Ramon Urias 2023

[RVAOsFan]

21 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

They could trade a veteran like Urias to take advantage of his now value. I do agree that he has solid value and is, to me, a solid MLB veteran bat to have in a part-time role. I do not think he is more productive everyday at 3B than Gunnar is going to be there. Not this year nor in the long term. I do not think he is a GG level 2B, but he's average. The bat is solid off the bench, and he is the kind of guy who will get hits and great at bats in big moments in big games. 

Urias and Frazier are similar in that they should be bench pieces. Both can give a quality at bat and get hits against top pitching. Their swing mechanics and approaches are playable in that role, and they are "pros." Do we need both in a bench role? Could we move Westburg into Urias' role and add his COF versatility? I think so, honestly. I would be tempted to not DH Rutschman much on his off days from catching. It would allow Cowser and Westburg to get those at bats. They need as many as possible. 

I would send Vavra down when Urias comes back, and keep Ortiz at 2B on most days. Cowser could soon make O'Hearn expendable, and I like O'Hearn. With Santander able to play 1B, O'Hearn's profile is not really a need.  Below is what I would do, and I would do it sooner than later.

1B - Mountcastle 

2B - Ortiz (R)

SS - Mateo

3B - Henderson* (R)

INF - Frazier*

INF - Westburg (R)

C - Rutschman#

C - McCann

LF - Hays

CF - Mullins*

RF - Santander#

OF - Cowser* (R)

OF - McKenna

 

Good stuff, I really like what I see in Ortiz, the kid just looks like a ball player, total package.

I will say I think if Cowser is on the roster then he will be in RF or LF and Santander will DH or play 1B.

[btdart20]

1 hour ago, webbrick2010 said:

Frazier is the first needed to be traded, but we will have to add in a mid tier prospect (Norby, Mayo) to get anyone to take him and at least half his salary

Elias won't be looking for a salary dump.  No reason to lose a prospect just to trade away Frazier.

23 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

They could trade a veteran like Urias to take advantage of his now value. I do agree that he has solid value and is, to me, a solid MLB veteran bat to have in a part-time role. I do not think he is more productive everyday at 3B than Gunnar is going to be there. Not this year nor in the long term. I do not think he is a GG level 2B, but he's average. The bat is solid off the bench, and he is the kind of guy who will get hits and great at bats in big moments in big games. 

Urias and Frazier are similar in that they should be bench pieces. Both can give a quality at bat and get hits against top pitching. Their swing mechanics and approaches are playable in that role, and they are "pros." Do we need both in a bench role? Could we move Westburg into Urias' role and add his COF versatility? I think so, honestly. I would be tempted to not DH Rutschman much on his off days from catching. It would allow Cowser and Westburg to get those at bats. They need as many as possible. 

I would send Vavra down when Urias comes back, and keep Ortiz at 2B on most days. Cowser could soon make O'Hearn expendable, and I like O'Hearn. With Santander able to play 1B, O'Hearn's profile is not really a need. 

This is the way.  

If they feel comfortable with Santander at 1B 10% of the time and spot starts maybe for Adley/McCann, then Cowser (if healthy) could be an easy transition.  If O'Hearn is the floor, then, even if Cowser's contact rate needs time to adjust, the OBP and OF defense is upgraded.

Having both Westburg and Ortiz on the 26-man roster will probably take a trade.  It'll be an interesting next few weeks/months with a ton of chatter!

[TheWall]

3 hours ago, webbrick2010 said:

Frazier is the first needed to be traded, but we will have to add in a mid tier prospect (Norby, Mayo) to get anyone to take him and at least half his salary

It will not cost a ≈ top 100 prospect to get someone to take whatever is left of Fraziers salary ($4-5M?). That is insane. 

We could easily cut him at that point, but he's also been worth .8 bWAR thus far. I guess you have fun with hyperbole. 

[Jammer7]

4 hours ago, RVAOsFan said:

Good stuff, I really like what I see in Ortiz, the kid just looks like a ball player, total package.

I will say I think if Cowser is on the roster then he will be in RF or LF and Santander will DH or play 1B.

Probably so, but they can ease him in there with some DH time as well. Give him some time to slow things down.

[Sports Guy]

4 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

It's fair to say we trust Urias more. He has an established floor. Westburg and Ortiz may have more upside, but relying on prospects is risky when you're trying to win games. The prospects are as ready as they are going to be and they very well could outperform Urias, but there is some risk there that you don't have with more of a known quantity. 

There is a risk in anything you do.

The floor is higher with Urias, I agree.

[Aristotelian]

4 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

There is a risk in anything you do.

The floor is higher with Urias, I agree.

Correct, and to be clear I have been on record in favor of trading Urias and that was prior to signing Frazier! As long as we can get some value back for him, I think we have enough depth that it is a good bet the prospects can replace him. Then anything we get back for him is bonus and improves the team, either long term or short term. 

[Sports Guy]

Just now, Aristotelian said:

Correct, and to be clear I have been on record in favor of trading Urias and that was prior to signing Frazier! As long as we can get some value back for him, I think we have enough depth that it is a good bet the prospects can replace him. Then anything we get back for him is bonus and improves the team, either long term or short term. 

I prefer trading Mateo myself. Urias is someone I would prefer to be kind of a super UTI guy.

[Jagwar]

4 hours ago, RVAOsFan said:

Good stuff, I really like what I see in Ortiz, the kid just looks like a ball player, total package.

I will say I think if Cowser is on the roster then he will be in RF or LF and Santander will DH or play 1B.

Can Cowser spell all 3 outfield spots? Have him rotate with Hays, Mullins and Santander, have him DH other days. Put Santander at 1B once a week, have Mountcastle DH or have a day off against tough righties. 

It's not rocket surgery

[AnythingO's]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

I prefer trading Mateo myself. Urias is someone I would prefer to be kind of a super UTI guy.

Sorta agree because I like Urias,  but which Mateo is he really and what does moving him bring other than a roster spot? If Mateo settles as a .750 OPS guy with GG caliber defense then he is the bridge to Holiday ME wants. IF he is last years version going forward you can probably just go with Ortiz. It seems ME wants Westburg as the super Util & COF guy so Urias would be trade bait. If Frazier goes then Ortiz and Westburg can split 2B and fill in at SS and 3B and DH some but ME has to do that because Hyde will NOT bench Frazier. What about Urias to MIA for injured Trevor Rogers (forearm strain)? He seems to be their version of DL Hall. They already brought up Perez and Cabrera with Alcantara and Luzardo. 

[Aristotelian]

2 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

I prefer trading Mateo myself. Urias is someone I would prefer to be kind of a super UTI guy.

That was actually my reason for keeping Mateo. Seems more versatile as a SS and even OF, a perfect late inning defense/steal a base guy, or start anywhere a guy needs a rest.

[Sports Guy]

25 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

That was actually my reason for keeping Mateo. Seems more versatile as a SS and even OF, a perfect late inning defense/steal a base guy, or start anywhere a guy needs a rest.

But we don’t know he can play anywhere else. We know Urias can.

[sportsfan8703]

12 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

I prefer trading Mateo myself. Urias is someone I would prefer to be kind of a super UTI guy.

Mateo actually has the power to hit the ball over the Wall. I don’t see that in Ortiz just yet. I don’t think we trade any vets until the offseason. 
 

What we need to find out is what does Westburg look like at the MLB level. Because it’s Westburg vs Ortiz for 2B next year. Sprinkle in Urias. 

[Sports Guy]

14 hours ago, Jagwar said:

Can Cowser spell all 3 outfield spots? Have him rotate with Hays, Mullins and Santander, have him DH other days. Put Santander at 1B once a week, have Mountcastle DH or have a day off against tough righties. 

It's not rocket surgery

Are there people who perform surgery on rockets?

Edited May 19, 2023 by Sports Guy

[TommyPickles]

I'd love to keep Urias around. We have him under team control through the 2026 season. As @Sports Guy said, he'd be a versatile utility guy when the next wave settles in.

In the meantime, I hope any of our prospects put up 6.5 WAR in their first 787 ABs like Urias has done.

He's quietly outperformed Mateo this whole time.

[Billy F-Face3]

I would have been content heading into the 2023 season with Urias as our starting 2nd basemen. Rather than forcing in 3 player for 1 position, it would have freed up 3rd Base for Gunnar to master and play every day without having to cut into Meteo's time at Shortstop. Then if they needed a day off, adjust on those days. But paying a guy the 2nd largest salary on the team to jam up a position or be a part time player, isn't a great use of funds. And that's nothing against that player himself.

Urias has quietly been one of the catalysts for the Orioles turnaround beginning last season up through now.  His Gold Glove and his clutch hitting and all.