Moves in the near term

[Sanity Check]

19 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I don't have Cowser replacing Hicks.   I have him playing RF/DH with Santander.  

I disagree that there is no necessity to call up Cowser.   The O's have lost series to the Rangers, Guardians and Brewers.   Moves need to be made so the O's don't lose to the Jays and Rays.

So, Cowser would have prevented us from losing those games?  Really?  Come on.....

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, Sanity Check said:

So, Cowser would have prevented us from losing those games?  Really?  Come on.....

The O's should put their best on the field.    No use to be  losing while the best is at AAA.

Edited June 11, 2023 by wildcard

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, Sanity Check said:

Lester was mashing at Norfolk as well.  Home Runs, RBI's and OPS.  Why are you jettisoning now in favor of the others, as if to assume the others will come up and be better??  On what basis is he a DFA candidate for you, just to make room?  That really feels a bit short-sighted.  

I've been really pulling for Mateo, but if we have Ortiz and Henderson, who do we have to defensively replace??  That's just a wasted spot if that's all he is.

Who is a better player.  Lester or Cowser?   Cowser improves the offense and the outfield defense.   

Lester or Ortiz?   Ortiz fills a hole at 2B vs lefties.  Lester can't do that.  

Lester is behind O'Hearn and Mounty at 1B.   Behind Urias and Gunnar at 3B.   Behind everyone in the  OF.    Behind Adley, Santander and Cowser at DH.    The O's should be trying to put the best team on the field and Lester is the 26th man slipping to 27 fast.

Edited June 11, 2023 by wildcard

[seak05]

Short term, I put Mountcastle on the IL and call up Westburg 

McKenna optioned when Mullins returns

Slightly longer term, Orioles need to make decisions on Urias and Matteo...and that's when you get Cowser and Ortiz 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

19 minutes ago, seak05 said:

Short term, I put Mountcastle on the IL and call up Westburg 

McKenna optioned when Mullins returns

Slightly longer term, Orioles need to make decisions on Urias and Matteo...and that's when you get Cowser and Ortiz 

I think Urias has some trade value and more than Mateo. Urias plays great defense at 3B and his career OPS+ is 108. 

[terpoh]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

I have seen the argument that Ortiz has to play everyday if called up.    However he has been called up already this season and he did not play everyday while up.

 Also the O's need to find a way to improve to get back to winning series.  The O's need to hit lefties better.   Ortiz has hit them at AAA.  

When the O's were winning it was already to not put their best team on the field because they were winning with what they had.   That is not true anymore.  Now they are losing to good teams.   They need to make moves to make the team better.  Adding Irvin was one move.   Adding Cowser and Ortiz will be two move.

Getting McKenna and Lester off the 26 man roster and replacement them with better players is the way to get better.

 

I am not disagreeing with you in that I think they need to make some moves to improve the team. This weekend was amazing, but it was against the Royals. To your point. Ortiz was up and not playing every day and they sent him back down for that exact reason. He wont bring those guys up to not play. He is ok with Lester not being an everyday guy it appears. I personally think there is enough at bats to go around for Ortiz/Westburg but I dont think limiting Frazier and Urias/Mateo is in the Orioles plans right now. I hope we hear something tomorrow.

[Sanity Check]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

The O's should put their best on the field.    No use to be  losing while the best is at AAA.

I hate to break this to you, but if/when those guys get here, the O's will still lose baseball games, and series.  Let's not pretend they won't.  Then what??  Is it time to panic?

I think your immediate expectations of then might be a bit unrealistic.  I love your optimism, though.

[foxfield]

Wins are wins. The Oakland A’s took a couple from Atlanta. It happens. 
 

O’s are 17 games over .500 and STILL have the third best record in all of baseball. 
 

Not a perfect team but jeez even Wildcard is sounding negative. 
 

Completed a sweep today with Adley getting a full day of rest in front of an off day…and that kid some wanted sent down recently has exploded. And Urias looked pretty stout too. 
 

A Sunday win. 
 

Still have kids to bring up in the future. It’s a pretty damn good day guys. The beer is cold and momentum…well according to Earl that is tomorrow’s starting pitcher and tomorrow we don’t have one.  Enjoy, there is still work to do. 

[Sanity Check]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

Who is a better player.  Lester or Cowser?   Cowser improves the offense and the outfield defense.   

Lester or Ortiz?   Ortiz fills a hole at 2B vs lefties.  Lester can't do that.  

Lester is behind O'Hearn and Mounty at 1B.   Behind Urias and Gunnar at 3B.   Behind everyone in the  OF.    Behind Adley, Santander and Cowser at DH.    The O's should be trying to put the best team on the field and Lester is the 26th man slipping to 27 fast.

That's not a great argument to DFA him, which is what I asked.  It's an argument to maybe have him in Norfolk....or trade him to a team that needs a bat (or, maybe O'Hearn has more trade value), but to just give up and DFA him feels extreme to me.  That's what I was disagreeing with, not who the better player is compared with Cowser.  Ortiz isn't even a comparison.....different positions and skill sets.

[Os4days]

To me, it is obvious that Elias is not gonna rush Cowser, Ortiz, Heston or any of our top prospects especially while we are in contention. It took over a month before Adley came up and we were struggling at the time. 
 

I think it’s the smart move. First you don’t want to stunt a young player’s growth by only playing him sparingly. Adley came up and pretty much played every day. Second I prefer guys with experience on the bench. Having a 24 year old come up and expecting big things in big games may be too much to ask. Heck look at Grayson. I think that’s why Lester got called up as he produced at AAA but is not considered a blue chip. Last, we signed Hicks and when Cedric comes back, I could see him playing right with Anthony, Ohearns and Mounty switching between RF, 1B and DH. 

Edited June 12, 2023 by Os4days

[seak05]

yeah, the team is 17 games over .500, panic changing 20% of the roster seems rather extreme a reaction. The reality is too that while some of these young players might be better long term, in the short term they're likely to struggle as they adjust to the big leagues

[Mooreisbetter27]

30 minutes ago, foxfield said:

Wins are wins. The Oakland A’s took a couple from Atlanta. It happens. 
 

O’s are 17 games over .500 and STILL have the third best record in all of baseball. 
 

Not a perfect team but jeez even Wildcard is sounding negative. 
 

Completed a sweep today with Adley getting a full day of rest in front of an off day…and that kid some wanted sent down recently has exploded. And Urias looked pretty stout too. 
 

A Sunday win. 
 

Still have kids to bring up in the future. It’s a pretty damn good day guys. The beer is cold and momentum…well according to Earl that is tomorrow’s starting pitcher and tomorrow we don’t have one.  Enjoy, there is still work to do. 

I mean, to be fair, it was like 2 guys who wanted to send him down. One who was especially loud about it who has been mysteriously absent recently. 

[Teddy OBP]

Whenever I get too excited about bringing up guys from AAA I go back to McKenna being essentially Cowser in AAA in 2021 and the absolute certainty by most of us that Mountcastle would hit. 
 

At least one of our top guys is likely to get up here and either suck or disappoint. I am happy to continue to defer to Elias.  
 

I also subscribe to the theory that Westburg is being preserved in the minors as a trade chip so he’s not tarnished in the event that he struggles if/when he comes up.

[wildcard]

51 minutes ago, terpoh said:

I am not disagreeing with you in that I think they need to make some moves to improve the team. This weekend was amazing, but it was against the Royals. To your point. Ortiz was up and not playing every day and they sent him back down for that exact reason. He wont bring those guys up to not play. He is ok with Lester not being an everyday guy it appears. I personally think there is enough at bats to go around for Ortiz/Westburg but I dont think limiting Frazier and Urias/Mateo is in the Orioles plans right now. I hope we hear something tomorrow.

Frazier is already limited.  He rarely starts vs left-handed starters.  Urias plays 2B in those games.  However Urias has a 605 OPS vs lefties in 2023,  666 OPS vs lefties in 2022.   Ortiz has a  728 OPS  vs lefties in limited use with the O's in 2023.  1062 vs lefties at AAA in 2023.    1284 OPS vs lefties at AAA in 2022.

Urias is much better hitting vs righties.

[Aristotelian]

I see no reason to DFA Lester. Lester fills a need in a spot we are thin. I would rather have him than McKenna, Gillaspie, and Spencer Watkins (who has been terrible this year). Plus the longer we wait the cheaper it gets to 60-day Seth Johnson. Should be plenty of room on the 40 man for Westburg and Cowser.