Mason Williams has a chance to be an OD starter

[Frobby]

40 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

I know how most feel about Davis but I don’t see the point in keeping him all offseason and then ditching him before the season starts. They are going to judge him off spring training? 

Sometimes, you can tell.    He’s had two consecutive seasons of being far below replacement level and looking like a deer in the headlights at the plate.    So, if he looks like a deer in the headlights again this spring, I wouldn’t need to see him in regular season games to know that whatever he did this winter didn’t help.    I’d have no trouble releasing him based on that.    He has the burden of proof to show something has changed.   

[wildcard]

14 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

I see no point in keeping Davis unless he plays at least close to how much he played last year. 

This team at the absolute earliest will not be ready to win until 2022 and that is optimistic. I can’t see him lounging on the bench for years to come. My hope may be overly optimistic but it would be crazy to see him finish out the deal.  

Biggest benefit of playing him is he helps the Orioles lose. Worst thing now is if they think he is blocking someone worthwhile. If Nunez isn’t hitting early on that could help him. 

Pretty hard to think that Davis will out hit  Nunez for any length on time.

O's have a bunch of pitching at AAA,  some of which  will be probably be in the majors by 2021.   Rutschman, Hays, Mountcastle,  Mancini, Santander, Diaz, Nunez, Iglesias could all be on the 2021 team.   

Might be hard for that team to be at the bottom of the league in terms of wins in 2021.   

[eddie83]

7 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Sometimes, you can tell.    He’s had two consecutive seasons of being far below replacement level and looking like a deer in the headlights at the plate.    So, if he looks like a deer in the headlights again this spring, I wouldn’t need to see him in regular season games to know that whatever he did this winter didn’t help.    I’d have no trouble releasing him based on that.    He has the burden of proof to show something has changed.   

From what it sounds like he has not made any changes. 

I agree with what you are saying but they have seen how bad is he for 3 years now and yet he is still here. I just can’t see them keeping all off season and then letting him go in spring training. Certainly would not be upset if I am wrong. 

[bobmc]

10 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Pretty hard to think that Davis will out hit  Nunez for any length on time.

O's have a bunch of pitching at AAA,  some of which  will be probably be in the majors by 2021.   Rutschman, Hays, Mountcastle,  Mancini, Santander, Diaz, Nunez, Iglesias could all be on the 2021 team.   

Might be hard for that team to be at the bottom of the league in terms of wins in 2021.   

Are you drawing a line in the sand here?    I think that some random OH'er will count you the ways ....but not I!  I love the optimism as always, sir!  

[eddie83]

9 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Pretty hard to think that Davis will out hit  Nunez for any length on time.

O's have a bunch of pitching at AAA,  some of which  will be probably be in the majors by 2021.   Rutschman, Hays, Mountcastle,  Mancini, Santander, Diaz, Nunez, Iglesias could all be on the 2021 team.   

Might be hard for that team to be at the bottom of the league in terms of wins in 2021.   

Nunez is no lock to hit as decent as he did last year.  

It is pretty hard to think Davis will hit .200 and yet he is still here. All I am saying is if Nunez starts out poor that benefits Davis and his playing time.  

Next year this team is not a competitive team. They may win more and as you point out young players are coming. At some point Davis will go. 

[wildcard]

14 minutes ago, bobmc said:

Are you drawing a line in the sand here?    I think that some random OH'er will count you the ways ....but not I!  I love the optimism as always, sir!  

Saying that the 2021 O's team is likely better than the 2020 team does not seem like a stretch to me.

[wildcard]

13 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

Nunez is no lock to hit as decent as he did last year.  

It is pretty hard to think Davis will hit .200 and yet he is still here. All I am saying is if Nunez starts out poor that benefits Davis and his playing time.  

Next year this team is not a competitive team. They may win more and as you point out young players are coming. At some point Davis will go. 

If Davis is a bench player I could see him spending all of 2020 on the team no matter how he hits.  He can be a defensive backup for Mountcastle at 1B.    Its really all about the contract in 2020.

When Diaz is ready for the majors that moves Mancini out of the starting OF job.   That is when it get hard to keep Davis on the roster.

[DirtyBird]

I think you give Mullins one more shot in the majors to start the season. If he doesn’t look like a major league player, get him off the 40 man

[Aristotelian]

If you consider .000001% to be a chance. His value as a starter is CF and Hays is the opening day CF regardless of what happens to Davis and many other variables. His best chance is an injury to Hays. 

[wildcard]

7 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

I think you give Mullins one more shot in the majors to start the season. If he doesn’t look like a major league player, get him off the 40 man

IMO its a little early for that.  He needs to re-establish himself at AAA and push he way to the majors.  He is only 25 and has two more options.   He has time this season.

[interloper]

I've been saying it for awhile now, I think they could use one more OF guy to throw into the mix with Stewart sidelined, Mullins needing to prove too much, and Diaz/McKenna not quite ready. Preferably someone who can play CF in a pinch. I will not be surprised if we grab a guy on waivers or sign a MiL free agent as camp starts. 

[mdbdotcom]

39 minutes ago, wildcard said:

If Davis is a bench player I could see him spending all of 2020 on the team no matter how he hits.  He can be a defensive backup for Mountcastle at 1B.    Its really all about the contract in 2020.

When Diaz is ready for the majors that moves Mancini out of the starting OF job.   That is when it get hard to keep Davis on the roster.

The Chris Davis Show will be back on the air in just a few weeks and we'll be able to see exactly how little of the advice he was given by Hyde and Elias he actually put into action. P&C report next Tuesday, so I expect he'll be making his first stop at the gym tomorrow sometime. 

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

Saying that the 2021 O's team is likely better than the 2020 team does not seem like a stretch to me.

I’ll let you know what I think about that at the end of 2020.     In the ideal world:

- Hays has stayed healthy and has proven he can be the everyday CF.

- Mountcastle has played most of the season in the majors, put up good offensive numbers and finds a spot where he plays respectable defense.   

- Diaz has progressed through AAA and either has debuted or looks ready to debut in the majors.

- Akin has spent much of the year in the rotation and performed respectably.   

- Means and Cobb are healthy and productive.   

- Kremer, Zimmermann, Lowther, Wells and Baumann have had good seasons at Norfolk and either have debuted or look ready to do so.

- We get some contributions from some of the pitchers we picked up this winter.   

- Some of the bullpen guys come through with better seasons.   

- Hall and/or Rodriguez have big years and look like they could be ready sometime in 2021 if needed.

- Rutschman progresses as hoped and looks ready to contribute in 2021.

Once I see how those things go in 2020, I’ll have an opinion on whether I expect the team to be significantly better in 2021.    

[interloper]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

Saying that the 2021 O's team is likely better than the 2020 team does not seem like a stretch to me.

I would agree. I think if the 2021 team is somehow worse, it will be fairly shocking. At least to me. There's just too many talented players projected to contribute this year that didn't last year (mostly): Hays, Mountcastle, Cobb assuming healthy, Iglesias, Akin, Harvey, and potentially others. Not to mention returning offensive talent of Mancini and Santander.

Sure, some guys could step back - Alberto and Severino come to mind, maybe Means - but I just think it's a more complete team overall. Pitching will be better overall. 

[Aristotelian]

24 minutes ago, interloper said:

I would agree. I think if the 2021 team is somehow worse, it will be fairly shocking. At least to me. There's just too many talented players projected to contribute this year that didn't last year (mostly): Hays, Mountcastle, Cobb assuming healthy, Iglesias, Akin, Harvey, and potentially others. Not to mention returning offensive talent of Mancini and Santander.

Sure, some guys could step back - Alberto and Severino come to mind, maybe Means - but I just think it's a more complete team overall. Pitching will be better overall. 

+1, nowhere to go but up. Not all of the scenarios on Frobby's list have to pan out for the team to be improved by 2021. If the rebuild takes longer than that to show improvement something is seriously wrong.