Orioles claim Austin Brice Designate Valera (Traded to Giants for CC)

[DrungoHazewood]

11 hours ago, Frobby said:

In that case he’ll be a veteran absence.  

Who's going to let the kids know the best time to take Route 17 through Tappahannock, and when's the best time to stay on 95?  What is the best option at Hardees in Gloucester? How do you get someone to get you on the Norfolk Naval Station to go to the only Tim Horton's south of Scranton?  What the heck do you do when the tunnel is backed up halfway to Yorktown?!  Mike Wright will be missed.

[interloper]

12 hours ago, wildcard said:

Who said that Wright will even be on the team when the season begins?

If there is one certainty in this universe, it seems to be Mike Wright finding himself on the 25-man roster of the Baltimore Orioles.

[wildcard]

30 minutes ago, interloper said:

If there is one certainty in this universe, it seems to be Mike Wright finding himself on the 25-man roster of the Baltimore Orioles.

There is a new sheriff in town.  We will see.

[interloper]

19 minutes ago, wildcard said:

There is a new sheriff in town.  We will see.

With our luck he will be like, "But I can fix him!!!" Which, sure, fine I guess. But I would rather they focus on helping the guys who are still under our control for a few years.

Mike Wright is not Jake Arrieta. He does not own wipe-out stuff that just needs to be harnessed.

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, interloper said:

With our luck he will be like, "But I can fix him!!!" Which, sure, fine I guess. But I would rather they focus on helping the guys who are still under our control for a few years.

Mike Wright is not Jake Arrieta. He does not own wipe-out stuff that just needs to be harnessed.

Mike Wright doesn't become a free agent until 2023.

There are reasons to not want him around but a lack of team control isn't one of them.

[interloper]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

Mike wright doesn't become a free agent until 2023.

There are reasons to not want him around but a lack of team control isn't one of them.

Aw beans. This guy will never go away.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, interloper said:

Aw beans. This guy will never go away.

Constantly shuttling a guy between the majors and the minors does wonders for keeping their service time down.

[LookinUp]

5 minutes ago, interloper said:

With our luck he will be like, "But I can fix him!!!" Which, sure, fine I guess. But I would rather they focus on helping the guys who are still under our control for a few years.

Mike Wright is not Jake Arrieta. He does not own wipe-out stuff that just needs to be harnessed.

Wright is a tantalizing power arm, or at least he was. For whatever reason, his stuff seemed to flatten out over the years. It's likely that guys who believe in their ability to develop players will want the power arm to work with as opposed to a Rich Bleier type, for example. The question is whether Wright has any of the attributes, besides a power arm, that Elias looks for. Spin rate sure seems to be at the top of that list. I'm guessing Wright's is not that great. 

I do wonder whether the O's think they can teach spin rate or whether it's just a skill that some have and others don't? Targeting guys who already have it does, at a minimum, skip that part of the developmental arc.

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

Wright is a tantalizing power arm, or at least he was. For whatever reason, his stuff seemed to flatten out over the years. It's likely that guys who believe in their ability to develop players will want the power arm to work with as opposed to a Rich Bleier type, for example. The question is whether Wright has any of the attributes, besides a power arm, that Elias looks for. Spin rate sure seems to be at the top of that list. I'm guessing Wright's is not that great. 

I do wonder whether the O's think they can teach spin rate or whether it's just a skill that some have and others don't? Targeting guys who already have it does, at a minimum, skip that part of the developmental arc.

Trevor Bauer sure thinks it can be amplified.

[LookinUp]

I bet that's hard to do though. Pitching is so much about feel for the baseball and location, if you're effectively teaching people that they need more torque on the baseball, it would *seem* like a hard thing to do while maintaining control.

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

I bet that's hard to do though. Pitching is so much about feel for the baseball and location, if you're effectively teaching people that they need more torque on the baseball, it would *seem* like a hard thing to do while maintaining control.

He basically accused the Astros of using foreign substances to improve the grip.  The better the grip the more spin can be imparted on the ball.

[DrungoHazewood]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

He basically accused the Astros of using foreign substances to improve the grip.  The better the grip the more spin can be imparted on the ball.

I think pine tar can be sourced domestically.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, DrungoHazewood said:

I think pine tar can be sourced domestically.

So can Bullfrog sunscreen.

[atomic]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

Constantly shuttling a guy between the majors and the minors does wonders for keeping their service time down.

He will be eligible for arbitration next year. What is the going rate for guys with 5.75 ERAs and 1.5 WHIP?  Probably hard to find too many comparables. 

[LookinUp]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

He basically accused the Astros of using foreign substances to improve the grip.  The better the grip the more spin can be imparted on the ball.

I'd be shocked if most teams didn't give their pitchers a little something to make their fingers a little stickier. If they haven't yet, but are now focusing on spin rate, they probably will be soon.