Could Gutierrez be at risk of DFA on May 2? (Edit: DFA'd on 1 May)

[OriolesMagic83]

I can't see the O's cutting Odor.  They seem to love him for some reason.  Veteranosity?  I think Owings has to go.  What skill other than making outs does he bring to the table. 

I think we're stuck w/ McKenna until much closer to the trade deadline.  I don't see the O's bringing up Stowers to sit on the bench, although I'm sure Stowers would be happy to sit on the bench for $700k salary.

 

[maybenxtyr]

It's a good thought but trying to figure out what Elias is doing is impossible.

Obviously not every prospect is going to work out, but some of the holes could have been filled by non prospects that serve a purpose.

 

Urias, Mateo, and Gutierrez should have been the everyday infield. Martin, Jones and Nevin could have been the backup pieces in some form since spending in the FA market wasn't happening. At least this way they could have culled through some of the 40 and made decisions on 6 players...and I'm guessing that there are others that could have been moved in and out for the season.

[jamalshw]

17 hours ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

I can't see the O's cutting Odor.  They seem to love him for some reason.  Veteranosity?  I think Owings has to go.  What skill other than making outs does he bring to the table. 

I think we're stuck w/ McKenna until much closer to the trade deadline.  I don't see the O's bringing up Stowers to sit on the bench, although I'm sure Stowers would be happy to sit on the bench for $700k salary.

 

As weird as it sounds, I don't think Odor goes until Stowers and/or Rutschman is promoted. His spot on the roster is completely tied to the fact he swings from the left side and outside of Mullins, the switch hitting Santander, and the no-hitting Bemboom, they don't have any other lefty bats. Once you have Stowers and Rutschman up, that balances the options from the left-side of the dish a bit more and I think we see Odor released (unless he miraculously starts hitting) in favor of one of the AAA infielders (Bannon, Nevin, Martin). It's too bad Vavra is injured as his lefty bat may have allowed the team to get Odor off the roster sooner. 

Of course, the above doesn't mean that I agree with the idea of keeping Odor solely based on which side of the plate he stands, but I do think that's a large part of the reason he's getting as long of a leash as he is. By mid May, I'm hoping we see an OF/1B/DH rotation with Stowers, Mullins, Hays, Santander, Mountcastle, and Mancini all rotating who has a day off and we see Rutschman in the in the lineup, Odor off the team and at least one or two of the AAA infielders up (along with Westburg and, ideally, Henderson up in AAA). 

[Aristotelian]

28 minutes ago, jamalshw said:

As weird as it sounds, I don't think Odor goes until Stowers and/or Rutschman is promoted. His spot on the roster is completely tied to the fact he swings from the left side and outside of Mullins, the switch hitting Santander, and the no-hitting Bemboom, they don't have any other lefty bats. Once you have Stowers and Rutschman up, that balances the options from the left-side of the dish a bit more and I think we see Odor released (unless he miraculously starts hitting) in favor of one of the AAA infielders (Bannon, Nevin, Martin). It's too bad Vavra is injured as his lefty bat may have allowed the team to get Odor off the roster sooner. 

Of course, the above doesn't mean that I agree with the idea of keeping Odor solely based on which side of the plate he stands, but I do think that's a large part of the reason he's getting as long of a leash as he is. By mid May, I'm hoping we see an OF/1B/DH rotation with Stowers, Mullins, Hays, Santander, Mountcastle, and Mancini all rotating who has a day off and we see Rutschman in the in the lineup, Odor off the team and at least one or two of the AAA infielders up (along with Westburg and, ideally, Henderson up in AAA). 

Even with Stowers we have a pretty unbalanced RH heavy lineup. Santander probably gets traded soon so we're really treading water with Stowers.

[Can_of_corn]

I understand the concept of having balanced lineups and pitching staffs.

However I can't help but think that I'd rather have an unbalanced lineup with good players than a balanced lineup with inferior players.

[Frobby]

10 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I understand the concept of having balanced lineups and pitching staffs.

However I can't help but think that I'd rather have an unbalanced lineup with good players than a balanced lineup with inferior players.

Amen.   I do think that if you have a surplus of RH bats in your lineup, you need to make sure some of them have decent splits against RHP.

[Matt Bennett]

Would like to see Guti play everyday for a time before getting the DFA for a Nevin/Bannon/Jones/Vavra type. Would much rather see 

2B: Urias, SS: Mateo, 3B: Guti, Utility IF: Owings

than

2B: Odor, SS: Mateo, 3B: Urias, Utility IF: Owings 

[jamalshw]

18 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Even with Stowers we have a pretty unbalanced RH heavy lineup. Santander probably gets traded soon so we're really treading water with Stowers.

Maybe. I think our assumption is the Orioles will move Mancini and Santander if they get the right deal, but we will see if that actually happens. I can also see Stowers up ahead of any Santander deal (which I would assume is more of a July thing than a May one). Even if we assume a Santander deal, if you add Stowers and Rutchman, we would have Mullins, Stowers and Rutschman from the left-side (against a right-hander). That's on par with now when we have Mullins, Santander and Odor...except superior options with the former. I guess you can say Rutschman replaces the lefty hitting Bemboom on the roster, but I still think with Stowers and Rutschman on the roster (even if we lose Santander and Bemboom) it takes some of the teeth out of the argument of keeping Odor simply for his left-handed hitting. Of course, as many have pointed out, the fact he cannot hit really at all should make it all moot anyway, but I do think there's something to it. 

[Yossarian]

If the O's really want to be competitive at some point, anyone putting up the offensive numbers that Gutierrez is should be at risk of being DFA'd.  

[MCO'sFan]

Guys like Gutierrez, McKenna, and Owings. will be gone as soon as they become Arbitration eligible if not sooner. Odor wouldn't be here if he wasn't a league minimum guy. Even guys like Nevin, Bannon and Jones would fall into the same category. They are all just placeholders until the highly rated prospects are ready. No one will block those guys. Until then, it is just "insert name here!"

[NelsonCruuuuuz]

I like him and if he is cut before Owings or Odor, I will be furious.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

3 minutes ago, NelsonCruuuuuz said:

I like him and if he is cut before Owings or Odor, I will be furious.

Same and at least Gutierrez can play good defense at 3B even if he never develops as a hitter. Odor and Owings bring zero to the team and never should have been signed. 

[NelsonCruuuuuz]

1 hour ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

Same and at least Gutierrez can play good defense at 3B even if he never develops as a hitter. Odor and Owings bring zero to the team and never should have been signed. 

[maybenxtyr]

I always thought of him as a glove first player. Obviously he can't hit enough to overcome being a poor fielder so he might want to pick up a new glove on the way back to Baltimore.

[NelsonCruuuuuz]

3 hours ago, maybenxtyr said:

I always thought of him as a glove first player. Obviously he can't hit enough to overcome being a poor fielder so he might want to pick up a new glove on the way back to Baltimore.

He is starting to hit, get better at bats. Just play him! Go KG!