Maybe Frazier can play

[Number5]

4 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

We are talking  about value and that if you are going to address second base with a vet for the time being, that you sign a cheaper guy who is just as good for half or more of the cost.

It’s the better and smarter move.

 

Again, the stated need was for a LH batter.  Harrison was never on the radar, and has zero to do with it.  If you are really arguing that $8 is greater than $2, well, gee, you're right.  I'm having trouble seeing the need for BAL to sign either player, frankly, but I do acknowledge what the Oriole's stated need was.

[Frobby]

27 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

Gunnar's MiLB splits look much better vs. RHP too.  Only .502 vs. LHP in the minor last year (in very limited PAs).

I don’t believe that’s correct.  BB-ref shows him at .670 vs. LHP overall including his .448 in 26 PA in the majors.  I calculate that he hit .223/.331/.405 in 142 PA (121 AB) in the minors vs. LHP.  Still not great, and something to watch in 2023, but not nearly as bad as .502.   I see the .502 on his MiLB.com page (41 PA) but that appears to exclude his time in Norfolk.  

[Tony-OH]

2 hours ago, ChuckS said:

Interesting that the title of the OP is "Maybe Frazier can play" and one of the two subsequent sentences mentions clubhouse enthusiasm reminiscent of Odor.  

How are these things related?  Hint: They are not. 

I don't know. Somewhere in the Sig's Orioles cave his computer has validated veteranosity as having a lot of value. I feel like this conversation occurred:

Elias: Sig, we're still in the race for a wildcard and we need someone who can hit left-handed pitching. To the O's Cave!!

(Meanwhile, picture the Batman-esque spinning segway and little ditty)

Sig: I ran the numbers Mike, and it spit out Jesus Aguilar. 

Elias: But he's been terrible this year and the Marlins released him. The Marlins! And he can only really DH. Didn't Stowers hit .330/.441/.577/1.018 off Left-handers in AAA this year? 

Sig: Well, I ran the numbers again and it says Aguilar is the best choice and that we should bench Stowers against all lefties because he bats left-handed and my computer can't understand how that would translate.

Elias: Are we sure Stowers can't hit major league lefties?

Sig: I'm sure

(Picture the Batman-esque spinning segway and little ditty with a title - 4 weeks later)

Elias: Sig, Aguilar was even worse with us than he was with the Marlins, go check the algorithm.

Sig: OK boss...

Sig goes off and you can hear him mumbling: Ok, so we have one part previous OPS, one part 3-year span of stats, one part pitchers stats, one part pitcher's stuff, one part hitter's ability to hit said stuff, and six parts Veteranosity. I don't get it, it all adds up.

(Picture the Batman-esque spinning segway and little ditty) Title (July 29th)

Sig: Hey boss, I don't know. the algorithm gave us the amazing Odor so I don't know why it failed with Aguilar. 

Meanwhile, the game is going on and the phone rings. It's Hyde on the phone:

Hyde: Hey boss, the Tigers took out their righties and put in a lefty and Stower is due up, should I pull him?

Elias, looking over at Sig: No, no. Let's see what he does against this lefty. I mean he's hitting .000 in his lifetime with two HBP in his 3 PAs. Let's just wing it, why not?

Stowers homers

Elias stares over at Sig

Sig looks down at his Orioles computer

Sig: Umm, hey boss, let me see what I can do with that algorthim.

(Picture the Batman-esque spinning segway and little ditty) Title "Off Season"

Sig: Well, I redid the algorithm and it said to offer Adam Frazier $8 million, prioritize back up 1st baseman and backup catchers off the DFA list while making sure to keep Anthony Bemboom at all costs. Oh, and it said to go get Ryan O'Hearn and pay him his $1.4 million salary even though we probably could sign him as FA when he clears waivers. It said to add a reliever like Mychal Givens and by God, no matter what, find a way to get and keep Lewin Diaz in the organization.

Elias: If you say so. 

Sig: Can't go wrong this time boss

Elias mumbling: I think I'm going to trade for a pitcher too, but I'm going to do this on my own.

Sig: what did you say boss?

Elias: Nothing. Someone get Bemboom's agent on the phone and add him to the 40-man roster immediately! 

Spoiler

 

[Frobby]

Wow Tony, you have a budding career as a screenwriter.   

[btdart20]

13 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I don’t believe that’s correct.  BB-ref shows him at .670 vs. LHP overall including his .448 in 26 PA in the majors.  I calculate that he hit .223/.331/.405 in 142 PA (121 AB) in the minors vs. LHP.  Still not great, and something to watch in 2023, but not nearly as bad as .502.   I see the .502 on his MiLB.com page (41 PA) but that appears to exclude his time in Norfolk.  

I was looking at his MiLB.com page.  I missed that it has BOW in the team column.

The main point is that I can see some degree of match-ups happening.  Ideally with Gunnar still getting 99% of PAs with rest against select LHP.

[Frobby]

2 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

I was looking at his MiLB.com page.  I missed that it has BOW in the team column.

The main point is that I can see some degree of match-ups happening.  Ideally with Gunnar still getting 99% of PAs with rest against select LHP.

I think Gunnar has work to do to improve vs. LHP.   But he’s young and very driven to improve his weaknesses, so I’m bullish on his ability to get much better vs. LHP.

[eddie83]

Harrison BABIP last year .297

Frazier .268. 
 

Frazier walks more, K’s less and has a far superior throwing arm. 
 

They are not the same. 

[Sports Guy]

35 minutes ago, Number5 said:

Again, the stated need was for a LH batter.  Harrison was never on the radar, and has zero to do with it.  If you are really arguing that $8 is greater than $2, well, gee, you're right.  I'm having trouble seeing the need for BAL to sign either player, frankly, but I do acknowledge what the Oriole's stated need was.

Signing either is dumb. But if you are going to sign someone, Harrison was clearly the smarter and better sign.

I don’t care about the lefty thing. It’s a myth. I get it was their stated goal but that just adds to the stupidty of the signing.

[Tony-OH]

2 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Signing either is dumb. But if you are going to sign someone, Harrison was clearly the smarter and better sign.

I don’t care about the lefty thing. It’s a myth. I get it was their stated goal but that just adds to the stupidty of the signing.

What's a myth?

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, 2001OriolesFan said:

Well, people who know more than us do not agree. Henderson grades as a 50 in fielding and is 210 pounds,  (bound to get heavier has he matures more) and Ortiz grades as a 65 in fielding and weighs 175 pounds.  ,,I do NOT see Hendeson having more range than Ortiz ,  ,,,,,, Holliday and Westburg  grade as a 55 in fielding and everyone else in the top 40 prospects are 50. .....https://www.mlb.com/prospects/2022/orioles/.......................................... Remember these mean :   70= plus plus,,,,,,, 65,,,,,,,,,,60= plus,,,,,,,,,55= above avg........50-= average. 

Ortiz is the best fielding SS candidate we have in our system.   Mateo graded out as a 50 field (average) as a 26 year old in San Diego, but with a incredible 80 speed.  ( cf   https://www.prospectslive.com/scoutingreports/jorge-mateo   ,  ) AND  yes he covers a lot of ground but does flub some routine plays.   "Field: Fluid athlete in the field that has familiarity with 2B, SS, and OF. Best asset is his speed, which allows him to cover a lot of ground; has plus range in both the infield and outfield. In the infield, he moves well laterally and looks comfortable at both 2B and SS. Plays with bounce and shows a willingness to charge the ball and lay out in either direction. He's still green in the outfield, and needs to work specifically on his routes and reads; both are currently below to fringe-average. As with every other facet of his game, he's aggressive and can make some difficult plays. He's probably an average fielder wherever he ends up, but has some additional upside due to his footspeed and overall athleticism. Grade: 50"   Batt?  grade 45? (more like a 40)

If we can trade Mateo and replace him with Ortiz, we will be a better defense.    Plus Ortiz, after getting over shoulder injuries, came alive at the plate the second half of 2022 in AA AND AAA ball.  He would likely be a 50 scale (average) hitter in MLB.

I'd say that the 2021 assessment of Mateo being a 50 fielder was proven wrong in 2022 considering he won the Fielding Bible Award and should have been a GG candidate.  

I fully agree that Ortiz is a slick fielder at SS or 2B.   And he doesn't make many errors. That rightfully gets him a lot of praise for his fielding.   But his speed is average.  And Gunnar is plus.   That plays into range.   I think Gunnar is rangier than Ortiz.   I will be interested to see what comes out of ST  with them both on the field next to each other.   Gunnar does see himself as a SS.

Let's not confuse the speculation that Gunnar will out grow SS with who he is now.  In 2023 he can still play SS well.

 

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, sportsfan8703 said:

I agree.  We overpaid for Frazier, but if we don't we could've lost him to another team.  He signed pretty quick in the offseason.  Nobody realizes how bad Urias hurt his knee because it was one of the last games of the season.  So we were aggressive in locking up 1 yr deal insurance policy.  

Could you provide a link to where you are getting your info on Urias knee injury?

[Sports Guy]

17 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

What's a myth?

That we have to have lefties.  Well I guess I should say it’s a myth based off of one years worth of data, which only means so much but it’s all we have right now.

[Tony-OH]

5 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

That we have to have lefties.  Well I guess I should say it’s a myth based off of one years worth of data, which only means so much but it’s all we have right now.

Ok, just wanted to make sure you weren't saying a platoon advantage with some players/pitchers is a myth. 

[sportsfan8703]

21 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Could you provide a link to where you are getting your info on Urias knee injury?

https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player/ramon-urias-15783
 

Facing multi-month recovery

October 3, 2022

Urias said Monday that he'll need 8-to-12 weeks to fully recover from his sprained right knee, Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Sun reports.

ANALYSIS
Urias won't require surgery to address the knee sprain that resulted in his placement on the 10-day injured list last week, but he'll still be in rest-and-rehab mode for the early portion of the offseason. Barring any setbacks that extend his recovery timeline, however, Urias should be back to full health in advance of spring training. The 28-year-old was a full-time infielder for the Orioles in 2022, seeing action in 118 games while slashing .248/.305/.414 with 16 home runs and one stolen base across 445 plate appearances

[wildcard]

45 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player/ramon-urias-15783
 

Facing multi-month recovery

October 3, 2022

Urias said Monday that he'll need 8-to-12 weeks to fully recover from his sprained right knee, Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Sun reports.

ANALYSIS
Urias won't require surgery to address the knee sprain that resulted in his placement on the 10-day injured list last week, but he'll still be in rest-and-rehab mode for the early portion of the offseason. Barring any setbacks that extend his recovery timeline, however, Urias should be back to full health in advance of spring training. The 28-year-old was a full-time infielder for the Orioles in 2022, seeing action in 118 games while slashing .248/.305/.414 with 16 home runs and one stolen base across 445 plate appearances

Thanks.   But you think the O's didn't trust the 8 to 12 weeks so they went out and signed Frazier?