Elias: Os looking for a top half of the rotation starter and closer

[RZNJ]

56 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Everyone is also assuming that our window is open for 5-10 years.

And while that may be the case, we don’t know that. We know that right now, you have the pieces to be very good. Not taking advantage of that because you have some unfounded worry about 2-3 years from now is non sensical.

Make some big moves and get this team in better position to succeed right now. You can easily do that without sacrificing anything long term.

No one is assuming the window is open for 5-10 years but the best chance of keeping it open is to keep drafting well, doing well in Latin America, and not making too many short sighted moves.  To operate with an idea of where you want to be in 2-3 years is smart.  It’s not acting on unfounded worries.  I want them to be worried/concerned where this organization is going to be 2-3 years and 5-6 years from now.

[wildcard]

46 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

 

 

Thanks.  I don't know Joe Doyle.  I hope he is right.

[Frobby]

23 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Thanks.  I don't know Joe Doyle.  I hope he is right.

It’s correct.  I’m having trouble with cut and paste, but it’s in Rule 4(k)(2)(D) of the Major League Rules, on page 80.

[baltfan]

Maybe there is a little hope they will spend some.  We were actually 10th in payroll in 2017.  Hat tip from Payroll rankings in the last 20 years : r/baseball (reddit.com)

 

 

 

[Rbiggs2525]

14 hours ago, baltfan said:

Maybe there is a little hope they will spend some.  We were actually 10th in payroll in 2017.  Hat tip from Payroll rankings in the last 20 years : r/baseball (reddit.com)

 

 

 

I think our mark right now would be 120 million which is what the D Backs spent this year. We were 20th in attendance and that would be 20th in payroll. 

[Jagwar]

15 hours ago, RZNJ said:

No one is assuming the window is open for 5-10 years but the best chance of keeping it open is to keep drafting well, doing well in Latin America, and not making too many short sighted moves.  To operate with an idea of where you want to be in 2-3 years is smart.  It’s not acting on unfounded worries.  I want them to be worried/concerned where this organization is going to be 2-3 years and 5-6 years from now.

For me it all comes back to pitching. So far in Elias' tenure, he hasn't seemed to stock the system with top notch arms. Maybe the international market can be a place where he over allocates to pitching, because it doesn't seem like the draft is his preferred place. 

[RZNJ]

2 minutes ago, Jagwar said:

For me it all comes back to pitching. So far in Elias' tenure, he hasn't seemed to stock the system with top notch arms. Maybe the international market can be a place where he over allocates to pitching, because it doesn't seem like the draft is his preferred place. 

They changed their tune on the draft this year.  I’m not sure about spending a first rounder on a pitcher but I think we’ll continue to see more pitchers selected 2-5 rounds like we saw last year.  Part of that is the Latin American program starting to produce both pitchers and position players.

Bradish, Povich, McDermott, and Seth Johnson all acquired via trade.  It will be interesting to see if they still look for that type of asset as they look to trade ML assets (Urias, Mountcastle, Mateo, Hays, Mullins, Santander, etc.) as they get closer to FA or get more expensive.

 

[Jagwar]

5 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

They changed their tune on the draft this year.  I’m not sure about spending a first rounder on a pitcher but I think we’ll continue to see more pitchers selected 2-5 rounds like we saw last year.  Part of that is the Latin American program starting to produce both pitchers and position players.

Bradish, Povich, McDermott, and Seth Johnson all acquired via trade.  It will be interesting to see if they still look for that type of asset as they look to trade ML assets (Urias, Mountcastle, Mateo, Hays, Mullins, Santander, etc.) as they get closer to FA or get more expensive.

 

Elias' drafting was intentional, showing that he felt the value was in positional prospects instead of pitching. It might be that in the next 5 years he flips the script. Who knows?

I love the talent in the system, but I'm hoping we eventually see 3-4 pitchers in top 100 lists. 

[Sports Guy]

Be interesting what Elias says when his addition is another Kyle Gibson type guy.

[RZNJ]

2 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Be interesting what Elias says when his addition is another Kyle Gibson type guy.

Same thing he said last year but it will go over even worse than last year.

[btdart20]

1 hour ago, Jagwar said:

For me it all comes back to pitching. So far in Elias' tenure, he hasn't seemed to stock the system with top notch arms. Maybe the international market can be a place where he over allocates to pitching, because it doesn't seem like the draft is his preferred place. 

During a rebuild isn’t a good time.  He wanted the best odds of MLB upside to rebuild org assets.  Injuries and time are the enemy.

We’re out of the rebuild phase and have lifted off.  We are seeing SPs drafted.  I’m curious to see how drafts will play out from the backend of round 1.  Especially with a few picks pretty close together.  

[Frobby]

A bunch more quotes from Elias here: https://www.masnsports.com/blog/o-s-mike-elias-on-groundwork-laid  This one was interesting:

“It’s not the kind of thing where you can purposely wait and get what you want," Elias said. "So, from our point of view, if we find something we want and we line up on it, we’ll pull the trigger. Whether that is November or whether that is January."

[Roll Tide]

5 hours ago, Frobby said:

A bunch more quotes from Elias here: https://www.masnsports.com/blog/o-s-mike-elias-on-groundwork-laid  This one was interesting:

“It’s not the kind of thing where you can purposely wait and get what you want," Elias said. "So, from our point of view, if we find something we want and we line up on it, we’ll pull the trigger. Whether that is November or whether that is January."

Fine … but he either has money to get it done or he doesn’t. To get the player he wants we need up the payroll $10 million per over Gibson plus a 2-4 year commitment. He obviously won’t be honest about the directives.

 

[BRobinsonfan]

On 11/9/2023 at 7:22 PM, Can_of_corn said:

I can't bring myself to read the article... was there any mention of "liftoff" or any other rocket ship ride metaphors?

[Osornot]

He says that the #1 priority is the back end of the BP, which I am completely in agreement with.  There is nothing that tells me TOR is a priority but "he'd like..."   Am I missing something?   

 

As it relates to starting pitching, while it would be a real surprise to see the Orioles become big players for top free agent pitchers demanding the biggest dollars, Elias indicates he'd like an addition that could impact the top half of the Orioles rotation.

"Yeah, we’re keeping it relatively open because we have to see what opportunities present themselves in this market," he said. "We’ve got two guys in (Kyle) Bradish and (Grayson) Rodriguez that basically pitched like front-end starters all year, most of the year, and they are coming back. But there is pressure on them and it would be nice to bring them some help. If we are able to import a clear upgrade to one of our rotation spots that’s going to radiate out into the rest of the rotation. We’ll see what the best opportunity is, who the best person is for the job. Whether we are able to get our hands on this guy. It is hard to narrow yourself too much going into an offseason. There are not that many people (as starters) available."