Loewen done pitching

[TJ Wrangler]

I would rather him sit out the next 18-24 months letting his arm recover, and rehab... vs making him a position player.

I know he went into the draft highly regarded for the bat... (though I do not think anyone has ever said just how high he was projected as a positional hitter)...

The last time he batted with any regularity was with Chipola JC in 2003.... even then he only had 150 atbats... and while he batted 353, he had 1 homerun...

Now maybe his offense would have been better if he was working on it full-time... but I question how a guy with 1 HR in 150at-bats in JUCO, is going to take 5-6 years off from hitting, and work his way back as a professional hitter.

Loewen is a good athlete, and he might find success... but when you consider the years in-between hitting regularly, and the whole option mess.... I think a better path for him to take would be surgery now, and trying to get him back on a mound by July 2010....

In any event, a sad day...... and I'm sure a horrible blow to his psyche... and I wish him well...

What an amazing story it would be if he found success as a hitter, and makes the bigs again.. even for a cup of coffee.

EDIT - In the Baseball America, and Baseball Canada links below, there are interesting comments from the JUCO coach, and the HC of the Canadian Junior National Team.

http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20020604&content_id=41607&vkey=news_bal&fext=.jsp&c_id=bal

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/draftday/draft_2002/mlb_draft_profile.jsp?ymd=20020528&content_id=34767&vkey=draft2002&fext=.jsp

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/leagues/NCAA/loewen0303.html

http://www.baseball.ca/eng_news_story.cfm?NewsID=494

I doubt he ever puts up Ankiel type power numbers, but with the junior college numbers you threw out there, maybe he can put up numbers between Doug Mankiewicz on the low end or Sean Casey on the high end. If he can manage to play above average defense at 1b and the corner outfield spots, maybe he can become a valuable reserve player. I realize even that is a stretch, but it seems far more likely than him becoming the next Ankiel, which is something we both seem to be in agreement with.

[Goop]

Good luck Adam. Let's hope he can help the team in another role now.

[Anonymous]

He'd just have to clear waivers since he's out of options to removed from the 40-man roster. I'd say the chances are very good that he will as I doubt another team would pick him up so that he'd sit on their 40-man roster while he experiments with becoming a hitter.

Thanks, MC. I agree that he'd be a pretty safe bet to clear waivers at this point.

[Rockbird]

Wow, pretty shocking that they went through with this. I know we were discussing it as a possibility and I was in favor of it if another surgery was necessary but I didn't think it would actually happen.

I can totally understand it though. If your Adam, your 24 years old, you're facing the pain of yet another surgery and all that entails, a year and half of grueling rehab before you can even go back on the mound where in the back of your mind you might have to do it all over again.

At least he can get back to baseball instruction right away and see if he can pick up on hitting again. I sure hope he can and that we see him as a contributor on the O's in a couple of years. Good luck to him.

[bigbird]

I think he'll become a hell of a hitter... I also doubt he'll make it through waivers. Was he put on the 40 man roster when he signed?????

[RShack]

Wow, pretty shocking that they went through with this.

I'm not sure exactly what "they went through with".

Sounds to me like Loewen and the O's heard from the medical experts, and they found out he might as well forget about being a pitcher.

I think it's more of a case of facing a very sad fact than a case of "going through with" anything.

As for his conversion to being a hitter, I think that's mainly Loewen deciding to try to climb a different mountain.

Good for him. I hope he pulls it off.

But I can't imagine the club is somehow counting on it working out.

[Mark Carver]

I think he'll become a hell of a hitter... I also doubt he'll make it through waivers. Was he put on the 40 man roster when he signed?????

He signed a ML contract, thus he was added to the 40-man roster. That is why he is out of options. An option was used every year he was in the minors when he was not on the 25-man roster.

Since he's out of options, what are the chances of a team claiming him and keeping him on the 25-man roster while he experiments with being a hitter? Zilch.

[KSDonDada01]

I tip my hat to him for having the fortitude to admit he can't hold up to the stress of pitching anymore. He basically admitted (in a round about way, said that) he will be useless to the O's if he were to continue to pitch. So if his choice, to pick up the bat is the only way we may possibly see him again in the majors then I say Kudos to Adam for "Manning Up" and doing what he can to help the O's organization and his career. I said before I think he can do it and I still believe it.

[NewMarketSean]

Pretty funny that people were going out of their minds when others were saying that Loewen should make the switch to a positional player. It happened a lot earlier than most of us would have expected... so what do these people have to say about it?

[J.D.]

Pretty funny that people were going out of their minds when others were saying that Loewen should make the switch to a positional player. It happened a lot earlier than most of us would have expected... so what do these people have to say about it?

Well, being one of those people you're referring to, I personally say, "I sincerely hope you can see the difference between this being forced due to injury, and just a decision based on his struggles as a pitcher."

[NewMarketSean]

Well, being one of those people you're referring to, I personally say, "I sincerely hope you can see the difference between this being forced due to injury, and just a decision based on his struggles as a pitcher."

I don't think anyone was saying "he stinks as a pitcher, he should become a hitter". People knew that his lack of performance was due to injury. Of course people were going to say if he can't stay healthy, he should try to become a positional guy rather than just cutting their losses with a former first round draft pick.

Anyway, I was going to say... how long does Loewen expect it to take to become a positional player in the majors? Certainly more than the 1.5 years it would have taken to undergo another surgery with rehab.

But I can see his reluctance to undergo another surgery though. I probably would have done the same thing. This has been going on for 4 years now. It's got to be frustrating. I know why he wants to turn over a new leaf.

[Gurgi]

The harder thing to swallow is that we could have had Prince Fielder or Khalil Greene in the same draft.

Yeah but Prince Fielder was toooo fat even for the Oakland Athletics and Billy Beane! Surely if Beane gave him a pass you cant fault the O's. LOL.

[Gurgi]

His initial 4 year ML contract that he signed with the Orioles back in May 2003 is over. He's been on 1 year contracts since than and in 2008, was paid $0.813k.

So they tear up his ML contract and he signs a MiL contract, probably for the same as he would have gotten the rest of the year.

If they can pull this off I will be happy. Somehow this seems to confuse the crap out of me. Is it gonna fly with the Baseball "Gods"?

[J.D.]

I don't think anyone was saying "he stinks as a pitcher, he should become a hitter". People knew that his lack of performance was due to injury. Of course people were going to say if he can't stay healthy, he should try to become a positional guy rather than just cutting their losses with a former first round draft pick.

Anyway, I was going to say... how long does Loewen expect it to take to become a positional player in the majors? Certainly more than the 1.5 years it would have taken to undergo another surgery with rehab.

But I can see his reluctance to undergo another surgery though. I probably would have done the same thing. This has been going on for 4 years now. It's got to be frustrating. I know why he wants to turn over a new leaf.

My stance on it the entire time was "It should be up to Adam."

I guess I misinterpreted the question as being a "See, the people suggesting he should change to a positional player were right," thing. It's sad either way and I really hope he can make it back as a hitter. Trembley and MacPhail seemed relatively hopeful about it, and I know that Crowley thinks he can really turn Adam into a hitter. So we'll just have to see. Hopefully he makes the transition and becomes a really valuable piece moving forward.

[Mark Carver]

If they can pull this off I will be happy. Somehow this seems to confuse the crap out of me. Is it gonna fly with the Baseball "Gods"?

What's to fly with the Baseball "Gods". He's still under contract for 2008. To remove him off of the 25-man roster and 40-man roster, he has to clear waivers.

Do you see another team picking him up for the 25-man roster or 40-man roster while he experiments with being a hitter? I certainly don't...