Can We Talk About Next Year Now?

[RZNJ]

If you want super star hitters and pitchers you better hope Henderson, Kjerstad, Cowser, Westburg, Mayo, Holliday, Basallo, Bradish, GRod, Hall, Povich, McDermott, etc., turn into them.

 

[AlbNYfan]

I don't expect this team to win 100 games next year, 90 may be a challenge. A lot of things went right with this team. Yankees sucked (Judge injury and poorly constructed team despite the $$$ spent), Blue Jays just seemed indifferent, Red Sox, who knows what you'll get. But, those teams (and others) are likely to spend a lot of $$$$ on free agency . Ohtani's contract may have a similar effect as Tiger had on lesser golfers paydays..trickle down economics certainly works in professional sports. That said, I certainly don't expect the O's to sign any "major" free agents. 

There are a lot of believers here that think there are solid players ready to move up. Maybe. And/or Elias can use some of these players to get a proven MLB player. I don't think Mullins is aging well. I have a love, hate relationship with Hays. I am sort of meh with Urias. I am not sure about how Westburg fits in (I don't see him at 3B). O'Hearn, his only asset to this team is being lefthanded. I like Santander. And yes, I like Mateo, for another year.

Pitching?? Who knows?? Bradish (solid, likely to get better), GR (which GR will show up next year), Means (stay healthy, or nagging injuries), Kremer (will he learn how to work out of problems). There shouldn't be any inning limits next year with these guys. BP?? Most BP candidates have flaws (that's why they are in the BP and not starters) IMO. Wells, Hall, etc...Just need starters to get into and through 6 and an occasional 7th more often. 

I enjoyed this team immensely and believe next year's team will be just as entertaining, but 100+ wins will be tougher IMO.

[Camden_yardbird]

What I fear is the 2015 Pirates.  That team won 98 games and looked poised to be a competitor for years and their cheap owner added John Jaso and Jon Niese in the off season.  The wheels came off and they were never the same team.

[spleen1015]

I hope the Red Sox/Yankees/Blue Jays spend a lot of money in FA. That means they'll be wasting a lot of money because there's nothing to be had, really.

[Sports Guy]

As bright as the future appears to be, we still have Angelos to deal with.

He is the thing that can ruin this and he definitely may do that. That’s my concern moving forward.

[Can_of_corn]

6 minutes ago, spleen1015 said:

I hope the Red Sox/Yankees/Blue Jays spend a lot of money in FA. That means they'll be wasting a lot of money because there's nothing to be had, really.

Yea, I'd hate to get saddled with Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

He looks like hot trash.

[spleen1015]

4 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

As bright as the future appears to be, we still have Angelos to deal with.

He is the thing that can ruin this and he definitely may do that. That’s my concern moving forward.

Agreed. I don't thin he wants to win WSeseses'es if it means spending more money than he has to.

[spleen1015]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

Yea, I'd hate to get saddled with Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

He looks like hot trash.

1 player.... 1.

Your face is hot trash, btw...

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, spleen1015 said:

1 player.... 1.

Your face is hot trash, btw...

At least it's hot. 

 

[Bemorewins]

20 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

If you want super star hitters and pitchers you better hope Henderson, Kjerstad, Cowser, Westburg, Mayo, Holliday, Basallo, Bradish, GRod, Hall, Povich, McDermott, etc., turn into them.

 

I don't think Eovaldi is a superstar by any stretch but he is a good, reliable veteran pitcher; Montgomery is too. That's what we don't have right now.

I have ZERO expectations that Westburg, Hall, Povich, McDermott become superstar players. Henderson is well on his way and Holliday may have a good chance. We may get another one out of Mayo/Kjerstad? Cowser? I didn't see someone who I said to myself "future star". Maybe be as good as Austin Hays, which is fine.

I'm not an advocated of being a bunch of stars, though Robert would be nice. What I want is meaningful acquisitions who can contribute/make a difference in the postseason. You know, NOT the likes of Gibson/Irvin/Webb/Fujinama/Flaherty/Frazier etc.

[Porky]

19 minutes ago, AlbNYfan said:

I enjoyed this team immensely and believe next year's team will be just as entertaining, but 100+ wins will be tougher IMO.

Agreed - and given that the O's were 30-16 in 1-run games, they're already at a disadvantage in 2024 because they're going to be missing Felix Bautista.

I see the team taking a step back unless additions are made via free agency or trade - particularly on the pitching front.

[Sports Guy]

What they do with the IF is fascinating to me.

How many young players are they willing to go with?

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

What they do with the IF is fascinating to me.

How many young players are they willing to go with?

I'm wondering how many prospects he's just going to keep in the minors that deserve a shot in the majors.

[Bemorewins]

18 minutes ago, AlbNYfan said:

I don't expect this team to win 100 games next year, 90 may be a challenge. A lot of things went right with this team. Yankees sucked (Judge injury and poorly constructed team despite the $$$ spent), Blue Jays just seemed indifferent, Red Sox, who knows what you'll get. But, those teams (and others) are likely to spend a lot of $$$$ on free agency . Ohtani's contract may have a similar effect as Tiger had on lesser golfers paydays..trickle down economics certainly works in professional sports. That said, I certainly don't expect the O's to sign any "major" free agents. 

There are a lot of believers here that think there are solid players ready to move up. Maybe. And/or Elias can use some of these players to get a proven MLB player. I don't think Mullins is aging well. I have a love, hate relationship with Hays. I am sort of meh with Urias. I am not sure about how Westburg fits in (I don't see him at 3B). O'Hearn, his only asset to this team is being lefthanded. I like Santander. And yes, I like Mateo, for another year.

Pitching?? Who knows?? Bradish (solid, likely to get better), GR (which GR will show up next year), Means (stay healthy, or nagging injuries), Kremer (will he learn how to work out of problems). There shouldn't be any inning limits next year with these guys. BP?? Most BP candidates have flaws (that's why they are in the BP and not starters) IMO. Wells, Hall, etc...Just need starters to get into and through 6 and an occasional 7th more often. 

I enjoyed this team immensely and believe next year's team will be just as entertaining, but 100+ wins will be tougher IMO.

I agree that 100 wins will be tough, especially if we don't make meaningful additions to this team. However, I am not so much worried about the teams that you mentioned. The Yankees are still going to be old and be getting older. They are a stars and scrubs type roster, which over the long haul of 162 doesn't excell. That type of roster can do damage in the short series format of the postseason, but has no depth to withstand injuries. They are not going to have much depth next year, just a big ticket item or 2 in FA. I can't see them outbidding the Mets for Ohtani so I am not too worried about that.

The Blue Jays are good but not great. They may be a little better next year, but again don't have the farm to produce the kind of quality depth that you need to excel for a long 162 game season. Vlady Jr has to be better next year which will help them and Manoah can't be any worse next year so again that may give them some improvement there.

Red Sox are in the worse position possible to be in. They are too good to be bad and too bad to be good. Even with a serious swap out for a front line starter to replace Sale, that will not be enough. Plus, this is not the era of days gone by where they only had 2/3 teams who could outspend them for talent. Now teams like the Rangers/Padres/Mets can FAR outspend the Red Sox. And to top it off they don't have a good farm system and a lot of flux with their org leadership.

Our main competition for next year will be the Rays in division, the Rangers, Astros, and Mariners in the AL. And the Braves, Dodgers, and maybe Padres from the NL side.

But regardless, we are going to have to improve this team in a meaningful way in order to go far in October. We were totally outclassed by TEX. When you lead an ENTIRE series for just ONE mere inning, that doesn't suggest that things were close and we are just a hair away. It says we have some work to do to get to their level.

[backwardsk]

2 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

The only bats worth a damn in FA are Othani, Bellinger and JD Martinez.

Martinez is basically a no because of the lack of flexibility with him.

Othani is a no because the Os aren’t paying for him.

Bellinger could work if you trade Mullins but Bellinger hadn’t been good since 2019. He is still just 28, so maybe he is just healthy now and will be fine going forward.  Otoh, he has been oft injured already and that’s an issue.

Other than that, there is nothing worth a damn in FA position player wise.

Im still calling about Luis Robert.

Hoskins is a good FA bat, but is basically a DH only ideally.