Tracking Ex Oriole Thread

[Frobby]

Nick has been on a pretty decent surge since the all star break, hitting .299/.329/.463 since then, and homering twice. Overall he's at .294/.373/.372.

[Aglets]

Nick has been on a pretty decent surge since the all star break, hitting .299/.329/.463 since then, and homering twice. Overall he's at .294/.373/.372.

Wonder if the Braves would sell.

[Frobby]

Nick went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI last night. He has a 14-game hitting streak going and is up to .299 BA.

[weams]

Not a cheapie, either. 412 feet to dead center.

Markakis has really been everything Atlanta has wanted.

[Number5]

Markakis has really been everything Atlanta has wanted.

It is 2015. Way to early for this declaration, don't you think? I am pretty sure that the Orioles' decision to let Nick go to Atlanta was not about 2015.

[Frobby]

It is 2015. Way to early for this declaration, don't you think? I am pretty sure that the Orioles' decision to let Nick go to Atlanta was not about 2015.

I think it partially was about 2015, specifically, how well would he recover from his neck surgery. They were negotiating a four-year deal until that issue came along. I think if the O's had known he'd be healthy in 2015, they'd have taken the risk on a four-year deal. But they didn't know that.

[Number5]

I think it partially was about 2015, specifically, how well would he recover from his neck surgery. They were negotiating a four-year deal until that issue came along. I think if the O's had known he'd be healthy in 2015, they'd have taken the risk on a four-year deal. But they didn't know that.

Disagree. The Orioles made him an offer. It was not about 2015.

[ArtVanDelay]

Adam Loewen is returning to the majors with Philadelphia.

The Phillies have selected the contract of lefty Adam Loewen, a noteworthy story since Loewen’s first appearance with the Phillies will mark the third time in nine years that he’s debuted with a new big-league team, and his last opportunity came as a hitter, not as a pitcher.

The Orioles made Loewen the fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft as a pitcher, ahead of future stars like Zack Greinke, Cole Hamels and Prince Fielder. He quickly climbed through the minors despite control problems, joining the Orioles’ rotation in 2006, when he was 22.

Two years later, though, elbow injuries necessitated a career change, and Loewen announced that he would instead become an outfielder and first baseman instead. “That was a crazy decision,” says Loewen, via Baseball America’s Alexis Brudnicki. “I don’t know where I came up with the (guts) to do that.”

The Orioles allowed Loewen to depart via free agency after the 2008 season, and the Canadian-born player signed on with the Blue Jays. He had several modestly productive offensive seasons in the Jays and Mets systems and currently boasts a .262/.355/.429 minor league line, and he returned to the big leagues as a hitter in 2011, but only briefly.

After becoming a free agent following the 2013 season, Loewen played in the Venezuelan Winter League. There, he discovered that his arm no longer hurt when he tried to pitch, as CSNPhilly.com’s John Finger wrote last year. “I had five years to rest my arm from the injury that ended my pitching career at the time,” Loewen explained.

The Phillies heard that Loewen was working out as a pitcher, and they signed him after a tryout in Arizona. Loewen spent most of last season in the rotation at Double-A Reading, where he battled control problems (4.6 BB/9) but was effective overall. Then he took a big step forward in the high minors in 2015, still walking plenty of batters but increasing his strikeout rate to a robust 11.3 K/9 and posting a 2.01 ERA in 58 1/3 innings.

That’s earned him a spot on the big-league roster with the rebuilding Phillies, and he’s hoping to make the most of it, as CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury writes. “I’ve been really blessed to have a third opportunity,” Loewen says. “I feel lucky to be here.”

Loewen is 31, but he only has two-plus years of service time under his belt, so the Phillies could conceivably control him for several more years if the experiment goes well. If the Phillies do retain him, he’ll likely be eligible for arbitration after the season.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/08/adam-loewen-returns-to-majors-with-phillies.html

[Can_of_corn]

Disagree. The Orioles made him an offer. It was not about 2015.

There is no way that the repercussions from neck surgery could linger past 2015.

That's crazy talk.

[Number5]

There is no way that the repercussions from neck surgery could linger past 2015.

That's crazy talk.

I said nothing of the kind. I said that the Orioles' decision to let Nick go to the Braves was not based on 2015. Read the posts.

[Can_of_corn]

I said nothing of the kind. I said that the Orioles' decision to let Nick go to the Braves was not based on 2015. Read the posts.

Borrow a sense of humour.

[Number5]

Borrow a sense of humour.

??????

[Can_of_corn]

??????

Frobby said that the neck worried the O's for 2015.

You refuted his claim.

I made a sarcastic comment about neck surgery in support of your point.

Since, obviously, something like neck surgery could impact the rest of his career, and Markakis having neck surgery would certainly influence how the O's viewed a long term deal.

[Can_of_corn]

And I spelled humor with a U because sometimes it amuses me to do so.

[OFFNY]

And I spelled humor with a "U" because sometimes it amuses me to do so.