Orioles acquire Ryan O’Hearn

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

Holy smokes. They are going to pay him $1.4 million? 

Good Lord... 

I had the same reaction.  It now occurs to me that maybe the “cash considerations” here are that the O’s will pay some portion of the excess between the league minimum and the $1.4 mm, but not the whole $1.4 mm.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

2 minutes ago, waroriole said:

Wildcard is the only one who seems to have that idea. I don’t disagree with it, but I’ve seen no indication the team is considering any non traditional approaches to 1B. 

The way I see it 1B is Mountcastle’s job to lose, but what is going to happen with DH. I figure Adley will play there to make use of his bat when he’s not catching, but that’s maybe 30 to 40 games. 

I’m not really looking forward to the likes of O’Hearn being the DH against RHP and would prefer a more established hitter or let more promising younger prospects get at bats at DH. 

[eddie83]

3 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

The way I see it 1B is Mountcastle’s job to lose, but what is going to happen with DH. I figure Adley will play there to make use of his bat when he’s not catching, but that’s maybe 30 to 40 games. 

I’m not really looking forward to the likes of O’Hearn being the DH against RHP and would prefer a more established hitter or let more promising younger prospects get at bats at DH. 

What about Stowers and Santander? 

[emmett16]

13 minutes ago, waroriole said:

Wildcard is the only one who seems to have that idea. I don’t disagree with it, but I’ve seen no indication the team is considering any non traditional approaches to 1B. 

I love the idea of playing Westburg all over the IF.  I think there is a lot of value in a player that is able to do that.  I know some people hate the idea and want them to specialize, but I think long term adding skills can be nothing but a good thing.  It slows the development at each individual position, no doubt.  But, if a guy can hit and you have solid but not + at the various positions, then having a guy with a big stick that can fill in all over would be fantastic.  Mountcastle 1B, Frazier 2b, Gunnar ss, Urias 3b & Westburg super sub.

 

With all that said I’m going to be shocked if O’Hearn is on the opening day roster.  I hope/imagine he is an expensive AAA reclamation project that kicks Nottingham (who has been playing 1B at Norfolk) off first.  

Edited January 4, 2023 by emmett16

[eddie83]

36 minutes ago, HakunaSakata said:

Organization depth? The only thing deep about Ryan O'Hearn are the holes he's dug himself into on the way to that career .219 batting average. This is a move defined and motivated by utter cheapness. Let's just call a spade a spade. 

Do you expect them to add a starting caliber player for the 26th spot? Who would you like for the spot? Under the current roster when would Vavra play?
 

We aren’t talking about someone they are banking on for a ton of at bats. 

[Jammer7]

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

[emmett16]

10 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

Do you expect them to add a starting caliber player for the 26th spot? Who would you like for the spot? Under the current roster when would Vavra play?
 

We aren’t talking about someone they are banking on for a ton of at bats. 

I think they still acquire another player.  I think Vavra goes to AAA and is depth and woks on his defense.  

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute 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. 

A key component in leading the league in pinch hits is not being good enough to start.

[RZNJ]

4 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

A key component in leading the league in pinch hits is not being good enough to start.

It's called a bench player.  I think each team has 4 or 5.

[HakunaSakata]

15 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

Do you expect them to add a starting caliber player for the 26th spot? Who would you like for the spot? Under the current roster when would Vavra play?
 

We aren’t talking about someone they are banking on for a ton of at bats. 

I mean, just off the top of my head signing Dominic Smith (for just $600K more), making him our permanent DH / back-up first baseman, and then trading Santander for starting pitching would have been a infinitely better move. Smith was a great OBP player in 2019 and 2020 and gambling on a player with at least some glimmer of hope/past success seems like  a much better approach then overpaying an inherently awful player and expecting him to turn into Cinderella. The whole stat guru tag we give Elias doesn't hold much water with me when I see him make a move like this, because there is nothing Ryan O'Hearn's underlying numbers that suggest he should be on a MLB roster, let alone making $1.4M a year.  

[HakunaSakata]

5 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

It's called a bench player.  I think each team has 4 or 5.

Does Ryan O'Hearn really even belong on a MLB roster? Certainly not a good one. I mean, the Kanas City Royals didn't want him for god's sake. 

[Ripken]

1 minute ago, HakunaSakata said:

Does Ryan O'Hearn really even belong on a MLB roster? Certainly not a good one. I mean, the Kanas City Royals didn't want him for god's sake. 

No.  No, he doesn't.  He's not even good enough to be the 26th player.  Meanwhile, this tight-ass organization isn't exactly known for spending $1.4M on Norfolkers.  

[Frobby]

7 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

It's called a bench player.  I think each team has 4 or 5.

Quiz: who had the most plate appearances for the O’s as a pinch hitter last year, and the most hits?

Answer: Rougned Odor, 16 PA and 4 hits.  

[sportsfan8703]

I really think we like the option. If we have an IF/OF/C get banged up for a few days we can option O’Hearn and called up a replacement for the injured player. 
 

Platoons and Flexibilty. 

[Can_of_corn]

11 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

It's called a bench player.  I think each team has 4 or 5.

And for a team like the O's it should be someone still making the ML minimum.