Wells and Sceroler have made the Opening Day roster

[MurphDogg]

 

[now]

Great news. Always happy to pull for the Rule 5 guys (underdogs).

[interloper]

So someone is getting optioned - Lakins is out of options right? I'm guessing Tate, but it should probably be Sulser.

[SteveA]

So we know the 5 starters.

If they go with a 9 man bullpen, we know (all these barring any new acquisition that bumps someone):

Sceroler is on the team
Wells is on the team
LeBlanc is on the team (signed to a major league contract when we brought him back)
Plutko is on the team (traded for knowing he was out of options)

I think it is very safe to say:

Scott is on the team
Armstrong is on the team

I think it is pretty safe to say:

Fry is on the team

That is 7 relievers.   Choose the final 2 (if we go with 14 pitchers) from:

Sulser
Lakins
Tate
Valdez

 

[interloper]

Just now, SteveA said:

So we know the 5 starters.

If they go with a 9 man bullpen, we know (all these barring any new acquisition that bumps someone):

Sceroler is on the team
Wells is on the team
LeBlanc is on the team (signed to a major league contract when we brought him back)
Plutko is on the team (traded for knowing he was out of options)

I think it is very safe to say:

Scott is on the team
Armstrong is on the team

I think it is pretty safe to say:

Fry is on the team

That is 7 relievers.   Choose the final 2 (if we go with 14 pitchers) from:

Sulser
Lakins
Tate
Valdez

 

Valdez should definitely be in the first group, he's a stone cold lock to make the bullpen. Can go multiple innings, rubber arm, just what Elias wants right now.

Tate or Sulser for me, the two 1-inning guys, though both have gone 2 IPs a bunch in the past.

[MurphDogg]

3 minutes ago, interloper said:

So someone is getting optioned - Lakins is out of options right? I'm guessing Tate, but it should probably be Sulser.

Lakins is not out of options, per Roster Resource. Valdez, Armstrong and Lopez are the only pitchers out of options (and Harvey has enough service time that he cannot be optioned without permission).

[Sports Guy]

Lol

[MurphDogg]

2 minutes ago, interloper said:

Valdez should definitely be in the first group, he's a stone cold lock to make the bullpen. Can go multiple innings, rubber arm, just what Elias wants right now.

Tate or Sulser for me, the two 1-inning guys, though both have gone 2 IPs a bunch in the past.

I agree. It comes down to one of Tate, Sulser or Lakins. 

I would prefer Tate, but wouldn't get worked up about any of the three choices.

[interloper]

2 minutes ago, MurphDogg said:

Lakins is not out of options, per Roster Resource. Valdez, Armstrong and Lopez are the only pitchers out of options (and Harvey has enough service time that he cannot be optioned without permission).

Thanks - yeah I still think the whole plan here is load up on bulk innings. Clearly something Elias is super concerned about otherwise Sceroler doesn't make this team IMO. Therefore, gotta be Tate or Sulser. Lakins can give you innings. 

EDIT: Just saw your reply saying the same thing haha

[MurphDogg]

4 minutes ago, interloper said:

Thanks - yeah I still think the whole plan here is load up on bulk innings. Clearly something Elias is super concerned about otherwise Sceroler doesn't make this team IMO. Therefore, gotta be Tate or Sulser. Lakins can give you innings. 

You are miscounting, only one of Lakins, Tate and Sulser can make the roster if all other assumptions are correct.

FWIW, Tate actually faced more batters per appearance than Lakins in 2020 (5.33 vs. 5.27). Sulser faced 5.26 batters per appearance, so not any real separation between the three in that category.

[Sports Guy]

Tate is another one who should be here.  No way Lakins or Sulser should be kept over him.

I have my doubts about Tate being much more than a dime a dozen guy but I want to see him for an extended look to find out.

[interloper]

7 minutes ago, MurphDogg said:

You are miscounting, only one of Lakins, Tate and Sulser can make the roster if all other assumptions are correct.

You're right - 9 relievers:

1. Scott
2. Armstrong
3. Valdez
4. Fry
5. Wells
6. Sceroler
7. LeBlanc
8. Plutko
9. Lakins/Tate/Sulser

Basically 6 long relievers, lol. In light of that, could definitely see Tate over Lakins unless they are just really going for innings overkill here (to me, Plutko and LeBlanc sort of solve that issue).

[Aristotelian]

Nice. My takeaway is that Elias is more about holding onto potential talent that could pan out long term even if that means some bruised egos in the short term (Akin, Yolmer). He is not going to rush to promote anyone (Rutschman, Diaz, Baumann, Lowther) if that would force the organization to lose a player. If you have options you better play your way onto the team (Zimmerman) and show the organization that MLB is the next step in your development. 

King Felix, Yolmer, and Akin show that he is not locked into Plan A with an "I like our guys" (even if they suck) mentality. 

[JimGinSP]

There could always be a chance that Plutko is placed on waivers in order to get him to Bowie.  Elias talked of Plutko providing length but he didn’t have long outings in the Cleveland camp.  Would be a bad look if he got claimed since we owe Cleveland $$ for Plutko.

[MurphDogg]

14 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Tate is another one who should be here.  No way Lakins or Sulser should be kept over him.

I have my doubts about Tate being much more than a dime a dozen guy but I want to see him for an extended look to find out.

I wouldn't get too worked up about which one of those three is on the Opening Day roster with the other two 25 miles away in Bowie. They can shuffle through all three and essentially have an 11-man pen if they want.

I agree that Tate has the best chance of the three (albeit still not a great chance) to be part of the next good Orioles team.