Hard to argue with it.

[Moose Milligan]

Quote

During the lockout, we gave the Orioles a "D" grade on the grounds that they had signed Jordan Lyles and Rougned Odor in what amounted to a spending spree under Mike Elias. The Orioles have since added just one other player on a big-league deal, in catcher Robinson Chirinos. So much for Mike Elias abandoning his nihilism to give the Orioles faithful a product worth watching. The upside here is that even Elias can only manipulate Adley Rutschman and Grayson Rodriguez's service time for so long. Grade: F

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-offseason-grades-dodgers-blue-jays-mets-braves-twins-get-high-marks-yankees-astros-needed-more/

[wildcard]

No, I would not argue with the O's losing the off season.   But that does not mean they can't improve this season.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, wildcard said:

No, I would not argue with the O's losing the off season.   But that does not mean they can't improve this season.

Yes, it is hard to not improve when you lose 110 games the season before.

 

[wildcard]

5 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Yes, it is hard to not improve when you lose 110 games the season before.

 

It hasn't seemed hard for the O's not to improve over that last 3 seasons.      But I think they will in 2022.

What are you doing up at this hour?   I am going to watch yesterday's game on MLB Network at 6.

[NelsonCruuuuuz]

41 minutes ago, wildcard said:

It hasn't seemed hard for the O's not to improve over that last 3 seasons.      But I think they will in 2022.

What are you doing up at this hour?   I am going to watch yesterday's game on MLB Network at 6.

FYI: it was on mlb.tv for free yesterday 

[Can_of_corn]

49 minutes ago, wildcard said:

It hasn't seemed hard for the O's not to improve over that last 3 seasons.      But I think they will in 2022.

What are you doing up at this hour?   I am going to watch yesterday's game on MLB Network at 6.

I'm often up early.

[Sports Guy]

3 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-offseason-grades-dodgers-blue-jays-mets-braves-twins-get-high-marks-yankees-astros-needed-more/

This doesn’t matter Moose!  We don’t need a watchable product because we are rebuilding and have a plan!

[Aristotelian]

If you are assuming the goal is to add wins in 2022 I would agree. If the goal is continue rebuild I might go a little higher but Lyle's is a real head scratcher from any standpoint.

[Moose Milligan]

58 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

This doesn’t matter Moose!  We don’t need a watchable product because we are rebuilding and have a plan!

They’re assuming that the “watchable product” this year is Rutschman and Rodriguez. No need to spend because of these two. 

[Sports Guy]

27 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

They’re assuming that the “watchable product” this year is Rutschman and Rodriguez. No need to spend because of these two. 

You forgot to mention Odor, who is going to change his hitting approach because of Fuller.

[geschinger]

1 hour ago, Aristotelian said:

If you are assuming the goal is to add wins in 2022 I would agree. If the goal is continue rebuild I might go a little higher but Lyle's is a real head scratcher from any standpoint.

Maybe a little bit of cockiness in believing they see something from his last month in Texas that they can get him to replicate.  If they're wrong, he still a who can likely eat 150-175 innings which has some value considering the state of the rotation.  If they are right, he's a steal.  

[Three Run Homer]

Can't argue with the grade considering that Kelvin Gutierrez still looks like the opening day third baseman, and considering that two or three starting rotation slots are still likely to go to pitchers who don't even have a track record of success at the AAA level.   

[waroriole]

The only way to argue with it is if there’s a grade worse than F. F- maybe?

[interloper]

"Abandoning his nihilism"... Really? Lol.

[Jammer7]

I went into the off-season thinking they needed to add a SS, two legitimate MLB starters, a back up catcher and a reliever. Jordan Lyles and Robinson Chirinos are perfect fits for what I wanted. Rougned Odor was not quite what I wanted, and neither is Chris Owings. No legitimate relievers added, so far. Yep, I am not happy. I think a C-/D grade is fair at this point. I think an F is a bit harsh, but whatever. 

If they actually made a legitimate play for Correa, that is encouraging. It would have been an amazingly bold move to add Correa, but Correa chose another team. Who can blame him?

If they add another starter, like a JA Happ or Johnny Cueto, it changes my opinion, slightly. A reliever would have to fall in our laps at this point. 

Either they fell short of their plan, or they believe the group of Zimmerman, Lowther, Akin, Baumann, Wells, Bradish and Kremer will yield three solid back end starters in 2022. At least two until Grayson Rodriguez comes up in June/July. And they must believe that Mateo and Urias can handle the SS position, with Chris Owings and Richie Martin as depth.

My disappointment is that I thought it was time to shift gears and begin to climb out of this non-competitive hole. Time to start building a winning environment with a few key vets. They have the payroll flexibility. And maybe the trade market will yield some opportunities during the season, IDK. I see the big picture, and huge strides have been made, overall. However, until Elias proves he is up to the task of building a legitimate roster, the drums are getting justifiably louder. It is time to move some of the depth in trades, and cut bait on some of the guys who have not made strides. It’s time to get serious. No more benefit of the doubt.