Orioles Interested In Neil Walker and Mark Reynolds

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Who has he ever under used off the bench?  Clevenger?

Which is why Schoop, Jones, Manny and Davis have to get suspended to get a day off.

[Luke-OH]

6 hours ago, Lucky_13 said:

So I guess Walker would become the 3rd basemen with Beckham moving to super utility?

Don't really get the point  of Reynolds at all. 

I like Walker, but Beckham needs to play everyday. Walker doesn't hit lefties well and isn't nearly the defender that Beckham is at this point. He's the better fit as a super utility player.

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, Luke-OH said:

I like Walker, but Beckham needs to play everyday. Walker doesn't hit lefties well and isn't nearly the defender that Beckham is at this point. He's the better fit as a super utility player.

But can he play third?  Short?

[VaBird1]

He’s played first, second and third in the Majors.

[Luke-OH]

5 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

But can he play third?  Short?

Definitely not short, but the post I was responding to was suggesting him starting at 3B. I don't know if I'd want him there full time, but I'd live with it in a utility role. 

For it to be a real fit, you'd trade Manny and go with Schoop at 3B, Beckham at SS, and Walker at 2B. Probably not a fit though and Walker is probably too slow to try and throw into a COF spot.

[sportsfan8703]

What would it take to sign Walker?  MLBTR had him with a 2/20 prediction on their top 50 prediction list. 

Could we sell him on 1/5 with incentives and the chance to hit in OPACY?  He’s not a perfect fit but he’d really upgrade the bench and bring OBP. 

We got Beckham from the Rays because he didn’t want to be a super UTIL guy. Well he might have to play nice for one season and play 3B and RF. RF against LH SP would be real helpful. Hopefully he’ll be still saying “all the right things”.  

[wildbillhiccup]

14 hours ago, Babypowder said:

 

That’s basically average. Average defense and a .800 plus OPS at 2B is a pretty good player. An average defensive second baseman can probably play third pretty well if he has the arm. I don’t know if Walker does. What I do know is that there is a very high probability Walker is a 2-3 win player next year and if you can get that for barely better than a minor league deal, you do it and no one should be upset about it. 

As for why fans should care about contracts, there’s probably not much common ground for us to discuss things much further if you don’t understand why we should all care about that.

Signing players that don't fit is never a good move, regardless of the price. You don't buy something just for the sake of buying something. I think you're projecting Walker as a serviceable corner infielder is a real stretch considering he's never played 3B or 1B for any length of time. If we have any aspirations of putting a balanced team on the field (i.e., good offensively and defensively) we shouldn't be signing players then trying to convert them from their natural positions anyway. Another reason why going back to the Pedro Alvarez well makes no sense. Which brings me back to my main point. If Walker is purely a 2B (which is all he's demonstrated over the course of his career) how does he fit on this team? Is he going to be Schoop's personal replacement? Because, as I said, he doesn't really hit enough to justify playing at DH. Especially when we're already loaded with DH candidates. 

This isn't about money. This is about signing the "right" players for this team. 

[wildbillhiccup]

13 hours ago, Luke-OH said:

I like Walker, but Beckham needs to play everyday. Walker doesn't hit lefties well and isn't nearly the defender that Beckham is at this point. He's the better fit as a super utility player.

He's not really because he's never demonstrated that he can play any position other than 2B. 

[wildbillhiccup]

13 hours ago, VaBird1 said:

He’s played first, second and third in the Majors.

To be clear he played 13 games at 1B and 4 games at 3B last season so we're talking about a VERY small sample size. It's certainly not enough to convince me that he can be a true utility player. 

[interloper]

14 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

But can he play third?  Short?

No, but Beckham can, and he can play 2B as well. That's why the 25-man will likely end up with someone like Valencia or Walker over someone like Sardinas or Tejada. You just don't really need a traditional Flaherty-type utility player.

[esmd]

(Lumberg voice) Yeeeeeeeeaaaaahhhhhhhh.......that's gonna be a no.

[esmd]

I'm starting to think the Orioles make their decisions on trades and free agents American Idol-style:

DD:  Okay, time to make a decision.  Buck?

Buck:  It's a no for me.

DD:  Brady?

Brady:  It's a yes from me, dude.

DD:  Well I guess I'm the tie-breaker, I'm with Buck - it's a no from me.  Too rich for us, but if you change your mind and decide to sign for 2 years @ 3 million per with half deferred, let us know.  Next!

Next trade/FA is considered

Buck:  Ya know, I like way he spins it, its a yes for me, plus we know him, we know what he's about.  I like our guys.

Brady:  No way dude.  He's a junkballer at this point with no command.

DD:  He's cheap, and no one else will give him a Major League deal.  It's a yes from me.  You're going to Baltimore!!!!!!

 

Of course, there's the dreaded PGA veto that looms over all decisions..........maybe we need to incorporate the "The Voice" style save system....

[interloper]

In other news, the Orioles will be the only team to operate with a 30-man roster this season.

[Redskins Rick]

5 minutes ago, interloper said:

In other news, the Orioles will be the only team to operate with a 30-man roster this season.

DD is the master of the roster manipulation game!

[clapdiddy]

Trade Schoop for pitching and prospects, sign Walker.