Per the Sun, O's looking at Izturis

[Just Regular]

I could live with Izturis at shortstop for now. It'd be real special if we could pull off Grant Green in the upcoming draft...

I am curious if this contingency is factoring in at all. Even if the probability of Green being there in May is ~5%, you can explore alternatives after the draft if Green doesn't fall.

I'd hate to expend ammo in either cash or young talent now, have a couple arms rocket up the boards once the NCAA season starts, or Green struggle a bit and go from a consensus #2 to a Boras guy who's "only" a top tier talent, then he's there, and we've got Wood or Hardy, but not Arrieta or Roberts anymore.

I think I see Green as the SS mostly likely to push us towards being a championship caliber club if enough other things break right.

Izturis on a 1 year deal does at least keep all the powder dry for two months of a throwaway 2009, and when Green doesn't fall, then you shift to contenders looking to buy. I would guess on June 1, Wood's slugging in the PCL, Sherrill's got a dozen more saves, and who knows what life after K-Rod might look like for Anaheim.

[El Gordo]

I think MacPhail has to be able to find a better option vs Izturis... settling for that is just being lazy.

Yes, he is a very solid defensive player... and yes as a guy turning 29, he still has some years left... but you know he is not a long-term answer...

I want to see us obtain a player who at least has the potential to be an answer for several years.

A guy that has a 630 career OPS in 3200 Major League at-bats, is not that guy..

Re Olson for Greene... I am glad the O's did not make that trade.. the O's can obtain a potential long-term answer, without giving away a former supplemental 1st round pick... that had success at AA, and AAA and gained valuable experience in 2008...

Why is it so hard to understand that a trade for a long term option at SS is going to cost serious SP. If you want Hardy, IMO the best available SS trade option, he will cost to ML ready SP. We can't afford to give that up at this time. Maybe in a year or two we will have a surplus and such a trade would be possible, but not now. I would trade DCab for Arias if Texas was interested, but other wise I'd rather have a good D stop gap like Izturis over trading any SP prospects. Clearly this is AM's position as well.

[Mike B]

And what do you do with Olson? We've got guys to take his spot in the rotation. We don't have a SS that can hit 20-25 HR and play good defense.

And be a one year rental and hit .220 with 130 or more K's. Greene is far over rated by many on this board.

[Lt Melmo]

And be a one year rental and hit .220 with 130 or more K's. Greene is far over rated by many on this board.

Or he's just underrated by you.

.802 career OPS away from PETCO with great defense. He isn't worth Olson but he is worth getting.

[Satyr3206]

Take a look at the Rays to understand how important infield defense is. You allow less runs, less pressure on young pitchers. Izturis makes a lot of sense to me.

[Rolotomassie]

Count me in the "this is crap" camp. I've seen enough of Olsen. What I see is a guy who barely breaks 89 mph and has questionable control of his pitches and emotions. I have trouble believing this report is accurate; if it is, it's a terrible decision by MacPhail.

[Rolotomassie]

Furthermore, those of you comparing Olson to Maine - there is no comparison. Maine is bigger, threw harder and was known for good control. The team inexplicably soured on him BEFORE he even got 10 MLB starts. We've now seen Olson for 33.

[Satyr3206]

You don't trade young pitching for 1 year rentals, that's just common sense.

[Bloopandablast]

Or he's just underrated by you.

.802 career OPS away from PETCO with great defense. He isn't worth Olson but he is worth getting.

Actually an 802 OPS SS, with good D is more than worth Olson. What brings Greene's value down some is that he is a big dollar rental who has some downside risk.

If it was as simple as plugging in a 802 OPS SS I would do that deal in a heartbeat.

[Bloopandablast]

It is so hard to understand, because it is not true....

Hu is a much better option vs Izturis... significantly younger, cheaper, more likely to produce with the bat... perhaps the 3rd option in LA, if the Dodgers resign Furcal as they are attempting.

SG makes the point that the Dodgers might want something ML ready for him... my guess is that they want the best talent they can receive... The O's can afford to give up Erbe for him...

We have the pitching depth to sustain that loss... especially for an everyday position player that has the potential to be an everyday player.

If you obtain an Izturis, the O's should see if they can get either Nelson (Colorado) or Lillibridge (Atlanta)..... both had horrible 2008 seasons, but both showed good promise prior to that... if their value is at a low, you would think their organizations would keep them... but perhaps Colorado and Atlanta are just ready to dump them for nearly any return.

Do you mean cheaper in payroll then I agree. Do you mean cheaper in terms of prospects then I am inclined to disagree. Izturis costs you no young arms. Greene costs you a mid-level arm (C+ or B-) at best.

[bigbird]

Olson has excelled at every level. There is always an adjustment period and most likely the move from AAA to MLB will take a little longer. I think Olson will be ok.

[NewMarketSean]

A lot of our problems would have been solved if we could have somehow milked TB for Zobrist in the Bradford deal. I know Zobrist is not great, but he's a better option than anyone else on the FA market. I know Bradford was a salary dump, but it would have been nice to see the O's pay most or all of Bradford's 2009 salary in return for something more than a PTBNL. Look at it this way, would you have paid Bradford's salary in 2008 for a few years of a decent MLB SS who makes close to, if not, the minimum?

I would.

[wickedwitch]

If we're going to go with a defense only guy, why not go with Blake Davis?

I'd really like to get Hu, but it depends on what the Dodgers want back.

[Frobby]

I don't think MacPhail and Trembley could make it any clearer than they already have: when it comes to SS, defense is priority no. 1, 2 and 3. If they can get some offense, great, but what they want is above average defense at SS. Let's just accept that as a given, and move on.

So now I pose the question: how good is Izturis' defense? The answer seems to be, pretty darn good. In the Fielding Bible awards, Itzuris finished 7th, and got a top 10 vote from 7 of the 10 voters. On the +/- system, Itzuris finished fourth, at +19. He finished 2nd in RZR, and 3rd in OOZ. Baseball Prospectus gave him a Rate/Rate2 of 105/107.

So while I am not wild about the idea of Izturis, at least I feel like that move would accomplish a key objective of MacPhail and Trembley, which failed miserably last year.

[Mackus]

SG makes the point that the Dodgers might want something ML ready for him... my guess is that they want the best talent they can receive... The O's can afford to give up Erbe for him...

We have the pitching depth to sustain that loss... especially for an everyday position player that has the potential to be an everyday player.

If you obtain an Izturis, the O's should see if they can get either Nelson (Colorado) or Lillibridge (Atlanta)..... both had horrible 2008 seasons, but both showed good promise prior to that... if their value is at a low, you would think their organizations would keep them... but perhaps Colorado and Atlanta are just ready to dump them for nearly any return.

I like the idea of signing a FA stopgap and trading for someone who is a bit further away.

I also like the idea of getting Hu, but not at the cost of Erbe. Maybe someone a bit lower down, but definitely nobody in the top 10 and maybe a bit further.

We don't have any pitching depth. We have minor league prospects, but we would have to be incredibly lucky to develop 4 good major league starting pitchers out of every single person in our minor league system right now. We can give up some guys if we are getting back talent that would really help us, but I don't make the move for Hu. Hu has a chance to be a decent SS. He has little chance to be an above average player, IMO, average MLB SS is about his peak in my mind.