How Stowers and Cowser can Make the Roster

[Aristotelian]

Answer: by optioning (or trading) O'Hearn.

We have mostly been treating O'Hearn as a lock. But if Mountcastle can be more or less full time 1B, Stowers and Cowser can both make it. Westburg, Santander, and Urias can play some 1B when needed. O'Hearn would still be a phone call away in AAA. 

O'Hearn had a great year for us and a fine spring, but is he likely to repeat? Even if he does, Stowers could be better. Could O'Hearn be more vulnerable than we think? 

RHP lineup would be Holliday 2B, Adley C, Gunnar SS, Santander RF, Mountcastle 1B, Mullins RF, Stowers DH, Urias 3B with bench of Mateo, McCann, Westburg, Hays. 

[Frobby]

Won’t happen.  

[spleen1015]

There's this article on MLB.com

https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/ryan-o-hearn-a-leader-for-orioles-in-2024-season

with this quote from Hyde.

"He's on the team, he just needs to get ready for the season,” Hyde said Friday before the O’s 7-2 loss to the Rays at Charlotte Sports Park. “He's earned it, and he deserves it. And he's one of the leaders on our team, also. I love the way he goes about his business. He's a total professional.”

[DirtyBird]

7 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Answer: by optioning (or trading) O'Hearn.

We have mostly been treating O'Hearn as a lock. But if Mountcastle can be more or less full time 1B, Stowers and Cowser can both make it. Westburg, Santander, and Urias can play some 1B when needed. O'Hearn would still be a phone call away in AAA. 

O'Hearn had a great year for us and a fine spring, but is he likely to repeat? Even if he does, Stowers could be better. Could O'Hearn be more vulnerable than we think? 

RHP lineup would be Holliday 2B, Adley C, Gunnar SS, Santander RF, Mountcastle 1B, Mullins RF, Stowers DH, Urias 3B with bench of Mateo, McCann, Westburg, Hays. 

Pick a lane:

"But I also don't put much stock in spring performance and priority on options/asset accumulation fit Elias's MO"

[Sports Guy]

Trades can always happen..as can injuries.

OHearn is definitely on the team unless either of those happen.

I also don’t see the value being there for a trade to be worth it.

 

[Pickles]

I think as of now, all three make it and they only carry 4 infielders (minus 1b) to start the season.

[clapdiddy]

5 minutes ago, Pickles said:

I think as of now, all three make it and they only carry 4 infielders (minus 1b) to start the season.

I'd have no problem with this.   There is enough versatility with the infield that this shouldn't be a problem.

[Jammer7]

O’Hearn is on the team. Optioning him for Stowers, yikes. It’s spring training. We are getting carried away with these numbers. Rather have it than not, and his day was impressive yesterday, sure. There is a lot more to it, and I don’t think it would go over very well to option one of your best performers last year, who happens to be a veteran clubhouse leader. 

[webbrick2010]

Championship year or transition year?

Feel like the O's have the talent to make this a championship year, but instead it will be a transition year from veterans who are good not great (and in decline) to the young players who ARE READY right now.

Management seems committed to Mullins, Hays, Santander, Mountcastle, Mateo, Urias, and O'hearn (please no Wong), and I do not believe that all of these players should be on the 26

Hope we don't lose our window while working veterans off of the 26, and further delaying the progress or losing by trade the better players 

[Aristotelian]

1 minute ago, DirtyBird said:

Pick a lane:

"But I also don't put much stock in spring performance and priority on options/asset accumulation fit Elias's MO"

8 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Won’t happen.  

Agreed, I do not think this will actually happen and it goes against everything we know about spring stats and modern GM's. This is more of a thought exercise than a serious prediction. While I still have O'Hearn penciled in for the opening day roster, I do think he could be on a shortish leash should he show signs of regression.

[Sports Guy]

8 minutes ago, Pickles said:

I think as of now, all three make it and they only carry 4 infielders (minus 1b) to start the season.

So you have Kjerstad, Holliday and Mayo in the minors.

On a normal day, the lineup looks like this (not by order)

Adley

Mountcastle

Westburg

Gunnar

Urias

Hays

Mullins

Santander

OHearn

 

Cowser will get in there a good amount but don’t see Stowers playing much at all.

So, in your scenario, Stowers is here to play a few times a week at most and we play Urias or Mateo everyday.

Ugh

[Tony-OH]

24 minutes ago, spleen1015 said:

There's this article on MLB.com

https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/ryan-o-hearn-a-leader-for-orioles-in-2024-season

with this quote from Hyde.

"He's on the team, he just needs to get ready for the season,” Hyde said Friday before the O’s 7-2 loss to the Rays at Charlotte Sports Park. “He's earned it, and he deserves it. And he's one of the leaders on our team, also. I love the way he goes about his business. He's a total professional.”

Thanks for the quote. We forget sometimes that there are people behind these names and sometimes that leadership or personal quality makes the clubhouse and perhaps team better. 

O'Hearn probably does deserve to be part of the team anyways based off last year. I just wished they would have moved either him or Mountcastle to a lesser extent and opened up a spot for Mayo who looked ready last year in AAA and now this spring.

But either way, as long as Santander, Mullins and Hays are on this team, there is no room for both Stowers and Cowser.

[Pickles]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

So you have Kjerstad, Holliday and Mayo in the minors.

On a normal day, the lineup looks like this (not by order)

Adley

Mountcastle

Westburg

Gunnar

Urias

Hays

Mullins

Santander

OHearn

 

Cowser will get in there a good amount but don’t see Stowers playing much at all.

So, in your scenario, Stowers is here to play a few times a week at most and we play Urias or Mateo everyday.

Ugh

Correct.

Stowser is going to get the least amount of abs, many of them against LHPs ironically.

[Pushmonkey]

Why is there not more talk about trading Hays?

[Sports Guy]

Just now, Pushmonkey said:

Why is there not more talk about trading Hays?

He’s the one they should keep. So many lefty OFers, plays a decent LF in a park where you need that.