“Orioles big game shopping & most believe it's exclusively rotation”

[Es4M11]

Just now, Es4M11 said:

Not sure I would want Crawford over Mateo at this point. I know Crawford is only a year removed from a stellar 2021, but he is 36, going on 37. And Mateo was straight up better in 2022. And significantly cheaper, with future control remaining. I doubt Crawford's potential availability would hinder Mateo's market. The Giants aren't trading Crawford anyway, they will let him retire a Giant.

Crawford is 35, going on 36. My mistake, can't edit.

[Sports Guy]

7 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

I think they just slide Crawford to 3B.  That’s what I read.

Makes sense. Heard yesterday they could look to trade him but that may have been more MLB radio speculation more than anything.

[clapdiddy]

Is there any chance the Orioles could be in on one or both of the Japanese League players?  I realize there's a posting fee for these guys, and I'm not even sure if any team is showing interest. 

[Es4M11]

1 minute ago, clapdiddy said:

Is there any chance the Orioles could be in on one or both of the Japanese League players?  I realize there's a posting fee for these guys, and I'm not even sure if any team is showing interest. 

Senga is said to want to go to a big market. I'm guessing he ends up in LA.  I don't know anything about the other guy.

[Aristotelian]

8 minutes ago, clapdiddy said:

Is there any chance the Orioles could be in on one or both of the Japanese League players?  I realize there's a posting fee for these guys, and I'm not even sure if any team is showing interest. 

No posting fee for Senga. Supposedly he wants a big market so he may not be in on us even if we are in on him. https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/kodai-senga-available-without-posting-fee/

[HakunaSakata]

I feel like we're becoming dangerously close to having to rename this thread - "Orioles Squirrel Hunting..." 

[HakunaSakata]

33 minutes ago, Es4M11 said:

Senga is said to want to go to a big market. I'm guessing he ends up in LA.  I don't know anything about the other guy.

I would imagine most Japanese players would prefer to go to a big market. It's not like Baltimore is exactly romanticized in film, tv, etc. I'd say smaller market teams in particular are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to signing established foreign players and it's only partly due to money/finances. 

[StottyByNature]

1 hour ago, Bemorewins said:

Almost all significant free agent contracts in MLB are bad at the end. It is the cost of doing business. The teams that spend will be relevant, generate national buzz, and contend for pennants for the most part. Those who don't will have "good budgets" with plenty of profits for their ownership groups... and also probably no rings.

If you've been to NY lately or a Yanks game (or heck an O's game vs the Yankees in Camden), then you would know why the Yankees couldn't afford to let him go. All these people wearing 99 jerseys, that matters. They don't have another singular marketable force like him. (To be fair theere are very few in the game right now.)

Older fans/people may be more loyal to institutions/teams on average. But younger ones not so much (and I have 3 kids from teen years to early elementary school) so I hear often how they talk with their peers.) One of my kids tried to become a Blue Jays fan because she likes Vlad Jr and she loved her experience at the Rodgers center when we went to Toronto this Summer. Of course, I had to "reeducate" her...lol

But the reality is younger people are not simply going to cheer laundry, like us "older folk". The Ravens will find this out if they let Lamar Jackson leave.

Good post, completely agree.  There are bad contracts and then there are good contracts that overpay at the end.  This is the latter.  The Yankees are paying for the next 5 years, anything they get in years 6-9 are gravy.  And if Judge continues to have them in the playoffs for the next 5 years then it will be completely worth it.

If you want to bring in a sure-fire guy you have to overpay.  If you want to keep payroll flexibility you have to dig in the bargain bin and hope for the best.  The truly bad contracts are the Chris Davis ones, where the guy is not necessarily surefire.  That was a big mistake giving him the money and not Machado.

I'd have given the same contract that Verlander got.  I hope we overpay for Rodon.  I'm betting we will end up with another mid-level SP or make a trade of prospects for an established guy.

[Bemorewins]

I ABSOLUTELY AGREE with everything you said down to the punctuation marks! LOL

If we were to pay both Rodon and Correa that would add somewhere around 60 million to what we have and the payroll would still be very manageable going forward.

Yes, they will be some "not so productive years at the back end". But we wouldn't need to really do a bunch of roster additions via free agency for the next few years.

Another thing to consider to the people who are advocating for the club to continue to not participate in big free agents because of price and/or length of contract - At some point if Henderson and Rutschman become stars they are going to want similar type deals that have padded back ends for themselves. Either we lock them up now (like Seattle did JRod) or we pay them the same type of "bad contracts" that people are complaining about later. This is the business of baseball (right now) and it is what cost to have the better players.

I look at it like this, since we have deciding not to participate in Free Agency for the last 4 years, at some point the club has to invest in the onfield product and the money should be there for them to do so right now. When will going cheap not be okay?

[Sports Guy]

Padres reportedly offered Judge 10/400. 
 

Second player this offseason that they have reportedly offered 40ishM more than the next closest team and they lost out both times.

[Yardball85]

 

[Yardball85]

Just now, Yardball85 said:

 

Seems like a lot for Jansen, especially considering the Red Sox probably won't have that many wins for him to close out this year. I mean, who exactly is in their rotation?

[jamalshw]

12 minutes ago, Yardball85 said:

Seems like a lot for Jansen, especially considering the Red Sox probably won't have that many wins for him to close out this year. I mean, who exactly is in their rotation?

The Sox have to add a starter or two, right? They have Sale (if healthy), Paxton (if healthy) and then Pivetta, Bello, and Whitlock. If everyone is healthy and at their best, it's not a bad rotation, but there is no way anyone can have any confidence in Sale or Paxton being healthy. 

[HakunaSakata]

7 minutes ago, Yardball85 said:

Seems like a lot for Jansen, especially considering the Red Sox probably won't have that many wins for him to close out this year. I mean, who exactly is in their rotation?

It seems like a terrible panicky desperation move by a division rival to just sign someone for the sake of signing someone since they missed out on every other major FA. I love it!  Kenley Jansen is absolute toast and will pitch himself out of the closer role by early June. 

[deward]

51 minutes ago, HakunaSakata said:

I would imagine most Japanese players would prefer to go to a big market. It's not like Baltimore is exactly romanticized in film, tv, etc. I'd say smaller market teams in particular are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to signing established foreign players and it's only partly due to money/finances. 

Most people know Baltimore from The Wire or the Freddie Grey riots. I know they say there's no such thing as bad publicity, but man...