Interesting FAs

[Luke-OH]

2 hours ago, nate22 said:

This question probably doesn't fit here but since we are going to be shedding payroll in the near term, would it be possible to rework Davis' contract in such a way that the bulk gets paid over the next couple years, leaving us with a little more flexiblity in the last few years of the deal? His contract is a sunk cost at this point so we'll have to pay it regardless. I'm just curious if it could be adjusted so that the bulk affects us more now than later.

That’s not going to happen, mostly because of the time value of money it would be like giving him a raise to pay more sooner.

What they could do is take an extra chunk of money and invest it with the time horizon of a later year’s Chris Davis payment. 

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, Luke-OH said:

That’s not going to happen, mostly because of the time value of money it would be like giving him a raise to pay more sooner.

What they could do is take an extra chunk of money and invest it with the time horizon of a later year’s Chris Davis payment. 

Exactly.  That is why they deferred money in the first place.

[wildcard]

10 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Good call by the OP. Interesting to read comments about the player before we’ve acquired him. That’s a unique perspective. 

Elias is in full swing now. It obviously took him a few months but now he seems to at leased be comfortable with the 40 man roster. It might not sound like a lot, but having AL priority in waiver claims over an entire offseason is pretty valuable. 

Infield depth seems to be a concern. This guy, Alberto, the two rule 5 guys, and don’t forget about the third basemen from the Braves(Ruiz). 

I find it surprising we haven’t claimed an OF. We’re a little thin there. Also, Hart and Wright must be staying around to get a look in ST. How many lefties are we planning on going with in the pen?  Right now I’d say Hart is behind Bleier, Scott, and Fry for Bullpen LHP roles. Plus we’re pretty thin at C. Ideally we’d have claimed an OF and C with options, and DFAd Wright and Hart. Guess we’re filling those openings with vets on milb deals. 

I would not discount the free agent market.   Catchers Wieters and Maldonado are still unsigned.  Elias needs to see what happens to them after Realmuto is traded.   With some  younger pitchers on the staff it would be good to have an experienced pitch caller behind the plate.

Adam Jones because a more realistic possibility after Fanfest.  Fans were pretty vocal about wanting him back and I think that impressed Elias.   He still has the range and the arm to play RF.  Elias will have to deal with Jones 10/5 rights if he decides to go that direction.

I don't think Elias goes over 1/4m for any of these guys.

I could see the O's offering a minor deal to Matt Davidson as well as a AAA or injured starter.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

4 hours ago, wildcard said:

I would not discount the free agent market.   Catchers Wieters and Maldonado are still unsigned.  Elias needs to see what happens to them after Realmuto is traded.   With some  younger pitchers on the staff it would be good to have an experienced pitch caller behind the plate.

While I agree a veteran would be good to help, I wouldn't count out the fact that both Wynns and Sisco are homegrown and have come up with the younger staff. So while they might not have a year of MLB experience, they do have several years of experience working with the young pitchers, while the veterans like Cobb, Cashner, and Bundy can help them out too. Look at how Cobb helped Wynns last season.

[Frobby]

5 hours ago, wildcard said:

Adam Jones because a more realistic possibility after Fanfest.  Fans were pretty vocal about wanting him back and I think that impressed Elias.   He still has the range and the arm to play RF.  Elias will have to deal with Jones 10/5 rights if he decides to go that direction.

I doubt Fanfest will influence Elias’ decisions on Jones.   He did a good job of not ruling anything out publicly, but I’ll be stunned if Jones is in an Orioles uniform this spring. 

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, Legend_Of_Joey said:

While I agree a veteran would be good to help, I wouldn't count out the fact that both Wynns and Sisco are homegrown and have come up with the younger staff. So while they might not have a year of MLB experience, they do have several years of experience working with the young pitchers, while the veterans like Cobb, Cashner, and Bundy can help them out too. Look at how Cobb helped Wynns last season.

All you than to do is listen to Bundy and other O's pitchers about their preference for a veteran catcher.  Bundy has said that a young pitcher throwing to a young catcher does not have the advantages that having a veteran  catcher provides.  He says throwing pitches with confidence in the calls is very important.  A veteran catcher that is respected would be a benefit to a developing pitching staff.

Wynn will play 2019 at 28 years old.  There is not reason other than performance for him not be in the majors. this season.  Sisco  will play 2019 at 24.  That is young for a catcher.  He had a poor 2018 season.  His ability to control the running game is suspect.   His hitting took a dive last year.   I would think the best way for him to begin 2019 is at AAA,

[wildcard]

29 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I doubt Fanfest will influence Elias’ decisions on Jones.   He did a good job of not ruling anything out publicly, but I’ll be stunned if Jones is in an Orioles uniform this spring. 

Under normal conditions I would say that Elias would not listen to fans but.................The fans support for Jones along with the void in right field, the preserving of Hays service time and Jones dropping price might just make it possible for Jones to return.

[interloper]

29 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Under normal conditions I would say that Elias would not listen to fans but.................The fans support for Jones along with the void in right field, the preserving of Hays service time and Jones dropping price might just make it possible for Jones to return.

Agree here. There's more at play than simply fan desire. It actually makes a little bit of baseball sense as well.

For me, as a fan of Jones, I honestly don't want to say goodbye twice. Nor do I want to see him play for a trash baseball team while he has limited time left to play the game. Not sure why more fans don't also feel this way. 

If we're his only option, sure. But if not, almost any other baseball team is a better choice if he wants to win.

[bpilktree]

Fredy Galvis signs with the Blue Jays for 4 million with option.

[wildcard]

Freddy Glavis deleted from OP.

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, wildcard said:

All you than to do is listen to Bundy and other O's pitchers about their preference for a veteran catcher.  Bundy has said that a young pitcher throwing to a young catcher does not have the advantages that having a veteran  catcher provides.  He says throwing pitches with confidence in the calls is very important.  A veteran catcher that is respected would be a benefit to a developing pitching staff.

That’s not exactly what Bundy said.   He threw some compliments to Caleb (in response to a question about Caleb) and said having a veteran catcher is helpful.   I don’t think he said anything about throwing to a young catcher.   And as we discussed, he pitched very well when Sisco was behind the plate.   

The whole staff did well when Caleb was a rookie and the veteran Wieters was injured.    The Giants won a WS with the rookie Posey behind the plate.   

[interloper]

The veteran catcher thing is highly overrated, imo. 

[SteveA]

4 hours ago, Frobby said:

I doubt Fanfest will influence Elias’ decisions on Jones.   He did a good job of not ruling anything out publicly, but I’ll be stunned if Jones is in an Orioles uniform this spring. 

Yeah, the idea that our new analytics driven front office will make decisions based on input from fans at Fanfest wanting to bring back a popular veteran is pretty ridiculous.

[wildcard]

54 minutes ago, Frobby said:

That’s not exactly what Bundy said.   He threw some compliments to Caleb (in response to a question about Caleb) and said having a veteran catcher is helpful.   I don’t think he said anything about throwing to a young catcher.   And as we discussed, he pitched very well when Sisco was behind the plate.   

The whole staff did well when Caleb was a rookie and the veteran Wieters was injured.    The Giants won a WS with the rookie Posey behind the plate.   

When Caleb was a rookie most of the pitching staff was a veteran pitching staff.

I heard Bundy say that young pitchers throwing to young catchers is a harder thing to do because both are trying to figure it out.  He said throwing to a veteran catcher gives the young pitchers more confidence in the pitches being thrown.

[wildcard]

18 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Yeah, the idea that our new analytics driven front office will make decisions based on input from fans at Fanfest wanting to bring back a popular veteran is pretty ridiculous.

I don't think that is true.  The decision on a right fielder right now is do they go with someone  who doesn't have the ability to play the position well vs signing a free agent to man the position.  That is about all the analysis that is involved.   Price of the FA will play a big role in the decision IMO.