Assume Basallo is ready by the start of 2025...

[Frobby]

Let's assume things go the way we hope and Basallo sails through AA in a half-season, aces AAA as well and is a top 5 prospect with 250+ AAA PA by the end of next year.  Now 2025 approaches and we feel Basallo is ready for the majors.   But of course, we still have Adley, playing at an all-star level.  And McCann's contract has exprired.  What should we do?   Lots of options:

1.   Trade Adley for a king's ransom and hand Basallo the primary catcher's job.  Find a back-up catcher guy to be the back-up catcher.  

2.  Trade Basallo for a king's ransom, and don't mess with Adley.   Find a back-up catcher guy to be the backup catcher.

3.  Keep Adley as the primary catcher but have Basallo catch 40-60 times, playing 1B/DH most other games.

4.  Give Adley and Basallo roughly equal time behind the dish, playing 1B or DH the rest of the time.

5. Install Basallo as the full-time 1B/DH, using him as a catcher only rarely if a pinch-hitting situation or injury takes the back-up C out of commission.  Find a back-up catcher guy.

6. Have Basallo be the principal catcher if he's up to it, and have Adley be the one catching 40-60 games and being 1B/DH the rest of the time.   

And of course, there is the perennial question of whether we delay Basallo's debut for a month or two in the hope of gaining an extra year of service time, which could be important with Adley under control for only three seasons at that point and getting expensive.  

What should the plan be?

[waroriole]

If the Angelos family is still in charge, I’d say trade Adley. We know there’s no chance of an extension, so pursue a king’s ransom and continue to be a pauper team. If there’s a possibility of investing in the ML team I’d at least wait on trading Adley. Of course, there’s an argument to be made against extending Adley in the first place. 

[RZNJ]

That will be Adley’s 4th season.  You use Handley or Ardoin as a 3rd catcher.  Have Adley start about 110 games at catcher and DH some.  Maybe even some 1B.  Have Basallo start 40-50 games at catcher and another 100 at 1B, assuming Mayo is either the 3B or RF.   If Mayo is the 1B then Basallo just gets more DH ABs when Adley catches.

[NCRaven]

I have pretty consistently said that Basallo will  end up as the primary first baseman with Mountcastle traded next off season.  Much as I like Ryan, I think that’s the best use of Adley and Basallo.

[NCRaven]

3 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

That will be Adley’s 4th season.  You use Handley or Ardoin as a 3rd catcher.  Have Adley start about 110 games at catcher and DH some.  Maybe even some 1B.  Have Basallo start 40-50 games at catcher and another 100 at 1B, assuming Mayo is either the 3B or RF.   If Mayo is the 1B then Basallo just gets more DH ABs when Adley catches.

I’d like to see Mayo get time in RF in AAA this coming season.

[oriole]

There will be other options at 1B/DH to consider so it might not be as easy as “just give Adley and Basallo 1B/DH at bats” 

I think Adley has quickly made himself the face of the franchise. I don’t see them trading him until halfway through his last year, like Machado. I say trade Basallo.

[Frobby]

I think what I'd do is stall Basallo's debut for a month or two, bring him up as the backup C and part time 1B/DH, and see how he does, both offensively and defensively and meshing with the pitching staff.  Hold off any consideration of a trade of either Adley or Basallo until the 2025 season is over.

[IPlayGM]

7 minutes ago, oriole said:

There will be other options at 1B/DH to consider so it might not be as easy as “just give Adley and Basallo 1B/DH at bats” 

I think Adley has quickly made himself the face of the franchise. I don’t see them trading him until halfway through his last year, like Machado. I say trade Basallo.

If Basallo turns out to be what Tony is predicting, you don’t trade that.  

[sportsfan8703]

I keep both and keep both fresh. They can’t rotate in at DH and 1B. Possibly trade O’Hearn since he is a FA after 2025. 

[Sports Guy]

3 or 4..depends on Mayo’s Position but I’ll assume 3, with Mayo being the primary first baseman.

[Too Tall]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

I think what I'd do is stall Basallo's debut for a month or two, bring him up as the backup C and part time 1B/DH, and see how he does, both offensively and defensively and meshing with the pitching staff.  Hold off any consideration of a trade of either Adley or Basallo until the 2025 season is over.

Then, if Basallo performs the way Tony thinks he will, trade Adley. Plus, I think Basallo may be easier to extend. Am not confident an extension for Adley is possible nor would be as good a potential investment.

[CaptainRedbeard]

3 or 4, depending on how good Basallo is defensively at that time. 

[Just Regular]

I hope Basallo gets a path to his 129 at-bats if April to August he shows himself to be in the top tier of Oriole talent.

Demographically, '23 Basallo and '79 Ripken have some similarities - they are both August birthdays so it was their Age 18 season where they were 19 by the final month.    Cal was mostly A ball that summer, with a AA cup of coffee at the end.

He'd go on to 600 AA and 500 AAA plate appearances the next two years before his 5-for-39 cup of coffee in '81.

I think when we say "there are other 1B" its just Mayo, and if he can hold 3B for a minute, there's a path to the mid-decade Orioles almost never having to waste plate appearances on some terrible backup catcher.     Mountcastle may be to the non-tender zone around when Basallo is ready for 650 PA.

[George Zuverink]

3 hours ago, Frobby said:

Let's assume things go the way we hope and Basallo sails through AA in a half-season, aces AAA as well and is a top 5 prospect with 250+ AAA PA by the end of next year.  Now 2025 approaches and we feel Basallo is ready for the majors.   But of course, we still have Adley, playing at an all-star level.  And McCann's contract has exprired.  What should we do?   Lots of options:

1.   Trade Adley for a king's ransom and hand Basallo the primary catcher's job.  Find a back-up catcher guy to be the back-up catcher.  

2.  Trade Basallo for a king's ransom, and don't mess with Adley.   Find a back-up catcher guy to be the backup catcher.

3.  Keep Adley as the primary catcher but have Basallo catch 40-60 times, playing 1B/DH most other games.

4.  Give Adley and Basallo roughly equal time behind the dish, playing 1B or DH the rest of the time.

5. Install Basallo as the full-time 1B/DH, using him as a catcher only rarely if a pinch-hitting situation or injury takes the back-up C out of commission.  Find a back-up catcher guy.

6. Have Basallo be the principal catcher if he's up to it, and have Adley be the one catching 40-60 games and being 1B/DH the rest of the time.   

And of course, there is the perennial question of whether we delay Basallo's debut for a month or two in the hope of gaining an extra year of service time, which could be important with Adley under control for only three seasons at that point and getting expensive.  

What should the plan be?

Congrats, you elicited much more response than I did when I raised the same question in abbreviated form back in June or July.  Basallo was just be beginning to bust out and I think many people were in the mode of “there wasn’t any life before Ashley and there won’t be any life after.”

[Sports Guy]

Really hope Basallo becomes our Yordan Alvarez.  Sounds like his bat could be that special.