Does signing Vargas, Cashner and (Tillman to an incentive contract) make the O's a wild card contender?

[Tx Oriole]

On 1/20/2018 at 5:53 PM, tntoriole said:

I do swing from pole to pole.  lol.  If I didn’t have any hidden optimism, what would be the point of being a fan.  But I would sure like to see some day when and if we have a young, analytic progressive dynamo of a GM and an ownership that is engaged in building the best teams possible. 

I want to see that type of FO too. 

[esmd]

I would say yes, IF everything goes right.  Meaning Vargas and Cashner produce as hoped, and offensive players like Trumbo and Davis have bounceback seasons.  Otherwise, not, we're a .500 team and not really in serious contention.

[theocean]

7 hours ago, esmd said:

I would say yes, IF everything goes right.  Meaning Vargas and Cashner produce as hoped, and offensive players like Trumbo and Davis have bounceback seasons.  Otherwise, not, we're a .500 team and not really in serious contention.

Besides Schoop, Givens, and Mancini - the entire team underperformed last year. If everyone else can perform to their career average - the O's as they are now have a shot at the Wild Card. 

Let's be real - even if the Orioles don't sign another starting pitcher (which I highly doubt, I think they will) the Orioles will have a better rotation than last year if they start Bundy/Gausman/Ynoa/Wright/and a 72-year-old Jim Palmer.

Tillman, Jimenez, and Miley were THAT bad. 

[theocean]

On 1/21/2018 at 8:49 AM, Frobby said:

Maybe, but they don’t play the season on paper.    If we’re not going to go into serious rebuild mode this offseason, then I’d rather go in with a fighting chance.   New York, Boston, Cleveland and Houston look to be the class of the AL.   Nobody else really scares me, though the Angels intrigue me.

 

Exactly - let's just say the Yankees takes the East, the Indians takes the Central, the Astros takes the West, and the Red Sox takes the first Wild Card. 

I don't really see any other teams as locks for that second wild card. The Angels and the Twins are intriguing - but certainly not scary. I honestly like the Orioles' odds better than the Rays, Jays, Mariners, or Rangers.

Royals, White Sox, Tigers, and Athletics don't seem poised to make much of a threat.