Starting pitcher: What would be your preference?

[Sports Guy]

You have 4 options on the table, which option do you choose?

Edited January 19 by Sports Guy

[foxfield]

Honestly, I would prefer a different choice. But if these 4 choices are all I got. I am going with what I have. 

[wildcard]

I'll take Paxton.  16 starts from Paxton and 18 starts from Wells is a good #5.

Edited January 19 by wildcard

[wildbillhiccup]

I'm floored that folks are voting for Westburg and Kjerstad for just two years of Cease. Ya'll are nuts.

[Sports Guy]

13 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

I'm floored that folks are voting for Westburg and Kjerstad for just two years of Cease. Ya'll are nuts.

Cease is more important to the success of this team the next 2 years than those 2 are.

We have in house replacements for them And have what amounts to essentially be 3 first round picks in June.  On top of that, you likely end up with another first round pick/high pick when Cease walks away after 2025. 
 

 

[ChicagoTerp]

Those trades are not worth it. The FAs we would sign are not an improvement over Wells or Kremer. So given those options I'm sticking with what we have.

[DirtyBird]

13 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Cease is more important to the success of this team the next 2 years than those 2 are.

We have in house replacements for them And have what amounts to essentially be 3 first round picks in June.  On top of that, you likely end up with another first round pick/high pick when Cease walks away after 2025. 
 

Who is our in house middle of order lefty with 40+ HR potential replacement 

[ChicagoTerp]

Of the two trades, the Luzardo one is more palatable. Mayo would be hard to swallow, but think he's less likely to help us in '24 than Kjerstad.

[Sports Guy]

4 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

Who is our in house middle of order lefty with 40+ HR potential replacement 

I would agree that outside of Mayo, we don’t have the power bat like Kjerstad. But the funny thing about baseball is that power isn’t the only way a player can be valuable.

[TommyPickles]

Man, tough call and good question.

I like what I've read about Mayo and I'd love to see him take over at 1B for us longterm. But I voted for the Luzardo deal. Three years of a young, talented lefty like that seems like just what we need. 

Make that deal and I'd be willing to bet the O's win the AL in one of the next three seasons.

[Ripken]

IMO, the O's give up too much in both of those trades but they need more arms... so 1 year FA.  Of course, they could easily sign a good starter but <insert comment about dbag owner>.

Btw, change Kjer/West to Cowser/Ortiz and I'd do it for Cease, which is where I've been.  If Kjer/West got Luzardo, I'd also do that.  I'm simply not trading the top 3 guys.

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, Ripken said:

IMO, the O's give up too much in both of those trades but they need more arms... so 1 year FA.  Of course, they could easily sign a good starter but <insert comment about dbag owner>.

Btw, change Kjer/West to Cowser/Ortiz and I'd do it for Cease, which is where I've been.  If Kjer/West got Luzardo, I'd also do that.  I'm simply not trading the top 3 guys.

If it doesn't sound like you are giving up too much, you are not giving up enough.

[Tony-OH]

51 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

I'm floored that folks are voting for Westburg and Kjerstad for just two years of Cease. Ya'll are nuts.

You have to give up something to get something. If the Orioles intend to convert Mayo to RF, Kjerstad becomes redundant. Plus the Orioles have Cowser, and Beavers on the horizon and the fact that they need the DH spot for Adley at least 40 times a year and he becomes a guy that's available for me even though I do like the bat for the most part.

Westburg is a guy who can play 2B and 3B effectively and he should get to his power more with experience, but he's never going to be 30 plus homer guy and his walk rate has fallen off a bit at AAA and then the majors.

With Ortiz, Urias and Norby (If you are willing to have below average defense) ready, and Holliday on the horizon, he's replaceable this year and the future.

The only way you don't make that deal is if you think Cease is who he was last year and will not recover a bit, but his 3.72 FIP suggests he was better than his 4,58 ERA playing on a losing team suggests.

I'm making that deal if I don't have to add a ton more.

[ChicagoTerp]

2 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

You have to give up something to get something. If the Orioles intend to convert Mayo to RF, Kjerstad becomes redundant. Plus the Orioles have Cowser, and Beavers on the horizon and the fact that they need the DH spot for Adley at least 40 times a year and he becomes a guy that's available for me even though I do like the bat for the most part.

Westburg is a guy who can play 2B and 3B effectively and he should get to his power more with experience, but he's never going to be 30 plus homer guy and his walk rate has fallen off a bit at AAA and then the majors.

Just because we can afford it, doesn't mean we should do it. To me, that deal for Cease is what he would be worth if he had just repeated his 2022 stats. It's an overpay for a guy who had the season he just had. Not saying he's a scrub, just too big a question mark for HK and JW.

[RarityFlaherty]

It feels like the obvious choice would be to just sign a free agent, if that’s on the table. That way we keep all of our prospects to trade for a pitcher at the deadline. If we aren’t getting a deal we like now, it’s probably better to make a trade at the deadline when we have a clearer picture of our needs and how players are performing.