Orioles sign Chris Owings

[Frobby]

4 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Sure but Mateo and Urias may out hit him and play SS just as well.  His versatility is his most attractive trait.

I don’t disagree with any of this.  

[interloper]

I'm really curious how the infield thing shakes out by opening day. 

By all accounts, Urias deserves to start somewhere. I just can't get behind any scenario where he's on the bench, unless he really struggles in spring training. His ABs are such a sight for sore eyes. 

Odor has a ML deal, which doesn't mean much, but he has an edge just by virtue of being on the 40-man roster. Unfortunately, he stinks and can kind of only play 2B. Maybe they make him play 3B, but that doesn't sound ideal. 

Gutierrez I really like defensively - I went back and watched some late-season highlights and he really was quite impressive. I think we are quick to forget just how refreshing he was after Franco was released. If he hits at ALL this spring, I'm giving him the 3B job without much thought. 

Mateo deserves playing time based on his pure talent, period. It would be a shame to see him relegated to the bench or DFA'd in favor of Odor.

Owings will absolutely make this team as a super utility. The fact that he can play the OF is a nice bonus. Hyde wants a veteran IF on the team.

So - my vote is Urias at 2B, Mateo at SS, Gutierrez at 3B, Owings on the bench, Odor released, Jones in AAA, Martin in AAA. 

 

[wildcard]

10 minutes ago, interloper said:

I'm really curious how the infield thing shakes out by opening day. 

By all accounts, Urias deserves to start somewhere. I just can't get behind any scenario where he's on the bench, unless he really struggles in spring training. His ABs are such a sight for sore eyes. 

Odor has a ML deal, which doesn't mean much, but he has an edge just by virtue of being on the 40-man roster. Unfortunately, he stinks and can kind of only play 2B. Maybe they make him play 3B, but that doesn't sound ideal. 

Gutierrez I really like defensively - I went back and watched some late-season highlights and he really was quite impressive. I think we are quick to forget just how refreshing he was after Franco was released. If he hits at ALL this spring, I'm giving him the 3B job without much thought. 

Mateo deserves playing time based on his pure talent, period. It would be a shame to see him relegated to the bench or DFA'd in favor of Odor.

Owings will absolutely make this team as a super utility. The fact that he can play the OF is a nice bonus. Hyde wants a veteran IF on the team.

So - my vote is Urias at 2B, Mateo at SS, Gutierrez at 3B, Owings on the bench, Odor released, Jones in AAA, Martin in AAA. 

 

Maybe they keep Urias, Mateo, Gutierrez, Owings and Odor but only keep 4 outfielders.   Hays, Mullins, Santander and McKenna.    Option Stewart to AAA since Owings and Mateo can play the outfield.

[interloper]

1 minute ago, wildcard said:

Maybe they keep Urias, Mateo, Gutierrez, Owings and Odor but only keep 4 outfielders.   Hays, Mullins, Santander and McKenna.    Option Stewart to AAA since Owings and Mateo can play the outfield.

Yeah after I posted this I realized there's probably room for one more IF on the roster. So I agree! 

[Aristotelian]

39 minutes ago, interloper said:

I'm really curious how the infield thing shakes out by opening day. 

By all accounts, Urias deserves to start somewhere. I just can't get behind any scenario where he's on the bench, unless he really struggles in spring training. His ABs are such a sight for sore eyes. 

Odor has a ML deal, which doesn't mean much, but he has an edge just by virtue of being on the 40-man roster. Unfortunately, he stinks and can kind of only play 2B. Maybe they make him play 3B, but that doesn't sound ideal. 

Gutierrez I really like defensively - I went back and watched some late-season highlights and he really was quite impressive. I think we are quick to forget just how refreshing he was after Franco was released. If he hits at ALL this spring, I'm giving him the 3B job without much thought. 

Mateo deserves playing time based on his pure talent, period. It would be a shame to see him relegated to the bench or DFA'd in favor of Odor.

Owings will absolutely make this team as a super utility. The fact that he can play the OF is a nice bonus. Hyde wants a veteran IF on the team.

So - my vote is Urias at 2B, Mateo at SS, Gutierrez at 3B, Owings on the bench, Odor released, Jones in AAA, Martin in AAA. 

 

Why would we sign Odor to a major league contract and Owings to a minor league contract and then release Odor? Why have Odor on the bench and Owings stashed in the minors? It is highly likely that Mateo and Gutierrez don't work out as hoped and options will be needed for injuries in any case. 

[interloper]

3 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Why would we sign Odor to a major league contract and Owings to a minor league contract and then release Odor? Why have Odor on the bench and Owings stashed in the minors? It is highly likely that Mateo and Gutierrez don't work out as hoped and options will be needed for injuries in any case. 

I don't know. I think it's possible the O's wanted to make sure they got a guy before the lockout and you can get Odor at the league minimum. I don't think there's any guarantee Odor makes the roster, but I agree it's likely. And then later I realized there's room for both Odor and Owings, so it's a moot discussion anyway. 

I don't think Odor is better than any of these guys save Jones and maybe Gutierrez over a full season. Especially because he's not versatile position-wise. 

[Frobby]

33 minutes ago, interloper said:

I don't know. I think it's possible the O's wanted to make sure they got a guy before the lockout and you can get Odor at the league minimum. I don't think there's any guarantee Odor makes the roster, but I agree it's likely. And then later I realized there's room for both Odor and Owings, so it's a moot discussion anyway. 

I don't think Odor is better than any of these guys save Jones and maybe Gutierrez over a full season. Especially because he's not versatile position-wise. 

I’ll keep an open mind on Odor.  I didn’t want him, but let’s see how he plays.   I don’t want his major league deal to be an impediment to releasing him if there’s a better option when camp ends, but I also don’t assume that he can’t earn a spot.   

[Aristotelian]

7 hours ago, interloper said:

I don't know. I think it's possible the O's wanted to make sure they got a guy before the lockout and you can get Odor at the league minimum. I don't think there's any guarantee Odor makes the roster, but I agree it's likely. And then later I realized there's room for both Odor and Owings, so it's a moot discussion anyway. 

I don't think Odor is better than any of these guys save Jones and maybe Gutierrez over a full season. Especially because he's not versatile position-wise. 

Odor does have some upside with the bat. I really hope he doesn't take a job from Urias but I'm OK with giving him a shot to hit 30 HR again and maybe get flipped for a bullpen arm type of prospect. Definitely a weird signing but would be even weirder to release him for a guy like Owings. Correa on the other hand...

[Roll Tide]

Owings hit a nice homer yesterday.

[Aristotelian]

On 3/17/2022 at 1:54 PM, wildcard said:

Maybe they keep Urias, Mateo, Gutierrez, Owings and Odor but only keep 4 outfielders.   Hays, Mullins, Santander and McKenna.    Option Stewart to AAA since Owings and Mateo can play the outfield.

Keep Odor. See if he can hit 15-20 bombs through June and flip him. Then bring up Owings or a prospect.

[seak05]

My vote is to keep Owings and Odor and drop Stewart. Not really sure what Stewart actually adds to anything. 

Also, while I know it's not as sexy as homeruns, Odor is a very good defender, something that none of our other MI candidates have a proven ability to do at the major league level. 

[maybenxtyr]

16 minutes ago, seak05 said:

My vote is to keep Owings and Odor and drop Stewart. Not really sure what Stewart actually adds to anything. 

Also, while I know it's not as sexy as homeruns, Odor is a very good defender, something that none of our other MI candidates have a proven ability to do at the major league level. 

I have to imagine that it's getting to the point where keeping Stewart is hard to justify. Obviously Diaz has a history of being injured but he's shown some decent pop in ST. I'm not sure how his OF defense is, but it's probably better than Stewart at any position.

[Tony-OH]

49 minutes ago, maybenxtyr said:

I have to imagine that it's getting to the point where keeping Stewart is hard to justify. Obviously Diaz has a history of being injured but he's shown some decent pop in ST. I'm not sure how his OF defense is, but it's probably better than Stewart at any position.

Diaz needs to show me he can hit at AAA and stay healthy. He's hit in spring training before and then bombed in the colder Northern weather. I think it's going to be tough for Stewart to make the team. Owings and Mateo play the outfield and have more versatility.

The only thing Stewart has going for him is he's a lefty swinger with some occasional pop. Right now this offense is pretty righty heavy and it would be nice to have that left-handed power bat when they want to rest Mountcastle and/or Mancini.

Neustrom really could have made a bid with a good spring and Stowers needs more time in AAA. If Diaz was a lefty swinger he'd be interesting, but I think he goes back down. 

That means it's could come down to Odor and Stewart for the left power bench bat.

 

[wildcard]

3 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

Diaz needs to show me he can hit at AAA and stay healthy. He's hit in spring training before and then bombed in the colder Northern weather. I think it's going to be tough for Stewart to make the team. Owings and Mateo play the outfield and have more versatility.

The only thing Stewart has going for him is he's a lefty swinger with some occasional pop. Right now this offense is pretty righty heavy and it would be nice to have that left-handed power bat when they want to rest Mountcastle and/or Mancini.

Neustrom really could have made a bid with a good spring and Stowers needs more time in AAA. If Diaz was a lefty swinger he'd be interesting, but I think he goes back down. 

That means it's could come down to Odor and Stewart for the left power bench bat.

 

If Diaz keeps hitting,  I think I would rather have a right hander that hits vs the choice between two lefties that don't.  Stewart and Diaz both have options so if it does not work out the O's can make a change.

[Tony-OH]

43 minutes ago, wildcard said:

If Diaz keeps hitting,  I think I would rather have a right hander that hits vs the choice between two lefties that don't.  Stewart and Diaz both have options so if it does not work out the O's can make a change.

Diaz needs to show he can hit AAA pitching and in the cold before making a team.