Changes coming to the O's

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Bahama O's Fan said:

Seattle

The team he was on last year that let him walk?

I'd rather keep putting Caballero out there if I'm the Mariners.

[eddie83]

7 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

I will riot if they bring Mountcastle back. 

This place will riot if one of Westburg/Cowser goes down temporarily for Mountcastle. 
 

Unless they deal Mateo at the break I’m having a hard time figuring out what other move they make. O’Hearn isn’t going anywhere and obviously neither is McCann.  

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

24 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

This place will riot if one of Westburg/Cowser goes down temporarily for Mountcastle. 
 

Unless they deal Mateo at the break I’m having a hard time figuring out what other move they make. O’Hearn isn’t going anywhere and obviously neither is McCann.  

Players suffer from wear and tear as the season progresses some nagging knee or ankle pain will put a player like Mateo on the IL to rest up.

Ideally, I want to see a trade to clear up the logjam of position players that returns pitching help.

[ChuckS]

6 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

I think folks are actually delusional at this point.

Hyde was talking up his guys that did well in the game today.

Do you think Hyde is standing there hoping for this question so he can go "Yes!  I get a chance to dump on Mouncastle!!"

Yea I don’t see Mountcastle figuring in whatsoever with the post-game comments.  Hyde is going to talk up all of his players strengths if you put a mic in front of him regardless of the circumstances of the team. 

[Filmstudy]

8 hours ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

Ideally Irvin should be in the bullpen.  He seems like he would be a good option as a long man, so Hyde can stop using 5 or 6 relievers when the O's are down 7-0 in the 3rd.  Not that it happens that often, but it drives me crazy when Hyde uses 80% of the bullpen in a game the O's have no chance of winning.

Irvin in the bullpen as the long man also flips RHP to LHP to gain platoon advantage to much of the opp starting lineup.  If you don't have a decent LH starter, that might be the next best thing.

[StottyByNature]

Seems like a small trade of Urias or Mateo for a middle reliever is in order. Though I think they will be inclined to wait until the deadline.  While Westburg has looked good it’s still too small of a sample size to declare him a big league starter.

Mountcastle is the trickier one.  He’s been a mainstay for a while and you have to wonder how important he is in the locker room.  These are still human beings and it might not sit right with the team to see a guy lose not just his starting job but his spot on the MLB roster to vertigo. Maybe it’s a non-issue and they accept it’s a tough business, but I think there could be a veteran consideration at play here.

[Bahama O's Fan]

7 minutes ago, StottyByNature said:

Seems like a small trade of Urias or Mateo for a middle reliever is in order. Though I think they will be inclined to wait until the deadline.  While Westburg has looked good it’s still too small of a sample size to declare him a big league starter.

Mountcastle is the trickier one.  He’s been a mainstay for a while and you have to wonder how important he is in the locker room.  These are still human beings and it might not sit right with the team to see a guy lose not just his starting job but his spot on the MLB roster to vertigo. Maybe it’s a non-issue and they accept it’s a tough business, but I think there could be a veteran consideration at play here.

Yeah, that's what I think too. We can sit here and easily say to option him, but if he is fully healthy, I think management is bringing him back as it will look really bad for the rest of the team to leave him in AAA due to a medical condition that is now no longer a problem. 

[bluedog]

All I know is that the O's are in a really enviable position - a winning team with lots of redundant assets we can trade from to make the club better.

The next 3 weeks are going to be REALLY interesting. Possibly the most interesting trade deadline in my 40 years of being an Orioles fan.

[emmett16]

On 7/8/2023 at 9:11 AM, Bahama O's Fan said:

Honestly, if I HAD to bring Mouncastle up to the major league team, Frazier might be the one to go

Mountcastle who?

[emmett16]

15 minutes ago, StottyByNature said:

Seems like a small trade of Urias or Mateo for a middle reliever is in order. Though I think they will be inclined to wait until the deadline.  While Westburg has looked good it’s still too small of a sample size to declare him a big league starter.

Mountcastle is the trickier one.  He’s been a mainstay for a while and you have to wonder how important he is in the locker room.  These are still human beings and it might not sit right with the team to see a guy lose not just his starting job but his spot on the MLB roster to vertigo. Maybe it’s a non-issue and they accept it’s a tough business, but I think there could be a veteran consideration at play here.

There is also the human issues of having 9 guys in a lineup and 1 of them can’t hit.  Even more frustrating when your teammate who isn’t hitting is also not providing any defensive value.  

[Bird Lady]

9 minutes ago, StottyByNature said:

Seems like a small trade of Urias or Mateo for a middle reliever is in order. Though I think they will be inclined to wait until the deadline.  While Westburg has looked good it’s still too small of a sample size to declare him a big league starter.

Mountcastle is the trickier one.  He’s been a mainstay for a while and you have to wonder how important he is in the locker room.  These are still human beings and it might not sit right with the team to see a guy lose not just his starting job but his spot on the MLB roster to vertigo. Maybe it’s a non-issue and they accept it’s a tough business, but I think there could be a veteran consideration at play here.

I got the impression from Hyde's "We'll see" in response to the question about seeing RM after the All-star break that this is a sticky question for the Orioles at the moment, and one they are definitely wrestling with 

[bluedog]

4 minutes ago, emmett16 said:

There is also the human issues of having 9 guys in a lineup and 1 of them can’t hit.  Even more frustrating when your teammate who isn’t hitting is also not providing any defensive value.  

Agreed.

These guys want to win. I doubt many players would choose to field a less competitive team to keep guys around who aren't performing. 

[bluedog]

56 minutes ago, Bird Lady said:

I got the impression from Hyde's "We'll see" in response to the question about seeing RM after the All-star break that this is a sticky question for the Orioles at the moment, and one they are definitely wrestling with 

I think that the O's are going to bring Mountcastle back up and implement a strict platoon between him and O'hearn at 1b.

Here is the player you get if you combine O'hearn's stats vs righties and Mounty's stats versus lefties this year:

Ryan O'Castle:

AB   Runs  Hits  2bs  3bs  HRs   RBIs  BBs  Ks   Avg   Obp   Slg   Ops

203   33     64    14     0     14      49    12   45   .315  .374  .591  .966

Hey now! That's an All-Star.

 

Here is the player you get if you combine their stats in Righty / Righty and Lefty / Left matchups:

Ryan MountHernia

AB   Runs  Hits  2bs  3bs  HRs   RBIs  BBs  Ks   Avg   Obp   Slg   Ops

168   22     33      7     1      4      17      8    54   .188  .233  .295  .528

O'hearn's only had 8 ABs versus lefties so SSS is in effect, and even if Mounty isn't with the team, Hyde can play other righties there as a part of a platoon (Urias, etc.).

But I have a feeling that given how Mountcastle has annihilated lefty pitchers this year (.676 slugging / 1.017 ops) that the O's will see him as an asset off the bench when opponents bring in relievers to match up against the O's left handed heavy hitting lineups.

The O's need a weapon on the bench to punish opponents that bring in a left handed reliever. Mountcastle is that weapon - so I don't see him going anywhere.

Edited July 9, 2023 by bluedog

[Billy F-Face3]

3 minutes ago, bluedog said:

I think that the O's are going to bring Mountcastle back up and implement a strict platoon between him and O'hearn at 1b.

Here is the player you get if you combine O'hearn's stats versus righties and Mounty's stats versus lefties so far this year:

Ryan O'Castle:

AB   Runs  Hits  2bs  3bs  HRs   RBIs  BBs  Ks   Avg   Obp   Slg   Ops

203   33     64    14     0     14      49    12   45   .315  .374  .591  .966

Hey now! That's an All-Star.

 

Here is the player you get if you combine their stats in Righty / Righty and Lefty / Left matchups:

Ryan MountHernia

AB   Runs  Hits  2bs  3bs  HRs   RBIs  BBs  Ks   Avg   Obp   Slg   Ops

168   22     33      7     1      4      17      8    54   .188  .233  .295  .528

 

O'hearn's only had 8 ABs versus lefties so SSS is in effect, and even if Mounty isn't with the team, Hyde can play other righties there as a part of a platoon (Urias, etc.).

But I have a feeling that given how Mountcastle has annihilated lefty pitchers this year (.676 slugging / 1.017 ops) that the O's will see him as an asset off the bench when opponents bring in relievers to match up against the O's left handed heavy hitting lineups.

Confucius say: "One should not underestimate Mountcastle ability to take lefty deep."

[George Zuverink]

1 hour ago, Bahama O's Fan said:

Yeah, that's what I think too. We can sit here and easily say to option him, but if he is fully healthy, I think management is bringing him back as it will look really bad for the rest of the team to leave him in AAA due to a medical condition that is now no longer a problem. 

If it's no longer a problem, let's see him put up an 800 OPS+ in AAA.