Which position player will leave the roster after the ASB?

[Ohfan67]

The Orioles have decided to deal with the roster crunch by developing their own two way players. DL Hall is secretly working on his hitting in Florida. 

[Yardball85]

20 hours ago, Frobby said:

To make room for Ryan Mountcastle, the O’s optioned Bruce Zimmermann and went with 14 position players for one day before the ASB.   Obviously, they won’t keep 14 position players for more than a day or two (if that) after the break ends.

I was in favor of leaving Mountcastle in the minors, but the O’s chose otherwise, and I seriously doubt they are sending him back down after bringing him back.  So, what do you think the move is, when they need to get back down to 13 position players?   

I don’t think the O’s will DFA Mateo, Frazier or Hicks at this point, though I could see a move like that around the trade deadline if a trade doesn’t occur.  So, I think either Cowser or Westburg goes down, much as I hate that idea.

If I’m wrong, and the O’s decide to bite the bullet now, I think DFAing Mateo is the most likely move.  
 

Unfortunately, i think you are right about Cowser.  Could see him being optioned and they play it off like he had his "taste" of the majors and will be back. 

[wildcard]

51 minutes ago, jamalshw said:

I think the Orioles will push this off a bit longer. There's no need for a 13-man pitching staff at the moment. The bullpen only covered 5 innings in the last two games and the team has 4 days off. Granted, it's likely that Bautista and Cano pitch an inning today, but that's still a well rested pen for Friday. It feels like Rodriguez is coming back soon so if you had to go to a starter in relief in an emergency, Grayson can make the start instead. 

There's also a few guys on the roster that can be sent down (Vespi, Bazardo) for a fresh arm if the pen gets heavy use out of the gate in the second half. 

It makes more sense to ride a short pen for a bit. Even if they do opt to go to a 13-man staff, I don't see Cowser or Westburg as the victim. Both have been good (Cowser's numbers not the best, but he's looked good) since their promotion and both have played regularly. It's not an Ortiz situation. Elias and company are treating Cowser and Westburg as bigger prospects than Ortiz. It seems apparent based on their handling so far (even if we/I may not agree with that assessment). 

Frazier and Mateo are the weakest links right now. I'd keep Mateo over Frazier as a PR and defensive replacement, but given that's such a small role, it's not that big of a deal either way in my mind. 

Honestly, though, I could see the Orioles juggling a 12-man staff until the deadline with one of the veteran infielders included in a trade package (likely Urias). 

12 man pitching staff until August 1st?   I don't see that happening.   IMO when GRod is called up they  will be at 13 pitchers.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

19 hours ago, accinfo said:

O'Hearn has options so I think he is a possibility.  Then they try to make a trade with one of the others.

There's no way I'm sending down O'Hearn. He ranks fifth in wRC+ among 1B with at least 150 PAs. If anything Mountcastle gets sent back down before O'Hearn. I never would have guess this back in April, but O'Hearn has been that good.

Orioles need to keep riding the hot hand until O'Hearn gives them a reason to get benched or optioned.

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=1b&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=150&type=8&season=2023&month=0&season1=2023&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2023-01-01&enddate=2023-12-31&sort=18,d

[rm5678]

3 hours ago, SteveA said:

I don't know what motivated the discussion, but Geoff Arnold and Jim Palmer were talking during the game Sunday about Gibson possibly coming back on normal rest and starting Friday, so he would basically be starting 2 days in a row.

I don't know if one of them just made up that possibility, or if they heard something.   

Since Gibson is our biggest "innings eater" and won't have to worry about an innings limit, it would make sense to start Gibson on Friday and give the rest of the starters an extra day off.

[foxfield]

My 2 cents:

First, I think agree with those that think the Orioles do not need to solve this issue immediately.

Second, while it is obvious there are many permutations that can unfold here, I think the thing we often miss is that the Orioles seem to be playing a long game.  Because of that, I would personally be surprised if the person sent down when the time comes is Cowser or Westburg.  Why?  Because they delayed the moves and made a big deal of them earning the promotion.  Long term, unless they are seriously underperforming, I think any move will not include them.

But Elias and crew are not telling me squat.

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, wildcard said:

12 man pitching staff until August 1st?   I don't see that happening.   IMO when GRod is called up they  will be at 13 pitchers.

They may last a few days, but I’d be very surprised if they last past July 18 at latest.   Of course, if we get 4 quality starts before then, we might be able to stretch it further.  

[Roll Tide]

3 hours ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

There's no way I'm sending down O'Hearn. He ranks fifth in wRC+ among 1B with at least 150 PAs. If anything Mountcastle gets sent back down before O'Hearn. I never would have guess this back in April, but O'Hearn has been that good.

Orioles need to keep riding the hot hand until O'Hearn gives them a reason to get benched or optioned.

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=1b&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=150&type=8&season=2023&month=0&season1=2023&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2023-01-01&enddate=2023-12-31&sort=18,d

 

Hyde essentially said O’Hearn is going nowhere in an interview about a week ago.

[sportsfan8703]

Mountcastle down is the easy option. 

[Sports Guy]

Westburg or Cowser are not being sent down. 

[Sports Guy]

Just now, sportsfan8703 said:

Mountcastle down is the easy option. 

Mateo DFA is even easier.

[Can_of_corn]

20 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Mountcastle down is the easy option. 

It would be easy, but if that was the move why bring him back up for a game?

 

[Winter]

I am predicting a short IL stint for a player... possibly Hicks. 

[DirtyBird]

The pitching staff is fresh and rested. As long as starters keep going 6+ every night, we won’t need to lose any position players.

[sportsfan8703]

10 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

Mateo DFA is even easier.

Heck no. You don’t just DFA a SS with a 70  defensive grade and a 75 speed grade. That’s a valuable reserve piece in a pennant chase.

Mountcastle OTOH is just an up/down bat that you can use in certain matchups.  One pinch hit does not change that. He’s got a lot to prove before we start DFA’ing anyone in a pennant chase.