Moves in the near term

[wildcard]

Here are a few things I see happening soon:

1)  Zimmermann down,  Irvin up.    Irvin started on May 31st for Norfolk.   I think he starts on June 7th against the Brewers.   The 5th starter is not needed until the June 10th but that he too long between starts for him.   Zimmermann has not pitched as well has Irvin so I think he will not get the start.

2) Kjerstad promotion to AAA.   He is at 196 PAs with two games before the Monday promotion day.   The only thing that stands in his way is a 4 for 25 mini slump he just went through.   He was 2 for 5 last night so if he keeps hitting he may be promoted.  On the other hand I don't see them promoting him if he stays in a slump.  This is a test of my 200 PA theory.

3)  I wish I could say Cowser promoted but I have no idea where he is in his recovery from his injuries.  And he has a rehab to go through.

4) I said a couple of days along that Givens and Perez better no whisper the word soreness or they would be on the IL.    Well Givens did and he is out for a while.   Perez was doing OK in May until May 29th and 31st when he blew up again.    There is nothing definite here but Perez might be next.   

Vespi has a 1.86 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP and is striking out a batter an inning.  Just waiting for an opportunity.  They are both lefties.

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by wildcard

[Billy F-Face3]

I can agree with Kjerstad to Norfolk and Vespi to Baltimore. Kjerstad is not in a slump. He hit the game tying home run last night in the 8th to send it into extra innings and give his team the chance to win, which they did in the bottom of the 10th.

[Sanity Check]

22 minutes ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

I can agree with Kjerstad to Norfolk and Vespi to Baltimore. Kjerstad is not in a slump. He hit the game tying home run last night in the 8th to send it into extra innings and give his team the chance to win, which they did in the bottom of the 10th.

That's great news for all of us.  That would also mean that Gunnar Henderson is no longer in a slump.  

[Morgan423]

3 hours ago, wildcard said:

Perez was doing OK in May until May 29th and 31st when he blew up again.    There is nothing definite here but Perez might be next.   

Vespi has a 1.86 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP and is striking out a batter an inning.  Just waiting for an opportunity.  They are both lefties.

Hernández is also right there, even though he got hit a bit in his last outing versus Gwinnett, he's been super-solid most of the season.

Pérez had better focus on figuring out what he's doing wrong and get it fixed... he has multiple guys eyeing his roster spot. 

I think he's floated around a little longer than normal due to being out of options, and because someone will claim him if he's DFA'd... but that will only hold the team off for so long before they let him go.  You can't carry a one-inning lefty with a five-ish ERA in your bullpen extendedly if you're trying to win.

[Aristotelian]

Aren't we currently down a pitcher? I would say Lester down, Irvin up. I could see Akin going down for Vespi and keeping Zimmermann. Question is who replaces Gunnar. Could we finally see Westburg? Someone would have to be DFA.

[Bahama O's Fan]

23 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Aren't we currently down a pitcher? I would say Lester down, Irvin up. I could see Akin going down for Vespi and keeping Zimmermann. Question is who replaces Gunnar. Could we finally see Westburg? Someone would have to be DFA.

Ortiz for Gunnar? He plays 3B right? He's on the 40 man and been up twice I think already. I just hope if he comes up, he gets regular starts. Two days at 3B, two days at SS, two days at 2B and rest one day.

[wildcard]

10 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Aren't we currently down a pitcher? I would say Lester down, Irvin up. I could see Akin going down for Vespi and keeping Zimmermann. Question is who replaces Gunnar. Could we finally see Westburg? Someone would have to be DFA.

The OP was posted before Lester was promoted and Coulombe went of the bereavement list.    That is why they are a pitcher down.  Coulombe will probably be back on Tuesday.

I don't know who goes down with Gunnar day to day.   Gunnar stays on the bench.  Urias will probably take over 3B.   Elias has to decide between Vavra and Lester as the backup I would think.

They are going to need a 5th starter.   Could be Zimmermann or Irvin.   I would think the Irvin but  its really hard to guess.

Cowser is back at AAA and hitting.  But Hicks actually looks good in CF.   I doubt he calls up Cowser just yet.

 

[wildcard]

2 minutes ago, Bahama O's Fan said:

Ortiz for Gunnar? He plays 3B right? He's on the 40 man and been up twice I think already. I just hope if he comes up, he gets regular starts. Two days at 3B, two days at SS, two days at 2B and rest one day.

Ortiz has been down with an illness for about a week.

[webbrick2010]

Every infielder on the 26 has an OPS below .725, Mateo at .651

Is there a middle infielder at AAA who is ready? Perhaps a guy with a 1.000 OPS and leading the team in HR's?

This is getting ridiculous. Time to move on from Mateo/Urias/Frazier and bring up Westburg and Ortiz

[Aristotelian]

39 minutes ago, wildcard said:

The OP was posted before Lester was promoted and Coulombe went of the bereavement list.    That is why they are a pitcher down.  Coulombe will probably be back on Tuesday.

I don't know who goes down with Gunnar day to day.   Gunnar stays on the bench.  Urias will probably take over 3B.   Elias has to decide between Vavra and Lester as the backup I would think.

They are going to need a 5th starter.   Could be Zimmermann or Irvin.   I would think the Irvin but  its really hard to guess.

Cowser is back at AAA and hitting.  But Hicks actually looks good in CF.   I doubt he calls up Cowser just yet.

 

Ah, forgot about Coulombe. So Coulombe and Irvin for Lester and one of Akin/Zimmermann. I would be inclined to keep Zimmermann for a while as they are using Akin more like a matchup guy than a long guy and length is an issue for us.

Anything involving lower back I have to guess is going to take more than day to day, but we will see. It didn't look bad on the replay but it's lower back.

[Bemorewins]

34 minutes ago, webbrick2010 said:

Every infielder on the 26 has an OPS below .725, Mateo at .651

Is there a middle infielder at AAA who is ready? Perhaps a guy with a 1.000 OPS and leading the team in HR's?

This is getting ridiculous. Time to move on from Mateo/Urias/Frazier and bring up Westburg and Ortiz

I don’t think that we can simply “move on” from Mateo, Urias, and Frazier. Other than Urias to maybe a smaller degree, the other two don’t have any trade value. So, that would mean us giving them away.

I would love to see one of Westburg or Ortiz be given an opportunity. But I don’t expect results that are too dissimilar to Gunnar, Grayson, and Adley when first acclimating to the bigs.

However, it is most probably that one of them (Westburg or Ortiz) will have to be used as part of a package to acquire a starting pitching upgrade, which we sorely need, especially if we have any plans of serious postseason success. If we don’t trade one of them, how would you recommend acquiring such a piece. Would you rather trade Cowser? Something else? I know a lot of posters are down on Norby, but he does not carry the value to headline a trade package for the type of starter that we need.

[AnythingO's]

I was on the Bowie site looking at Kjerstad's game logs, he finished May 4 for 24 but is 4 for 14 in June so some SSS improvement. Anyway, not my point. There are 9 videos at the bottom of the page. The one in the middle from May 11 he hit a triple to right center. Good shot of him running the bases. The big guy can motor.

[forphase1]

53 minutes ago, Bemorewins said:

I don’t think that we can simply “move on” from Mateo, Urias, and Frazier. Other than Urias to maybe a smaller degree, the other two don’t have any trade value. So, that would mean us giving them away.

Yes,  give them away if we must,  DFA, send to minors or trade for lottery ticket.  If they aren't valuable enough to us to keep in the majors they likely aren't to other teams either.   But that's not really the issue as for most of them someone else gets moved (Vavra, etc) and they take on a bench/platoon/substitute role.  But the results,  especially from Mateo, no longer justify letting him stay every game.   In his case don't trade or cut him, unless we get a good deal of course,  but utilize his speed and defense as a pinch runner and late innings defense sub.  

[Tony-OH]

19 hours ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

I can agree with Kjerstad to Norfolk and Vespi to Baltimore. Kjerstad is not in a slump. He hit the game tying home run last night in the 8th to send it into extra innings and give his team the chance to win, which they did in the bottom of the 10th.

He did, but in his last 9 games over 40 PAs, he's slashing .211/.250/.342/.592 with 1 BB, 5 Ks, and 1 HR. So you could say he's a in a bit of a slump. Not something to be worried over, but not a Jim Hunter SSS slump.

[Bemorewins]

6 minutes ago, forphase1 said:

Yes,  give them away if we must,  DFA, send to minors or trade for lottery ticket.  If they aren't valuable enough to us to keep in the majors they likely aren't to other teams either.   But that's not really the issue as for most of them someone else gets moved (Vavra, etc) and they take on a bench/platoon/substitute role.  But the results,  especially from Mateo, no longer justify letting him stay every game.   In his case don't trade or cut him, unless we get a good deal of course,  but utilize his speed and defense as a pinch runner and late innings defense sub.  

Wait… You want to give away Urias who won the GG last year? Or Frazier who has helped us win games this year? For nothing? Please help me understand the logic of this.

I can understand your frustrations with Mateo. I believe that his leash is getting much shorter. 

But if we jettison 2/3 Major League infielders for little to no compensation. What is your plan if the young players struggle and have to be sent back like Grayson? 

Also, could you foresee a scenario where Westburg and Ortiz struggle out of the gate for a while like Gunnar or worse? We would then be getting very little offense (even less than now) from our infield? Do you think that we could when at our current clip if that were to take place?

Lastly, if all of our prospects are brought up and the vets pushed aside, what would be your plan to acquire a serious starting pitching upgrade? Seeing as the vets could not bring back that kind of haul in a trade. Do you think starting pitching is not that big of a team need compared to possible slight improvement in offensive production?