Did Elias make a blunder?

[doccat]

If he was going to add another starter by trade or free agency, the price just shot through the roof with today’s news…

He should have made the move prior to today if he’s known about these injuries for a while…

 

I know if I’m an agent or GM and I get a call from Elias my asking price is WAY higher today than it was 24 hours ago

[Billy F-Face3]

Not sure how much leverage it really gives an agent when they had already planned on returning 2 of last years starters to the rotation in Tyler Wells and Cole Irvin. It's not like they are in dire straights. It just means the depth has thinned a little bit and it's next man up.

[Billy F-Face3]

Plus Spring Training is starting. These free agents need to get on a team or start losing paychecks.

[Aristotelian]

If only Elias has traded for an ace level starter when he had the chance he might have been able to get the guy from Milwaukee.

[Satyr3206]

4 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

If only Elias has traded for an ace level starter when he had the chance he might have been able to get the guy from Milwaukee.

lol

[Spy Fox]

A lot of people seem to think this about asking prices. 

I think in most cases, your asking price is set more by what the market as a whole is willing to pay, and not the specific needs of the one team you're talking to at that moment. There might be some impact on Elias' willingness to spend resources, but he isn't going to suddenly pay way above market rate for someone just because of these injuries.

[Sports Guy]

People who think Elias is going to pay way more because of some sense of desperation don’t know Elias or understand how he works.

 

[KojiSplit]

Not buying it.

The price for Lorenzen, Ryu, Clevinger etc didn’t budge a bit.

[Orioles West]

I don’t know that Elias has made a blunder….yet.

He’s known about the Bradish injury for a while and I trust he’ll find some pitching depth. I do wonder if some possibilities are on hold until the new ownership is approved.

[sevastras]

I have been thinking, could someone like Snell consider a 1 year deal and go back on the market again next year?  Or if I was Snell, I would do something like 1 year deal with player option for second year. People say that would only favor the player but if the player likes the team and the money is right.  I don’t really know, but I smell a Snell rumor or deal coming around in the next month. I would imagine if he were a consideration, the ground work has been laid for at least a month. 
Snell makes more sense to me than Cease and it isn’t given he is going to sign a long term contract this year. I would take Snell for $30mm this season over trading for Cease. 

[cnmilton]

I would prefer the Os to approach Montgomery over Snell, personally. Montgomery doesn't walk nearly as many batteries Snell.

 

[maybenxtyr]

I don't believe Elias will get reactionary just because. There's not a lot he could do about the timing when pitchers and catchers report and guys were missing. 

 

I'm guessing that there's current trade offers out and teams are going over their options. There's still a few FA pitchers that could make sense. I don't think he's going to roll into the season counting on Wells and Irvin just yet. That type of a rotation would be acceptable if they were after a potential WC shot. They're well aware of that.

[orioles119]

Trust the process.

[waroriole]

8 hours ago, sevastras said:

I have been thinking, could someone like Snell consider a 1 year deal and go back on the market again next year?  Or if I was Snell, I would do something like 1 year deal with player option for second year. People say that would only favor the player but if the player likes the team and the money is right.  I don’t really know, but I smell a Snell rumor or deal coming around in the next month. I would imagine if he were a consideration, the ground work has been laid for at least a month. 
Snell makes more sense to me than Cease and it isn’t given he is going to sign a long term contract this year. I would take Snell for $30mm this season over trading for Cease. 

Smell is coming off a dominant Cy Young season. His market isn’t gonna get better next year. 

[ScGO's]

I'm okay with Tyler Wells in the Starting 5. If he has a 1st have like last season, everyone's happy.

Elias has a lot of different options to pursue to create pitching depth:

Evaluate & Use What You Have & Hope for the best - They are probably getting a great look in camp at arms like McDermott, Povich, Akin, Baker, Tate, Webb, Baumann, Vespi, Tucker Davidson, Hesley, etc and trying to figure out if any tweaks or changes unlocks a Dawg out of any of them. With Wells and Irvin moving to the rotation, I believe Kimbrell, Cano, Perez, and Colombe are the only sure RP bets. That leaves 4 bullpen spots open for competition between the arms listed above.

Waiver Wire Lottery - He's done it before; perhaps Elias finds a couple relief arms over the next few weeks as players are DFA'd. I wouldn't expect him to find starter depth this way. This is typically where Sig is finding hidden data on castaway arms that hints at future success if utilized correctly

Trade for Relief Arms - If they go with a rotation of Burnes, Rodriguez, Kremer, Wells, Irvin to open the season, Elias may want to buffer the bullpen with a couple proven arms to take pressure off the starters. It might be cheaper in prospects to try and pad the bullpen. You can probably trade for a couple good arms like Tanner Scott or Kenley Jensen without giving up Mayo, Basallo, or Kjerstad

Trade for a Starter - Probably the most costly route if target a #1-3 starter as it could require a Basallo, Westburg, Mayo, and/or Kjerstad. I can tell Elias wants to avoid long contracts with pitchers, so pulling off a trade similar to the Burnes trade is more advantageous to his long term goals than going after a Snell. He could target a #5 type (ex: Cole Irvin) and give up less of a prospect haul

Sign a Free Agent to a short term contract - There are a few out there that are comparable to what we have in Kremer, Wells, Irvin that would be good but expensive depth. Ryu, Clevinger, Bauer, or Lorenzon come to mind

Sign a Snell or Montgomery to a multi year, 9 figure contract- If I'm Elias, I'm not even thinking about this. This would only happen if Rubenstein walked through his office door and said, you want to buy one of these guys? Elias needs to tell Rubenstein the long term plan and needs a guarantee that a large contract doesn't take money away from proper extensions or other future investments. If its basically "free money," sign one.