When we "lift off", who should they be trying to acquire?

[IPlayGM]

17 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

ERA down to 3.66.  Was well over 5 and people here were saying how he’s not good anymore.  
 

105 Ks in 78.2 IP.  But yea, he’s not as valuable as Santander!  Lol

It is certainly more than likely that our thought that Santander could get you Snell was probably far fetched.

 

[IPlayGM]

I like the idea of signing a guy and trading for a guy. Both starters. The idea about Mullins headlining a deal for Lopez is interesting to me, and then as @Sports Guy mentioned awhile back signing a stopgap CF. 

[Sports Guy]

2 minutes ago, IPlayGM said:

It is certainly more than likely that our thought that Santander could get you Snell was probably far fetched.

 

Perhaps yea.  They were able to move some other salary too, like Hosmer, so that helped.

Its not that Santander ever should have been able to get you Snell.  It was more a thought based on the report that they wanted to trade his salary and that they liked Santander.  
 

If they don’t get Soto, who knows.

[Sports Guy]

By June 1 of next year, Henderson, Westburg, Cowser and Stowers should be in the everyday lineup.

Add in Adley and Vavra and your OBP numbers should be better although there are some questions if Stowers will hit for a good average and if Westburg will be good enough.

But still, that should be good.

Where I push back on is those saying we can leave the offense alone.  That’s just not accurate.  I agree it doesn’t need to be the focal point but it does need to be addressed.

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Perhaps yea.  They were able to move some other salary too, like Hosmer, so that helped.

Its not that Santander ever should have been able to get you Snell.  It was more a thought based on the report that they wanted to trade his salary and that they liked Santander.  
 

If they don’t get Soto, who knows.

I think they ate most of the Hosmer salary.  It took the Tatis PED suspension for them to get under the threshold.

[Sports Guy]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

I think they ate most of the Hosmer salary.  It took the Tatis PED suspension for them to get under the threshold.

They did but maybe they were more comfortable paying the tax after the deals they made..or maybe that was made up and they never cared.  Who knows.

My guess is the rumors were greatly exaggerated.

[btdart20]

7 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

By June 1 of next year, Henderson, Westburg, Cowser and Stowers should be in the everyday lineup.

Add in Adley and Vavra and your OBP numbers should be better although there are some questions if Stowers will hit for a good average and if Westburg will be good enough.

But still, that should be good.

Where I push back on is those saying we can leave the offense alone.  That’s just not accurate.  I agree it doesn’t need to be the focal point but it does need to be addressed.

3B - In all likelihood, Gunnar is an offensive and defensive upgrade over Urias and crew.

2B - In all likelihood, Vavra/Westburg/Urias is an offensive and defensive upgrade Odor and crew.

CF - Is the 'real' Mullins something between 2021 and 2022?  If so, that's improvement.

LF - Hays is a bit of an X factor IMO.  Cowser is posting a .433 in his MiLB career (at age 22).  Hays posted a .326 thru his MiLB career before his age 23 debut.  Feels like there's a higher floor with Cowser.  That's improvement if Cowser replaces Hays.

RF - We still have Santander.  Throw Stowers in the mix with a higher career MiLB OBP/OPS than Santander.  Yes, still some unknowns in there with the K%, but it's really no different than what Santander had in the MiLB too.  Stowers has 10 less MiLB HRs in about half as many PAs.  Cowser would be an improvement over Santander as well.  

C - A full season of Adley.  

SS - A full season of Mateo's improvement?  He's played superb D.  If he can keep his OBP going in the right direction, I think the rest will work itself out!

1B - Who knows Mounty's deal...  But this should be the floor, right?

DH - Whoever isn't playing in the OF or Adley on his days off.  

Can the rest of the offense tread water?

I guess my point is that the bar is being raised in-house and I trust Gunnar and Cowser will be significant upgrades once they are in Baltimore.  The biggest hole IMO is SP and not addressing that will be torpedo any playoff push.  I do think bringing in a Josh Bell/MOO-type 1B masher would give instant street cred and trickle up/down the batting order.  (Not that we should care about street cred...)

[foxfield]

I would have been on board with bringing Snell in on a trade. Santander would have been a deal Elias would have done in a heartbeat.

But it's a bit misleading to say he is or isn't more valuable than Santander.  The cost for these two players is a pretty big difference.  So, while you might "value" Snell more than Santander becuase of his value as a pitcher or because you think the Orioles had a replacement ready for Santander....

Snell is a bit pricey and that is the reason that San Diego was seemingly willing to shop him even with perceived excess value.  Santander has plenty of excess value too in part because he is pretty cheap and in part because he has been (knock on wood) healthy.

But it would be a bit unfair to mock an opinion that Santander is as valuable as Snell.  I don't think he is, and obviously neither did San Diego, but it's more like an apple and an Orange type of thing.

[nvpacchi]

I was thinking about other ways to acquire pitching, and this one popped across my mind.  Which team says no?

Orioles get: Cristian Javier

Astros get: Ryan Mountcastle

Mountcastle probably hits 35+ homers with the Crawford box, and Javier can take even more advantage of his extreme flyball profile in the new Camden.  >30% K% is enticing.

[DrungoHazewood]

Somebody made this video about liftoff of the 2022 Orioles. It's pretty good.

 

[Frobby]

On 8/14/2022 at 5:08 PM, Roll Tide said:

I’d be after starting pitching exclusively. The two guys we faced the last 2 days are better than any of our starters 

And yet, we outpitched them both nights.  

While I’m not necessarily disagreeing that starting pitching is our weak spot, it’s looking a lot better lately.  Both ERA and IP/start were above average last month.  We have Wells coming back soon, Grayson Rodriguez next year and John Means for half a season.  Suddenly the need isn’t as pressing.   Saying that, a contender can always use more TOR pitching.  
 

[NCRaven]

1 minute ago, Frobby said:

And yet, we outpitched them both nights.  

While I’m not necessarily disagreeing that starting pitching is our weak spot, it’s looking a lot better lately.  Both ERA and IP/start were above average last month.  We have Wells coming back soon, Grayson Rodriguez next year and John Means for half a season.  Suddenly the need isn’t as pressing.   Saying that, a contender can always use more TOR pitching.  
 

We don't need no stinking TORONTO pitching.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, DrungoHazewood said:

Somebody made this video about liftoff of the 2022 Orioles. It's pretty good.

 

Thanks.  I enjoy a little feel good propaganda film with my coffee!

[Roll Tide]

5 hours ago, Frobby said:

And yet, we outpitched them both nights.  

While I’m not necessarily disagreeing that starting pitching is our weak spot, it’s looking a lot better lately.  Both ERA and IP/start were above average last month.  We have Wells coming back soon, Grayson Rodriguez next year and John Means for half a season.  Suddenly the need isn’t as pressing.   Saying that, a contender can always use more TOR pitching.  
 

I agree….A TOR in place of Lyles would be only replacement 

[e16bball]

I continue to be intrigued with the idea of using Mountcastle as a piece in a deal for pitching (not unlike what was floated just above) and targeting a legitimate plug-and-play veteran bat to play 1B and hold down a spot in the middle of the order. 

Josh Bell has been mentioned by several (myself included), but Anthony Rizzo might also be a guy they could target if/when he opts out. Even the Yankees can’t afford to pay everyone, and if they give Judge a monster deal (as they almost have to), they might not be able to keep Rizzo if he gets a high AAV offer. He’s obviously up there in years, but he’s still pounding the ball this year — and he seems to fit the profile they’d likely be looking for, as a lefty power hitter with good plate discipline. He’s also a highly respected veteran with championship pedigree, which might be a nice add around all these talented young guys. 

We’re all rightly excited about the idea of Adley and Gunnar in the #2 and #4 holes, and Cowser seems like a born #3 hitter. But it feels like we’re maybe one bat short of fielding a real contending lineup, and it seems like injecting legit lefty power at the 1B/DH spot might be the easiest way to instantly take the hitting to the next level.