Roster move- Chris Vallimont added to AA

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, Brooks The Great said:

What do you mean? His official title is executive vice president & general manager.

Just that calling him a GM is shortchanging his actual position.  I'd forgotten he actually held both titles.

[bpilktree]

27 minutes ago, NelsonCruuuuuz said:

A 7-8 era in AA and we choose him to claim? Couldn’t have gotten better? Likely to fill Velez is throwing batting practice (part of Marlins trade). For a guy with a scouting background…don’t see much from his trades/projects. 

The current pitching staff has Lyles, Wells, Watkins, Bradish, Baker, Kriebel, and Perez.  What do you expect to do. He had little to no trade pieces and no farm system to start with.  

[sportsfan8703]

Currently rated at the Twins #21 prospect on mlb pipeline. Here is the blurb from there

https://www.mlb.com/prospects/twins/chris-vallimont-681808

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

Vallimont is among several in the Twins' system who had problems with wildness coming out of a lost 2020, with his strikeout-to-walk ratio plummeting from 3.66 in '19 to 2.23 in '21. The Twins couldn't pinpoint anything in the mechanics that led to Vallimont's career-high 61 walks, but they hope the former fifth-rounder from Division II Mercyhurst College will get back to pounding the zone following a more normal offseason. That's the biggest step that could help him get back to the form that the Twins liked when they acquired from Miami at the 2019 Trade Deadline in the Sergio Romo deal and saw him impress in 2020 instructional play. 

The right-hander does have four pitches that can flash plus at times, all of which can miss bats. He doesn't throw as hard as his 6-foot-5 frame would suggest, with his fastball largely sitting around 92 mph, occasionally touching as high as 96 with good movement and ride. The slider is his best secondary pitch while the consistency of the curveball and changeup continue to develop.

The quality of his stuff noticeably tailed off as he went deeper into his 2021 outings and he tended to spray his pitches around the zone. He needs to put himself in counts where he can leverage them for strikeouts. The control issues have some wondering an eventual move to the bullpen could help, but the Twins, who added Vallimont to the 40-man roster this past offseason, continue to see him as a starter because of the quality of his stuff and mentality.

Edited May 25, 2022 by sportsfan8703

[interloper]

35 minutes ago, NelsonCruuuuuz said:

A 7-8 era in AA and we choose him to claim? Couldn’t have gotten better? Likely to fill Velez is throwing batting practice (part of Marlins trade). For a guy with a scouting background…don’t see much from his trades/projects. 

Then you aren't paying attention and your agenda is showing. A large number of Elias' waiver claims and project guys have worked out. Perez, Krehbiel, Urias, Alberto, Sulser, Lopez, Wells, etc. It's a pretty lengthy list and I'm forgetting guys I'm sure.

It's fine to be critical but at least get your facts right.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

I feel like this is going to be a claim and DFA in a week or two and hope to get him through (like Logan Allen).

[Frobby]

This strikes me as a flyer.  We’ll probably try to remove him from the 40-man at some point but keep him in the org.  If that doesn’t work, nothing lost compared to not claiming him.  I’d say he’s a longshot to turn into anything, but claiming him is costing us nothing for now.  

[Tony-OH]

46 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Just that calling him a GM is shortchanging his actual position.  I'd forgotten he actually held both titles.

Aw, c'mon. Someone calls him GM on a message board is "short changing" his position? lol

[Aristotelian]

Waiver claim with options, there is no downside this move. 

 

[Hazmat]

130 K’s in 91 innings in AA last year.  Sounds like an interesting waiver claim to me.

[NelsonCruuuuuz]

3 hours ago, interloper said:

Then you aren't paying attention and your agenda is showing. A large number of Elias' waiver claims and project guys have worked out. Perez, Krehbiel, Urias, Alberto, Sulser, Lopez, Wells, etc. It's a pretty lengthy list and I'm forgetting guys I'm sure.

It's fine to be critical but at least get your facts right.

Lopez has struggled until this year

urias huge step back

Wells agreed.

Sulser seemed better at first but agreed a piece, not super noteworthy, Pedro better grab imo

I love me some Alberto so agree there, still miss him! 

No home runs. 

I don’t have an agenda, just think Elias is overrated and people aren’t as critical as they should be.

plus he slept with my wife. 

Joking…joking. 

[Jammer7]

14 hours ago, NelsonCruuuuuz said:

Lopez has struggled until this year

urias huge step back

Wells agreed.

Sulser seemed better at first but agreed a piece, not super noteworthy, Pedro better grab imo

I love me some Alberto so agree there, still miss him! 

No home runs. 

I don’t have an agenda, just think Elias is overrated and people aren’t as critical as they should be.

plus he slept with my wife. 

Joking…joking. 

I think this is a very interesting claim. Four pitches that can be swing and miss…? Yes, please, take a look and see if you can work through some things. And he has all three options, cool.

You do understand that a waiver claim is picking through that which is cast aside by other teams, right? No team was willing to trade anything for them. So, it doesn’t generally lead to a high success rate. The Orioles have actually done a better job than most, and certainly being among the first teams with a crack at taking guys for three years helps. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist, but we do have one. lol

That said, with Lopez, for instance, they spotted something they liked. Yes, as a starter, it was not good the second or third time through a lineup. They made some changes to try to unlock his potential. He needed the innings to be evaluated. (The guy went through a lot personally as well last season.) When they had given him ample opportunity to become a starter, they judged they had to make him a reliever. They went through a developmental process with him at the big league level as they have done with multiple guys they have claimed. They had to do this to keep him and get to where he is. He is still learning, but at least he is effective now. It doesn’t happen overnight. There is a process. Winning teams do not have the opportunity to bring a guy along like this. 

You cannot often claim a guy and just plug him in, maybe relievers can most often. These guys had failed to some degree elsewhere, but they were valued prospects to get that far to start with. The Orioles have poured a ton of time at the major league level the past few years into guys they claimed. They have released some after seeing that they cannot get where they want with a guy at the MLB level. They took chances and lost some because they needed the space or thought they were better served playing every day in the minors. They have given opportunities to players that had earned them.

If you want to complain about the lack of free agents signed, or trades made, to add veteran pieces to a bad team, I’ll agree it could have been done. I will say that these were not done to let the unproven players, prospects, rule 5 picks and waiver claims to play to be evaluated and see if we can turn some into valuable pieces or trade them. It has been rough to watch, unless you are into player development at all levels. That stuff is valuable, and there are no shortcuts if you do it correctly. Getting players from other organizations is a mixed bag. Each team has their own ways of doing things. Not all are as effective. The Orioles obviously believe they are very good at developing talent. But it takes time. These players are not machines. 

And now we are beginning to see things turn. If you don’t have an agenda, it sure has seemed like it. I mean, your posts are sometimes solid, but often come off whiny and immature about Elias. That is why many here believe you have an agenda. Maybe you don’t care at all what some of us think. That’s also fine, I guess. But if you do, maybe tone it down some. There are certainly things Elias has done that can be second guessed or complained about. But in nearly every post you take some kind of shot at Elias. That droning noise becomes annoying. And it undermines you here, in my opinion. 

[NelsonCruuuuuz]

29 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

I think this is a very interesting claim. Four pitches that can be swing and miss…? Yes, please, take a look and see if you can work through some things. And he has all three options, cool.

You do understand that a waiver claim is picking through that which is cast aside by other teams, right? No team was willing to trade anything for them. So, it doesn’t generally lead to a high success rate. The Orioles have actually done a better job than most, and certainly being among the first teams with a crack at taking guys for three years helps. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist, but we do have one. lol

That said, with Lopez, for instance, they spotted something they liked. Yes, as a starter, it was not good the second or third time through a lineup. They made some changes to try to unlock his potential. He needed the innings to be evaluated. (The guy went through a lot personally as well last season.) When they had given him ample opportunity to become a starter, they judged they had to make him a reliever. They went through a developmental process with him at the big league level as they have done with multiple guys they have claimed. They had to do this to keep him and get to where he is. He is still learning, but at least he is effective now. It doesn’t happen overnight. There is a process. Winning teams do not have the opportunity to bring a guy along like this. 

You cannot often claim a guy and just plug him in, maybe relievers can most often. These guys had failed to some degree elsewhere, but they were valued prospects to get that far to start with. The Orioles have poured a ton of time at the major league level the past few years into guys they claimed. They have released some after seeing that they cannot get where they want with a guy at the MLB level. They took chances and lost some because they needed the space or thought they were better served playing every day in the minors. They have given opportunities to players that had earned them.

If you want to complain about the lack of free agents signed, or trades made, to add veteran pieces to a bad team, I’ll agree it could have been done. I will say that these were not done to let the unproven players, prospects, rule 5 picks and waiver claims to play to be evaluated and see if we can turn some into valuable pieces or trade them. It has been rough to watch, unless you are into player development at all levels. That stuff is valuable, and there are no shortcuts if you do it correctly. Getting players from other organizations is a mixed bag. Each team has their own ways of doing things. Not all are as effective. The Orioles obviously believe they are very good at developing talent. But it takes time. These players are not machines. 

And now we are beginning to see things turn. If you don’t have an agenda, it sure has seemed like it. I mean, your posts are sometimes solid, but often come off whiny and immature about Elias. That is why many here believe you have an agenda. Maybe you don’t care at all what some of us think. That’s also fine, I guess. But if you do, maybe tone it down some. There are certainly things Elias has done that can be second guessed or complained about. But in nearly every post you take some kind of shot at Elias. That droning noise becomes annoying. And it undermines you here, in my opinion. 

Thanks for the thoughtful post. I’ll try to complain about Elias less but strongly believe he has lots of areas to improve in including taking the bpa in the first round. We all want to see the org return to glory!

[Jammer7]

6 minutes ago, NelsonCruuuuuz said:

Thanks for the thoughtful post. I’ll try to complain about Elias less but strongly believe he has lots of areas to improve in including taking the bpa in the first round. We all want to see the org return to glory!

Cool. We are all passionate Orioles fans. We are not on opposite sides. Make your appropriate points as you go. Maybe even give  Elias some credit where credit is due. All GM’s have mistakes the fans can tear up, if that is what you wish to focus on. They all think they are the smartest guys in any room, that arrogance is a part of what has made them successful.

The BPA thing, well that is subjective in nearly all drafts. If he makes bad picks, time will show us. Most fans don’t really know one player from another. They read the stats in HS or college. They read the write ups from pundits. But remember that the pundits write what scouts and “industry sources” tell them. And they don’t share proprietary information  with these guys. Why would they? Really a discussion for another thread. 

Personally, this is the best front office/organization, top to bottom, the Orioles have had in my lifetime. The Angelos family ownership has been an awful one and deserves the anger and skepticism of the fans. No doubt. But the sons appear to be on the right track, so far. Elias’ plan seems to be on track, as he has done exactly as he said he would. We all want it faster. Yeah…me too. 

[sportsfan8703]

How could anyone be for the Tyler Wells or Mac Scroeler Rule 5 picks but against this guy?  He’s got arguably got better resumes than both of them had at the time, health included, and we have options. 
 

The waiver wire isn’t for us to take shots on the 25th and 26th best players on the team. It’s for HRs. 
 

We have to take chances on arms like this. 

[Aristotelian]

Off to a good start despite some ugly numbers before coming to the O's. 

8 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 8 K

5 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 10K

Small sample but enough to raise an eyebrow.