G-Rod Debut Date?

[Orioles0615]

If he starts in AAA people should riot.  I could also see them doing something annoying like delaying the debut until the week of the 10th against the A's because 1. they want it at home, 2. God forbid its against the scary Yankees

[Tony-OH]

12 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

We should melt down if it happens.  Elias admitted a lack of evidence supporting inning caps.

I'm really hoping that the Orioles do not have him on an innings cap. He's pitching at 23 years old this year, time to let him do his thing. Saying that, Elias' M.O. is to gain as much service time as he can with his high value prospects so I would not be surprised with him starting the year on the IL or sent down to "work on something" until they gain the extra year.

This would also allow the Wells-Voth situation have more time to conclude.

[sevastras]

39 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I'm really hoping that the Orioles do not have him on an innings cap. He's pitching at 23 years old this year, time to let him do his thing. Saying that, Elias' M.O. is to gain as much service time as he can with his high value prospects so I would not be surprised with him starting the year on the IL or sent down to "work on something" until they gain the extra year.

This would also allow the Wells-Voth situation have more time to conclude.

Would it be possible/has it ever been done, where someone files a grievance with the players association in a situation like this?  It would be very difficult to prove service time manipulation, even if the optics look as though that is what is going on. Even if the hypothetical kid is like, “No big deal, whatever is best for the team.”, their agent and the players association are suppose to advocate for the player. 
Saying all of this, I am very much a capitalist and take the owners side on these issues. When it comes down to it though, I think what is best for the team is having Grayson on the opening day roster and winning as many games as possible this year for a playoff run. Who is to say the current ownership is the same ownership 7 years from now and is Elias going to be the GM then?  

[Ohfan67]

Unless Grayson is injured or struggles the rest of spring training, then he will be on the Orioles roster on opening day. Elias has basically said this multiple times. They wanted him to pitch in the majors last year. If they send Grayson down to start the year, then I will definitely ask to speak to the manager. 

[Tony-OH]

47 minutes ago, sevastras said:

Would it be possible/has it ever been done, where someone files a grievance with the players association in a situation like this?  It would be very difficult to prove service time manipulation, even if the optics look as though that is what is going on. Even if the hypothetical kid is like, “No big deal, whatever is best for the team.”, their agent and the players association are suppose to advocate for the player. 
Saying all of this, I am very much a capitalist and take the owners side on these issues. When it comes down to it though, I think what is best for the team is having Grayson on the opening day roster and winning as many games as possible this year for a playoff run. Who is to say the current ownership is the same ownership 7 years from now and is Elias going to be the GM then?  

I guess at the end of the day, this service time manipulation should have really been negotiated better by the players union at the last collective bargaining agreement.

[Mooreisbetter27]

58 minutes ago, sevastras said:

Would it be possible/has it ever been done, where someone files a grievance with the players association in a situation like this?  It would be very difficult to prove service time manipulation, even if the optics look as though that is what is going on. Even if the hypothetical kid is like, “No big deal, whatever is best for the team.”, their agent and the players association are suppose to advocate for the player. 
Saying all of this, I am very much a capitalist and take the owners side on these issues. When it comes down to it though, I think what is best for the team is having Grayson on the opening day roster and winning as many games as possible this year for a playoff run. Who is to say the current ownership is the same ownership 7 years from now and is Elias going to be the GM then?  

Kris Bryant filed a grievance about it and the Cubs were almost 100% gaming his service time.  He ended up losing though.  

[spiritof66]

I hope he's with the Orioles on opening day. But I think they'll start the season without him and see how the pitching holds up, with the early-season off-days and opportunities for weather postponements. 

[Spy Fox]

For the folks guessing he's starting in the minors, is there any specific reason other than a general assumption the O's will try to game service time with guys? 

To me Elias' comments have all but stated that Rodriguez is an expected member of the team. He was likely within a week or two of getting called up last summer. They didn't really do any service time shenanigans with Henderson. It's not clear they did any with Rutschman either-- they may have been overly cautious about his injury but I don't think they made it up. And if it was service time related, the team was in a completely different competitive situation then. 

I think they will want all of his innings this year to come where they are most valuable, and that's on the big league club.

[NCRaven]

49 minutes ago, Mooreisbetter27 said:

Kris Bryant filed a grievance about it and the Cubs were almost 100% gaming his service time.  He ended up losing though.  

Not only that, they call him up the very next day after they were assured the extra year of team control.  Bryant took it to an arbitrator and lost.

[eddie83]

Elias is usually guarded and he all but told everyone Grayson will be on the club. 
 

If he was planning on being cute with his service time I don’t know why at every turn he has been so chatty about it. 

[Mooreisbetter27]

13 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

Not only that, they call him up the very next day after they were assured the extra year of team control.  Bryant took it to an arbitrator and lost.

Yup, they didn't try to hide it at all.  

Edited March 6, 2023 by Mooreisbetter27

[spleen1015]

57 minutes ago, Spy Fox said:

For the folks guessing he's starting in the minors, is there any specific reason other than a general assumption the O's will try to game service time with guys? 

At this point, to me, if he's not injured and not on the ML roster on Opening Day, is it 100% Elias manipulating his service time.

I look at it like this. Is it better to have him for the first 14 days of 2023 or is it better to have another year of team control? If he develops into 90% of what we're hoping he's going to be, that year of control is going to be huge.

[Just Regular]

I'm a little more optimistic having heard recently OD Roster competitors for bonus draft picks don't necessarily have to stay on the roster all year.    If his first couple months are okay not great, it could get interesting.     The 2023 team does need him more in the time of Means' absence and before anything that could happen trade-wise.

[Frobby]

Can we just let the guy pitch in spring training before declaring whether he must or will be on the team?   He looked good in his first outing.   Hopefully he keeps it up.   If he does, he’ll be on the team.  If he doesn’t, maybe he won’t, depending on what others do.   He’s not in a position where he can look like crap this spring and they put him in the rotation anyway.  But, it’s his job to lose.   Let’s hope he pitches well, and that will be that.  

[BrendanPlutschak]

21 hours ago, eddie83 said:

Elias is usually guarded and he all but told everyone Grayson will be on the club. 
 

If he was planning on being cute with his service time I don’t know why at every turn he has been so chatty about it. 

I completely agree with this. Elias has not hinted like literally at all about him starting the year in AAA. Every single time that the topic has come up, he has said that the plan is for him to make the Opening Day roster. As much as the "wheels up" comments kind of backfired on him, I can't imagine him going from that, to saying that that's the plan with Grayson, just for him to start the year in AAA anyway.