years at a competitive rate.

[MDtransplant757]

I’d sign AJ to a 4/$50 contract. $12.5 a year for him isn’t bad, especially if we have Mullins in LF and Hays in CF. All this does is make DJ Stewart expendable. So here’s the real questions. Do you want the starting OF to be Mullins, Hays, Jones, or Stewart/Mullins, Mullins/Hays, Hays? That and if Stewart and Mullins kill it in ST this year and  in Norfolk, do you move on from jones or trade for more pitching? 

[Can_of_corn]

3 hours ago, MDtransplant757 said:

I’d sign AJ to a 4/$50 contract. $12.5 a year for him isn’t bad, especially if we have Mullins in LF and Hays in CF. All this does is make DJ Stewart expendable. So here’s the real questions. Do you want the starting OF to be Mullins, Hays, Jones, or Stewart/Mullins, Mullins/Hays, Hays? That and if Stewart and Mullins kill it in ST this year and  in Norfolk, do you move on from jones or trade for more pitching? 

Stewart and Mancini and Santander, maybe Mountcastle.

[NickM21]

At some point we have to avoid these 3-40 or 4-50 deals we hand out to aging players that come back to bite us. We are already stuck with Davis for half a decade and Trumbo for 2 years.