Early spring training lineups and what they could suggest

[jcaponio]

There is absolutely no good reason they can’t keep two of Kjerstad/Cowser/Stowers on the roster if they want to. If the concern is losing McKenna because he’s out of options, A. He’s not good enough to care about losing and B. There’s a good chance he clears waivers and they can stash him in Norfolk anyway. 

[Aristotelian]

3 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

4. McKenna is getting every opportunity to stick as 5th OF - He's getting a ton of time in the outfield and has gone hitless so far. He's a good handcuff for Mullins in CF, but most of us thought Mateo would be in that role this year. Mateo has only played SS and has not logged an inning in the outfield yet. Grant it, Gunnar has been out so Mateo has been needed, but you would figure he would get more looks out there in games if they were really looking at him as a 5th OF too. Daniel Johnson has been playing well and getting a lot of looks, but he bats left-handed and doesn't hit left-handed pitching so would be poor handcuff for Mullins in CF. McKenna is out of options and may not make it through waivers.
 

Could be one last look for scouts before he's traded/DFA. I don't see how he fits on the roster. Even if all of Holliday, Kjerstad, and Cowser start in the minors it seems like we would want more lefty bats in that case. 

[ArtVanDelay]

58 minutes ago, jcaponio said:

There is absolutely no good reason they can’t keep two of Kjerstad/Cowser/Stowers on the roster if they want to. If the concern is losing McKenna because he’s out of options, A. He’s not good enough to care about losing and B. There’s a good chance he clears waivers and they can stash him in Norfolk anyway. 

McKenna would not clear waivers.

[DirtyBird]

1 hour ago, jcaponio said:

There is absolutely no good reason they can’t keep two of Kjerstad/Cowser/Stowers on the roster if they want to. If the concern is losing McKenna because he’s out of options, A. He’s not good enough to care about losing and B. There’s a good chance he clears waivers and they can stash him in Norfolk anyway. 

There are potential roster configurations that exclude McKenna and still only have room for 1 of those 3 guys.

[ShoelesJoe]

4 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

2. The third base job is Westburg's to lose - Besides a start at SS yesterday, he's been playing 3B mostly with Urias starting at 2B and 3B. This does not bode well for Coby Mayo's chances of making the team. 

This would be most disappointing. Of all our AAA position prospects -- Holliday, Stowers, Kjerstad, Cowser, and Norby -- Coby Mayo has done the most to prove he belongs in the majors. I like Westburg a lot, but unless he's all of a sudden got 35-40 HR power in his bat I can't see him helping us win more ballgames than Mayo. 

[DirtyBird]

18 minutes ago, ShoelesJoe said:

This would be most disappointing. Of all our AAA position prospects -- Holliday, Stowers, Kjerstad, Cowser, and Norby -- Coby Mayo has done the most to prove he belongs in the majors. I like Westburg a lot, but unless he's all of a sudden got 35-40 HR power in his bat I can't see him helping us win more ballgames than Mayo. 

162 games is a long season. If Mayo doesn't break camp with the major league team, it doesn't mean he won't be there in a couple months. There seems to be a decent chance that Westburg will fall into a utility roll, but it will benefit his future productivity if he is first given everyday AB's to adjust to the league.

[Philip]

8 hours ago, Frobby said:

Good analysis, Tony.  As to the outfield, let’s not forget that (1) McKenna is out of options and will have to be exposed to waivers if he doesn’t make the team, whereas (2) the O’s might gain another year of control over Cowser and/or Kjerstad if they’re in the minors for a month (Kjerstad) ot two (Cowser).  That, plus the desire to have some R/L balance among the bench options, weighs in favor of your conclusions.   

Didn’t they change the rules to make manipulating service time less desirable? Any one of these guys could do well enough in the rookie of the year voting to earn an additional draft pick for the team, so it doesn’t seem to be NECESSARY to keep them down?

Meanwhile about McKenna, I think it’s clear that other teams are completely aware of our log jam and they know that if they do nothing a couple worthwhile guys from our team are going to end up on waivers. Oakland, or Colorado would love to have McKenna, for instance.

Edited March 2 by Philip

[jcaponio]

1 hour ago, ArtVanDelay said:

McKenna would not clear waivers.

Maybe not today. But I think there’s a very good chance he would at the end of the month when teams are facing a crunch for 40 man spots. 

[Say O!]

58 minutes ago, ShoelesJoe said:

This would be most disappointing. Of all our AAA position prospects -- Holliday, Stowers, Kjerstad, Cowser, and Norby -- Coby Mayo has done the most to prove he belongs in the majors. I like Westburg a lot, but unless he's all of a sudden got 35-40 HR power in his bat I can't see him helping us win more ballgames than Mayo. 

Has Mayo proven that he can handle 3B defensively?  Let’s also not forget that Westburg put up 130 WRC+ in AAA over 700 ABs, which is slightly better than Mayo’s 127 WRC+ in AAA.  I think we all may be a little down on Westburg’s offensive potential given his initial showing in MLB last year.

Coby Mayo is probably the better player and better power bat over the long run.  But we don’t know his ultimate position in the field — it could be 3B, 1B, or RF.  And that is a real constraint on 2024 roster.  The Os brass has kept him at 3B this spring, so perhaps we will know more later in March.

 

[24fps]

2 hours ago, ArtVanDelay said:

McKenna would not clear waivers.

I don't think so either, but it's not going to keep me awake at night.  There's such a thing as being over-insured.

[Bahama O's Fan]

44 minutes ago, Philip said:

Didn’t they change the rules to make manipulating service time less desirable? Any one of these guys could do well enough in the rookie of the year voting to earn an additional draft pick for the team, so it doesn’t seem to be desirable to keep them down?

Meanwhile about McKenna, I think it’s clear that other teams are completely aware of our log jam and they know that if they do nothing a couple worthwhile guys from our team are going to end up on waivers. Oakland, or Colorado would love to have McKenna, for instance.

But if you want someone and you think the team in order in front of you would claim him, you offer something in a trade to "jump" them

[RZNJ]

2 hours ago, ArtVanDelay said:

McKenna would not clear waivers.

We could have  kept Peyton Burdick and optioned him. Interesting that they didn't but the fact that Burdick made the DFA rounds suggests to me that losing McKenna is no big deal.   

[Malike]

1 hour ago, Say O! said:

Has Mayo proven that he can handle 3B defensively?  Let’s also not forget that Westburg put up 130 WRC+ in AAA over 700 ABs, which is slightly better than Mayo’s 127 WRC+ in AAA.  I think we all may be a little down on Westburg’s offensive potential given his initial showing in MLB last year.

Coby Mayo is probably the better player and better power bat over the long run.  But we don’t know his ultimate position in the field — it could be 3B, 1B, or RF.  And that is a real constraint on 2024 roster.  The Os brass has kept him at 3B this spring, so perhaps we will know more later in March.

 

How old was each player at the time? Is playing at Mississippi State in the SEC more preparation for a player than one who came out of High School? I sort of feel like Mayo is more impressive.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Philip said:

Didn’t they change the rules to make manipulating service time less desirable? Any one of these guys could do well enough in the rookie of the year voting to earn an additional draft pick for the team, so it doesn’t seem to be UNDESIRABLE(stupid typo) undesirable to keep them down?

 

Neither Cowser nor Kjerstad would be a big favorite to contend for Rookie of the Year.  Obviously it could happen, but neither one figures to get 500+ at bats even if they’re on the roster on Day 1.   Especially if they’re BOTH on the roster.  So ROY is pretty far fetched in their cases.  

[RZNJ]

12 minutes ago, Malike said:

How old was each player at the time? Is playing at Mississippi State in the SEC more preparation for a player than one who came out of High School? I sort of feel like Mayo is more impressive.

He conceded that Mayo is probably the better player.  I think he's just saying that Westburg is no slouch.