Orioles acquire Ryan O’Hearn

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, wildcard said:

COT's Contracts normally states the contract terms.   They could say that KC will pay 700k of his contract or something like that.

KC was on the hook for 1.4m when they DFA'd him.  If the O's  agreed to pay 700k of that salary it lessened KC's exposure to paying the whole salary.

I know this and have made the point twice earlier In the thread.   But I’m not sure Cot’s always gets these details.  So far as I know, Cot’s just assembles and organizes whatever information is reported elsewhere.  They are not affiliated with MLB.

[Frobby]

5 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I was always under the assumptions it was the Orioles giving the team money, not the team giving the Orioles money along with the player when it says cash considerations. 

That was my initial assumption, but it occurred to me that it could be the opposite.  I’m not sure we’ll be told.  

[Going Underground]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

Ok, that definitely addresses the no. 1-3 starter point.  If there’s one for the MOO bat, let me know.  I don’t recall one. 

On the batting side the only quote that I could find now is  also to pick up one or two veteran bats to stretch out the lineup.

 

On pitchers he sort of changed his statement later in the off season. If we can get a front end rotation starter it would be big 

The rotation is perhaps an easier fit for a new veteran, especially since Jordan Lyles‘ club option was declined.  As Elias noted, “we’ve got a lot of interesting starters.  But they’re not guys who have a track record of being front-end-of-the-rotation starters.  If we’re able to go out this winter and get more veteran certainty, that would be big.  We’re going to be out in the market for that, for sure.”

[Tony-OH]

11 hours ago, Jammer7 said:

Well, according to Roch, he did lead MLB in 2022 with 11 pinch hits. So, we acquired Jim Dwyer for $1.4 million. Ok. 

Nice reference. I wish he was Jim Dwyer. From 1981-1987 Dwyer slashed  .263/.360/.442/.801 for the Orioles.

[eddie83]

11 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I was always under the assumptions it was the Orioles giving the team money, not the team giving the Orioles money along with the player when it says cash considerations. 

What you are saying is true but I think the difference in this deal is that KC had DFA’d him. The Royals had no leverage here. 
 

That said it would be nice to clarify. 

[Tony-OH]

10 hours ago, spiritof66 said:

You left out what may be the highlight of the Orioles' off-season, so far: signing James McCann. 

Does Elias think he's accomplishing something that we're all missing? Does he think the current rotation looks better than the rest of the world thinks? Is he limited by a budget that's tinier than we can imagine? Is he going to make a move in the next month that will help the 2023 Orioles?  

The only thing I can think of is he's counting on all of his young players doing better than last year so if he can tread water with his other roster positions he's hoping to slip into the last playoff spot. 

At this point, besides Givens and maybe McCann due to the low bar of getting over Chirinos, there is not a lot of improvement in his off season.

[Tony-OH]

10 hours ago, interloper said:

You still haven't provided a good case for why you think this guy is making the roster. 

Also don't get why you feel so attacked. We're just having opinions out here. No one is saying anything outrageous. 

Elias is not acquiring a $1.4 million player to head to AAA to be depth. He paid Odor the minimum and played him all year at 2B despite being sub replacement level. I 100% agree he SHOULD not make the team unless there's an injury, but I think Elias has decided this guy can help his team.

[Going Underground]

I guess if he makes the ream he would make over $1 mm but unclear in the Baltimore Sun who is paying him the salary. Maybe because he was dedicated for assignment because they signed Jordan Lyles,the Orioles are doing them a favor 

Before the Royals cut him loose, O’Hearn signed a $1.4 million deal to avoid arbitration. Based on arbitration projections, O’Hearn would be one of 11 Orioles with a contract worth at least $1 million should he make their opening day roster. Baltimore had no more than seven such players to start the 2019 to 2022 seasons, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

[Tony-OH]

10 hours ago, interloper said:

I agree with this. But we're all smart enough to know this is a depth signing regardless of the rest of the off season. 

It's been a disappointing off-season, I won't argue that fact. And I haven't been. And yet I continue to get lumped in with this frankly nonexistent Elias Worship Sect. I like Elias, but I'm not out here calling him a genius off season wizard. 

You keep saying this, but I think you really need to look at this entire situation. Corn stated it well, but I'd also add that we know ownership is in a legal battle within the family and there's smoke this team is being prepped for sale. Whether that means they keep salary down or not is up to interpretation, but at the end of the day, only the biggest optimists can be happy with this offseason.

And again, this organization does not sign $1.4 million player to be depth in AAA.  

[jerios55]

19 minutes ago, Frobby said:

That was my initial assumption, but it occurred to me that it could be the opposite.  I’m not sure we’ll be told.  

Well, if the Royals were on the hook for all 1.4mill and we offered to cover 500k (or whatever) that is net cash going to the Royals essentially.  I don't know, but I would say the math checks out.  Would be interesting to know.  Certainly would up the chances his option was used.

 

[Going Underground]

Fangraphs put his whole $ 1.4  mm. salary into the Orioles column. So we now have reached the same estimated payroll as last year. 

[Going Underground]

Just now, Going Underground said:

Fangraphs put his whole $ 1.4  mm. salary into the Orioles column. So we now have reached the same estimated payroll as last year. 

 

[Yardball85]

14 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

I'm not even kidding when I say it feels like the other owners are forcing to spend at least X so they are doing their best to hit exactly X with one year deals.

Certainly possible.  I remember hearing something similar when the Rays signed Carlos Gomez out of the blue a few years ago.  Glad we are doing things like the Rays. 

[Yardball85]

1 hour ago, JR Oriole said:

This made me laugh. I had never heard of this guy.  Then I looked up his career stats.  Wow.  Definitely has Orioles written all over him. 

This is exactly it.  As SG said, the Orioles have "holes to fill" and are doing so, even if the players they are choosing aren't good.  It's baffling and comes off as lazy and cheap. 

[Yardball85]

14 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

Baffling is as good a definition of this offseason as any that I can come up with. 

I've been an Orioles fan for 47 years (assuming I knew what being a fan meant around 5) and I'm not sure I've seen a more baffling offseason. 

Sometimes you see moves and you think, low cost, no downside, why not give it a look. Then you find out he's actually on a $1.4 million contract which means he's probably got a good chance to make the team. 

Remember when they signed Odor and we thought they would just kick the tires and then he ended up the starting second baseman almost all season? Yeah, that was for about half of what O'Hearn will make.

 

That's exactly it.  Depth moves are fine when you are also doing things to make the team better.  The team does not need to be adding just depth, they need to be adding better players.  People can talk all they want about how the team as constructed is ready to make the playoffs--and maybe they are, and that would be great--but it is equally possible that they overachieved last year, needed a boost this offseason to get to the playoffs, and instead, sat here twiddling their thumbs and watching the Bassitts and Eovaldis pass them by.