The O's should go for it

[wildcard]

The playoffs.

Yes, sure,  trade Givens.   But even doing that the O's have a decent chance at making the playoffs.

If the reports are true I think its more important to play into October than to give Cobb away.  They can try to trade him this winter. Its worth his $2m in salary to keep him for the rest of the season.   Here is what MLBTR has to say about trading Cobb:

Quote

28. Alex Cobb, SP, Orioles: Cobb hasn’t lived up to the four-year, $57MM deal he signed prior to the 2018 season, due largely to injuries. He underwent hip surgery in 2019 but looks healthy now, with a 3.73 ERA, 22-to-10 K/BB ratio and 58 percent grounder rate in 31 1/3 innings. There’s no way the O’s can move him without paying down the majority of his contract or swapping it out for another bad deal, though.

I don't see the point trading Cobb now If he O's have to pay some one to take him.   He may be able to keep the O's in the playoff race.

The O's are about to improve their offense and defense by getting Iglesias and Severino back.  With the addition of Mountcastle they could be better than when they went on the 7-1 run vs the Nationals and Phillies.

I think Means is going to have a good September.  Cobb,  Milone is doing surprisingly well. Eshelman is pitching well.    That leaves the 5th starter spot for Wojo, Akin or Kremer.   The starting pitching could come together.  And even without Givens I think the O's have enough relief pitching to win the 8th spot in the playoffs.   Playing into October could  be big for the young O's players.

I say go for it O's. 

 

[Aristotelian]

What does "go for it" mean? Should they trade Steve Finley, Curt Schilling, and Pete Harnisch for a bat? 

[Frobby]

The O’s should do whatever is best for the long run good of the team.    If Elias judges that a Cobb salary dump helps the team in the long run, fine.   If he judges that Cobb is valuable enough to the team where he shouldn’t be traded unless we get some plausible prospects in return (even if we eat some salary), also fine.    I trust Elias to make those judgments.    But our current spot in the standings shouldn’t influence his judgement one iota.    We are trying to build a team that can be a true contender for a long period of time, not some team that can squeak into a 16-team playoff in a 60-game season.   

And yes, I’ll be rooting for the O’s to win every day, hoping they make the playoffs and then praying for a miracle if they get there.   But Elias shouldn’t worry at all about that.  
 

[Moose Milligan]

IMO, the worst thing is being outside of the playoffs but not picking in the top 5.  Either you're contending or you're reloading, anything else in between is a waste.

[jarman86]

I'm with Frobby.  The Orioles may have a better chance of winning the world Series than I do of winning the mega million jackpot, but not by much.  I would love to see them in the playoffs, even if it is due to expanded playoffs and 60 game season, but I think we need to do what is best for the team in the long run.

[murph]

1 minute ago, Moose Milligan said:

IMO, the worst thing is being outside of the playoffs but not picking in the top 5.  Either you're contending or you're reloading, anything else in between is a waste.

And that is why I think we may see a few trades in the next few days.  Get whatever he can get to help the rebuild and keep us falling back to the cellar.   And I am ok with that.  And I will also be rooting for them to win every night.   Just glad to watch some baseball at all this year.

[Sports Guy]

Go for what?  The 8th seed?  What good does that do?

As for Cobb, I think you have to eat salary to move him.  That’s a given.  However, whether you trade him or not should be dictated on the return.  I don’t care about the saved money (ownership probably does though) but I do care about the return.  I’m not trading Cobb to save a few million and end up with 2 25 y/o AA prospects going nowhere.  That doesn’t make sense to me.

But if you can get a top 10ish prospect from a solid organization, I’m good with that.

For example, say someone was willing to deal an arm like Baumann or Zimmerman or guys like that.  I would be good with that.

[ChosenOne21]

Yeah, I wouldn't trade people just to trade them. If someone will eat a considerable amount of Cobb's salary, I think you have to move him. If someone will offer a prospect we like a great deal for one of our guys who won't be part of the next big team, I think you move them. Otherwise, let the chips fall where they may

[Sports Guy]

Btw, as I mentioned before, I am all for them trading for a guy like Clevinger, depending on what it would take to get him.

That obviously helps this year but it’s also a long term gain for the organization as well.

[eddie83]

21 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

IMO, the worst thing is being outside of the playoffs but not picking in the top 5.  Either you're contending or you're reloading, anything else in between is a waste.

In general I agree with this. That said if you are in this position because younger players are producing that makes it a little different. 

Still don’t know how draft will work. I assume they wanted to make sure they got thru the season first. That said I can’t see them just going in reverse order off a 60 game season. Have to see. 

[eddie83]

Being the 8th seed is not complicated. It’s all about the Blue Jays. Have to beat them out. Rest will take care of itself. After 2 more games in Tampa play them 4 times. 

[Mr. Chewbacca Jr.]

16 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Go for what?  The 8th seed?  What good does that do?

As for Cobb, I think you have to eat salary to move him.  That’s a given.  However, whether you trade him or not should be dictated on the return.  I don’t care about the saved money (ownership probably does though) but I do care about the return.  I’m not trading Cobb to save a few million and end up with 2 25 y/o AA prospects going nowhere.  That doesn’t make sense to me.

But if you can get a top 10ish prospect from a solid organization, I’m good with that.

For example, say someone was willing to deal an arm like Baumann or Zimmerman or guys like that.  I would be good with that.

I'm not sure you'd get a top 10ish prospect for Cobb, even if you eat a lot of money.

At the 2019 Deadline, the Mariners traded Mike Lake and cash to the Diamondbacks for Jose Caballero, who was outside their Top 10. The Astros acquired Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagini for Derek Fisher - who is basically a failed prospect. The A's got Tanner Roark from the Reds for Jameson Hannah - who was the A's 8th best prospect at the time, but is now the Reds' 17th best prospect - that might have more to do with the state of each team's farm system.

Cobb is pitching well at the moment - but I think he's compatible in value to those guys due to his age, injury history, and inconsistency over the past three years.

[Camden_yardbird]

Accumulate the most long term assets, whatever form that takes in whatever state of competitiveness that is.  Thinking you can compete and failing though is what leads to trading Fernando Tatis for James Shields, or Glasnow/ Meadows and Baz for Chris Archer.

[Sports Guy]

4 minutes ago, Mr. Chewbacca Jr. said:

I'm not sure you'd get a top 10ish prospect for Cobb, even if you eat a lot of money.

At the 2019 Deadline, the Mariners traded Mike Lake and cash to the Diamondbacks for Jose Caballero, who was outside their Top 10. The Astros acquired Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagini for Derek Fisher - who is basically a failed prospect. The A's got Tanner Roark from the Reds for Jameson Hannah - who was the A's 8th best prospect at the time, but is now the Reds' 17th best prospect - that might have more to do with the state of each team's farm system.

Cobb is pitching well at the moment - but I think he's compatible in value to those guys due to his age, injury history, and inconsistency over the past three years.

I don’t disagree with you.  It’s hard for me to believe you can trade Cobb for anything of real value.  The only thing you gain by trading him will likely be some saved cash.

 

[wildcard]

I think the decision on trading Cobb is do the O's trade him in the next few days or do they trade him over the winter.   If they have to  eat salary either way then trade him over the winter.  The reason to trade him now is if they can get a decent prospect in return.     If they can't just wait and see what he can do to help the O's make the playoffs.