Jose Iglesias traded to Angels.

[Moose Milligan]

Just now, wildcard said:

Yes, you are that guy.

You deserves a good shot.   Enough playing time to determine how good or bad he is.

Thank you, wildcard.  Yes, I do believe I deserve a good shot but for some reason the Orioles haven't called me yet.  I'm flummoxed as to why they don't want a 39 year old who hasn't pitched since high school but I feel I can do menial tasks like keeping the bat rack in order and the clubhouse tidy, too.

[wildcard]

10 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I think this is the real key. The Orioles need to find playing time for Stewart and Mullins to see what they have in them. If Mancini is able to go next year, that pushes Mountcastle back to LF with Hays in CF and Santander in RF. That leaves Stewart DHing and Mullins as the 4th outfielder. Diaz should start the year in AAA and if playing time arises through injury or poor performance, as long as he's playing ok, he should be the next up for a shot. 

I don't see Stewart like that.   I think he is not has good an outfielder as the others.  And not as good a hitter at DH as Mancini and Mountcastle.   Therefore I think Stewart is on the shuttle waiting for an injury.    If Mancini has a good 1st half he may be traded mid season which will give Stewart a chance to show what he can do.

Stewart may see some at bats before Diaz is promoted.  But if he does he probably is the guy to go to Norfolk.

I think Hyde likes Mullins in center at least against right-hander pitching.

[jerios55]

17 hours ago, owknows said:

I'm gonna guess it's because Stallings is old enough to shave

 

15 hours ago, Roll Tide said:

Well he’s 19 from the Dominican Republic so info will be limited. What he has done is pitched about 12 innings in DSL rookie ball. He gave up 12 hits , 3 walks , and struck out 19. His era was 2.25.... they used him as a starter where he pitched 4 innings per start. His GB rate is 55% .

If he's 19 and not shaving, I am convinced he will never be a productive major leaguer.  Haha

[Sports Guy]

I don’t see why Mullins deserves significant at bats.  Maybe if guys are hurt or underperforming but the plan going into 2021 shouldn’t be that he gets real playing time.

By the AS break, I am hoping that this is what we see an OF if Diaz, Hays and Santander and an IF/DH situation that has Adley, Mountcastle and Mancini playing everyday. 
 

Combine that with more guys up for the Pitching staff and things really start to get exciting imo.

[Moose Milligan]

3 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I don't see Stewart like that.   I think he is not has good an outfielder as the others.  And not as good a hitter at DH as Mancini and Mountcastle.   Therefore I think Stewart is on the shuttle waiting for an injury.    If Mancini has a good 1st half he may be traded mid season which will give Stewart a chance to show what he can do.

Stewart may see some at bats before Diaz is promoted.  But if he does he probably is the guy to go to Norfolk.

I think Hyde likes Mullins in center at least against right-hander pitching.

The one thing that keeps me from writing Stewart off is the separation between his batting average and on base percentage.  I don't want to see him in the outfield, he turns flyballs into adventures.  That said, I agree he's on the outside looking in.  The only thing that keeps him in the picture is the OBP for a lineup that lacks it.

I'm fine with Mullins in CF as a 4th outfielder until Hays suffers his inevitable injury.

[Sports Guy]

3 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

The one thing that keeps me from writing Stewart off is the separation between his batting average and on base percentage.  I don't want to see him in the outfield, he turns flyballs into adventures.  That said, I agree he's on the outside looking in.  The only thing that keeps him in the picture is the OBP for a lineup that lacks it.

I'm fine with Mullins in CF as a 4th outfielder until Hays suffers his inevitable injury.

Stewart should easily get 300-400 at bats this year..again, assuming he is healthy.

Of course, he likely won’t be..just as several other guys likely won’t be either.

[Roll Tide]

49 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

You said Diaz should return to AA because he hasn't earned a promotion to the next level.  Would you have promoted Mancini to the majors based on a .775 OPS in his one full AAA season?

Diaz did not play a competitive game in 2020! The two situations are not comparable! if Mancini had missed the prior season I'd want him to start him at AAA.

 

39 minutes ago, Frobby said:

You are looking at 2016, not 2017. Trey had a brief call up in September 2016.   He spent all of 2017 in the majors.    

This whole argument is kind of a waste of time.    Let’s see how Diaz does at Norfolk.   Let’s see how our other players are doing, both in Baltimore and Norfolk.   I can envision scenarios where Diaz is in Baltimore by May, and others where he’s in Norfolk all year.   
 

I posted the graph above from Baseball reference.

Also the other difference was the Orioles were trying to contend in 2017. Elias has either traded, DFAd, or Nontendered 3 of his best players and is clearly raising the white flag. I see no reason to start a clock that doesnt need to be. So its really not a waste of time. If they start him at AAA so be it.

[Sports Guy]

7 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

Diaz did not play a competitive game in 2020! The two situations are not comparable! if Mancini had missed the prior season I'd want him to start him at AAA.

 

I posted the graph above from Baseball reference.

Also the other difference was the Orioles were trying to contend in 2017. Elias has either traded, DFAd, or Nontendered 3 of his best players and is clearly raising the white flag. I see no reason to start a clock that doesnt need to be. So its really not a waste of time. If they start him at AAA so be it.

You are missing the point of RZs question.

You stated that Diaz should have at least an 850 OPs before he is brought up.  Mancini had a far lower OPS than that and was also on a bad team. 
 

So, do you think it was a bad move to bring up Mancini when they did?  It’s a simple question based on the backdrop you have provided with your personal reasoning on when someone should be brought up.

Based on what you have said, the answer should be a resounding no?

[Tony-OH]

27 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I don't see Stewart like that.   I think he is not has good an outfielder as the others.  And not as good a hitter at DH as Mancini and Mountcastle.   Therefore I think Stewart is on the shuttle waiting for an injury.    If Mancini has a good 1st half he may be traded mid season which will give Stewart a chance to show what he can do.

Stewart may see some at bats before Diaz is promoted.  But if he does he probably is the guy to go to Norfolk.

I think Hyde likes Mullins in center at least against right-hander pitching.

Only Santander and Mountcastle had a better wOBA than Stewart so I think Elias will want to see how much value he can get out of Stewart before cutting him lose so I think 2021 is the year we see a lot of Stewart at DH and occasional outfield. Saying that, Stewart did almost all of his damage over a nine game span so it's still up for grabs whether he can be effective at the major league level over an extended period of time.

Saying that, I could see Diaz taking his spot if he struggles for a decent period of time to start the year, but I don't see Diaz winning a spot on opening day over Stewart, mainly because I think Elias would like to see Diaz put some numbers up at AAA while developing a better plan of attack against pitchers.

[Tony-OH]

27 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I don’t see why Mullins deserves significant at bats.  Maybe if guys are hurt or underperforming but the plan going into 2021 shouldn’t be that he gets real playing time.

By the AS break, I am hoping that this is what we see an OF if Diaz, Hays and Santander and an IF/DH situation that has Adley, Mountcastle and Mancini playing everyday. 
 

Combine that with more guys up for the Pitching staff and things really start to get exciting imo.

I think this is best scenario for the team if all of the players were ready and productive. Outside of Mancini, these are the guys the Orioles hope are part of a winning future. Mullins is best fit for as a 4th outfielder against right-handed pitching and Stewart is a DH who will need to really produce with the bat to have value.

[Tony-OH]

As for Diaz, I really think his major league equation is quite simple. When there is everyday playing time available in the corner outfield or DH spot at the major league level and Diaz is playing effectively in AAA, he's going to get the call. I don't think there is any magic OPS number he must meet to get promoted. Now if he's killing it in AAA and a guy is under performing, then I can see him forcing his way up. 

[Roll Tide]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

I’m trying to figure out your argument here And I’m having trouble with it because you seem to be bouncing around from idea to idea, even within the same post.

If Diaz and Rutschman perform well at the high levels of the minors and are healthy, would you still keep them down in 2021?  If so, when would you actually bring them up? 

So neither has performed at an advanced level that screams I'm ready! Neither has played a single competitive game in 2020. For those reasons alone they wouldn't be called up to play for the 100 game loser Elias is assembling. No sense to start the clock. I think I've been pretty consistent that I want them to have a full season of high performance. As I have stated , I'd start Diaz at AA and AR at Frederick or whatever location our A+ team exists in 2021. I'd give them 250 ABs at the 1st level if they excel I'd move them 1 level up and if they excel I'd bring them up for a taste when the roster expands. Diaz probably plays on the team in 2022 and depending on how he does AR can start at AAA to preserve another season unless we appear to be contenders

[Sports Guy]

3 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I think this is best scenario for the team if all of the players were ready and productive. Outside of Mancini, these are the guys the Orioles hope are part of a winning future. Mullins is best fit for as a 4th outfielder against right-handed pitching and Stewart is a DH who will need to really produce with the bat to have value.

Do you have a preference on who is the DH and who plays first?

I kind of want the younger player to be in the field.  Figure it may help with his focus.  Not as concerned about that with Mancini.

[Sports Guy]

1 minute ago, Roll Tide said:

So neither has performed at an advanced level that screams I'm ready! Neither has played a single competitive game in 2020. For those reasons alone they wouldn't be called up to play for the 100 game loser Elias is assembling. No sense to start the clock. I think I've been pretty consistent that I want them to have a full season of high performance. As I have stated , I'd start Diaz at AA and AR at Frederick or whatever location our A+ team exists in 2021. I'd give them 250 ABs at the 1st level if they excel I'd move them 1 level up and if they excel I'd bring them up for a taste when the roster expands. Diaz probably plays on the team in 2022 and depending on how he does AR can start at AAA to preserve another season unless we appear to be contenders

Ok..but again, the idea that they haven’t performed means nothing to this conversation.  So please, stop mentioning it. 
 

The question is, IF THEY PERFORM WELL and stay healthy in the upper levels of the 2021 season, would you still keep them in the minors?  

[Tony-OH]

24 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Do you have a preference on who is the DH and who plays first?

I kind of want the younger player to be in the field.  Figure it may help with his focus.  Not as concerned about that with Mancini.

I'd rather see Stewart at DH while the outfield starts off with Mountcastle, Hays and Santander. Mancini for me is the 1B if he's healthy.

The best defensive outfielder the Orioles can put out there is Hays in LF, Mullins in CF, and Santander in RF. If Mancini is not ready, Id go with that with Mountcastle moving to 1B and Stewart still at DH.