Joey Ortiz for 3B?

[oriole]

10 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

Are you aware of Ryan O'Hearn's career, or his 2nd half numbers?

Yes. And until a new 1B is acquired or developed then it makes sense to cast a wide net. Considering the roster has room for at least one position with a strict platoon, I don’t see why they shouldn’t entertain the idea. Maybe if they think they can get someone like Brandon Belt on the cheap then you move on from O’Hearn. But that’s just as much of a risk when handing out contracts to relatively old players.

[Aristotelian]

11 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

The thing is, we have OFers that have all the tools to be good OFers.

Depth is good. We have three established vets who are solid, but injury prone, and could be traded at any time, as you have proposed many times. We have two promising prospects, but they are not guaranteed and also LH. I am not opposed to trading Westburg for a good return but I'd prefer more of a chance to see what we have in these guys. I don't think he has to be starting every day infielder to have value. 

[DirtyBird]

3 minutes ago, Frobby said:

 O’Hearn fit that role well.   I would not say he had a bad second half - I’d say he had a bad final 11 games.  

O'Hearn had a .750 OPS in the 2nd half, in mostly a platoon role, which was much better than his career numbers. I can't see a .750 OPS 1B being worth a platoon spot on the 26 man roster.

[Sports Guy]

8 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Depth is good. We have three established vets who are solid, but injury prone, and could be traded at any time, as you have proposed many times. We have two promising prospects, but they are not guaranteed and also LH. I am not opposed to trading Westburg for a good return but I'd prefer more of a chance to see what we have in these guys. I don't think he has to be starting every day infielder to have value. 

We have several other MiLers, all of whom could be ready in the next 1-2 years as well.  The Os have gone heavy on draft college OFers.

The point is the long term prognosis of this organization is that Westburg should be an IFer and an IFer only. We do not need to spend all of this extra time teaching him to play new positions. I get that it can potentially be useful for 2024 but every decision can’t be about solely about 2024 and even if you want to look at it that way, make that decision be about improving the team by trading one of these guys for pitching that you need or if they can help you get a MOO bat.

[Pickles]

16 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

They aren’t going to be everyday players here. This has already been discussed. 

The Os have much larger needs than a part time IFer.

They can get 500 PAs a year if Ortiz isn't here.  And even more until Holliday comes up.  That's pretty close to every day.

[Sports Guy]

10 minutes ago, Pickles said:

They can get 500 PAs a year if Ortiz isn't here.  And even more until Holliday comes up.  That's pretty close to every day.

Ortiz and Westburg will maybe be everyday guys for 1-2 months in 2024. That’s it. After that, only 1 will be and the other will be a part time guy. 

Again, you can deal with that for 2024 but you don’t need to and if either struggles in 2024, their value plummets.

If they help you get areas of need, I don’t know why you wouldn’t do that.

[Tony-OH]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

I just don’t see how you keep both Westburg and Ortiz unless they just aren’t valued around the league, which I doubt.  One has to go but whoever stays could be the third baseman of the future.

I still think Gunnar is that guy but we’ll see.

I don't see many scenarios where there is room for Urias on this team next year unless there a lot of trades, and I don't see that either.

[Sports Guy]

6 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I don't see many scenarios where there is room for Urias on this team next year unless there a lot of trades, and I don't see that either.

If you trade one of Ortiz or Westburg, Urias is your UTI IFer.

[Frobby]

5 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I don't see many scenarios where there is room for Urias on this team next year unless there a lot of trades, and I don't see that either.

It all depends on how fast you expect Holliday and Mayo to be ready to move up.  As things stand, Frazier’s 455 PA and Urias’s 396 won’t ne entirely consumed by adding Ortiz, even considering that Westburg probably gets an additional 300 PA this year.   

[Tony-OH]

17 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

If you trade one of Ortiz or Westburg, Urias is your UTI IFer.

I'd keep Mateo over Urias because of Mateo's ability to play SS and his speed late in game. If Holliday makes the team, he's need both Ortiz and Westburg to be traded and I'd don't see both getting traded. 

[Sports Guy]

8 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I'd keep Mateo over Urias because of Mateo's ability to play SS and his speed late in game. If Holliday makes the team, he's need both Ortiz and Westburg to be traded and I'd don't see both getting traded. 

Why do you need both traded?  
 

Mayo at first and wherever you play Westburg/Ortiz, Holliday and Henderson.

Id much rather keep Urias, who is a better hitter and can play more positions, than Mateo.

[wildcard]

4 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I'd keep Mateo over Urias because of Mateo's ability to play SS and his speed late in game. If Holliday makes the team, he's need both Ortiz and Westburg to be traded and I'd don't see both getting traded. 

I agree with keeping Mateo.

Ortz at 3B and Westburg at 2B until Holliday is ready.   Then when Holliday is ready to take over 2B whoever is doing best between Westburg or Ortiz stays and the other  gets optioned.

There will be injuries and non performance that allows whoever is optioned to come back and help the O's.

[maybenxtyr]

47 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I agree with keeping Mateo.

Ortz at 3B and Westburg at 2B until Holliday is ready.   Then when Holliday is ready to take over 2B whoever is doing best between Westburg or Ortiz stays and the other  gets optioned.

There will be injuries and non performance that allows whoever is optioned to come back and help the O's.

Ortiz and Westburg have both proven themselves at AAA.

 

Ortiz will be 26 in July and Westburg will be 25 when the season starts. How long do you justify keeping them in the minors?

 

At some point they are doing a disservice to a guys career by leaving them down. Not all of them will have successful careers, but the 2 in question deserve a shot... either in Baltimore or elsewhere via a trade.

[LookinUp]

1 hour ago, maybenxtyr said:

At some point they are doing a disservice to a guys career by leaving them down. 

I'm not sure this will really be a consideration. Like they're not just going to give these guys away for nothing. They might really try to find the right trades, but if they're not there, some will be in AAA longer than they should.

[RZNJ]

Just now, LookinUp said:

I'm not sure this will really be a consideration. Like they're not just going to give these guys away for nothing. They might really try to find the right trades, but if they're not there, some will be in AAA longer than they should.