Roch: Holliday, Mayo, Kjerstad, Stowers, Norby, and Al Suarez optioned

[Moshagge3]

1 minute ago, dtk9119 said:

I guess the other thing that eats at me is that the options other than Holliday are better than him how exactly? We are not putting the BEST 26 players on the OD roster.

While it's true that Holliday >>> Wong, you don't want Holliday up here to ride the bench five times a week and you don't care if Wong does.

I don't really understand the service time angle here. Why does John Angelos care if he's on the 2030 Orioles? In 2030 John won't have anything to do with the team.

[Bemorewins]

18 minutes ago, SilverRocket said:

Honestly I am fine with this decision because I don't think Holliday is quite there yet vs LHP, and you don't lose a year of service time for a few weeks of someone who might not be your best option every day. I also do think Elias wasn't entirely lying, and if Holliday was mashing lefties then he could've made the team. He was fighting Urias for the starting job and because of the service time situation, he had a high bar to clear and had to show he's not just better than Urias, but significantly better. And right now on a day vs a lefty, I don't think Holliday has proven himself that much better than Urias yet.

Gunnar didn't mash lefties last season and especially not in the first half yet we found a way to be okay with him...lol

Serious question, how long do you think it takes him to get there vs LHP? How many good LHP do you think he will face while  at Norfolk?

[Aristotelian]

Lesson learned, whatever they say, it is always GM speak. He performed as well as he possibly could and did not make the team. That means he never had a serious chance to make it. 

[Frobby]

7 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I think the reasons he gave are legitimate, but when you tie those reasons to service time the choice becomes clear.  IMO, if service time wasn't a factor here, I think he'd be starting the season in Baltimore.

 

 

Well, it’s possible, and I’m not a mind reader so I don’t really know.  I felt in the offseason that Holliday would make the club if he showed he was clearly ready to be the best option for the team, regardless of service time issues.   And though he had a good spring, I’m not sure he met the high burden of proof.  Anyway, l’m not going to worry about it.  Just win, baby.   

[NCRaven]

When the public address announcer introduces Wong as the starting second baseman on opening day, it could get a little ugly.

[dystopia]

3 minutes ago, Moshagge3 said:

While it's true that Holliday >>> Wong, you don't want Holliday up here to ride the bench five times a week and you don't care if Wong does.

I don't really understand the service time angle here. Why does John Angelos care if he's on the 2030 Orioles? In 2030 John won't have anything to do with the team.

Plus, either you leave him down for a month or so and risk him getting the extra year anyway, or you leave him down until July and you only ends up with 2 months extra service time. Plus no draft pick now. 
 

Service clock manipulation doesn’t make much sense in this case, but whatever. 

[ChipTait]

1 hour ago, rm5678 said:

Now that he has been reassigned, does that mean he has to stay down for at least 10 days unless someone gets injured? Or could they bring him up sooner as the "replacement"for Bradish or Means who will be going on the IL?

Holliday isn't on the 40-man roster.  For him to make the team, his contract must be selected, and someone else has to be removed (or placed on the 60-day IL.)

[Aristotelian]

7 minutes ago, dtk9119 said:

I guess the other thing that eats at me is that the options other than Holliday are better than him how exactly? We are not putting the BEST 26 players on the OD roster.

We do still have a very good starting infield. Westburg and Urias are solid players. I don't think this hurts us too much. If we were guaranteed to get the extra year it would for sure be worth it. My problem is there is a very good likelihood that he gets top two and gets his year back with no pick to show for it.

[rm5678]

4 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

When the public address announcer introduces Wong as the starting second baseman on opening day, it could get a little ugly.

Isn't there a decent chance that McKenna will make the OD roster instead of Wong? If they wanted Wong, wouldn't they have told him he's making the team before this afternoon's opt-out deadline?

[forphase1]

2 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

“Jackson has had a limited number of at bats at AAA. He is a freakish talent who has sped through our system. I am not ruling out the possibility of him making our OD roster. I am also not going to make any guarantees that he will.”

 

 

If Mike said something along those lines I think the outcry today would not be as loud. 

I agree completely.  But his wording on the chances, and honestly our excitement for having him on the team, lead to many believing it was almost a done deal, provided Holliday didn't flop in spring training.  Well, he didn't flop, but he still didn't make the team.  Just a bad look overall IMO.  

[Aristotelian]

7 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Well, it’s possible, and I’m not a mind reader so I don’t really know.  I felt in the offseason that Holliday would make the club if he showed he was clearly ready to be the best option for the team, regardless of service time issues.   And though he had a good spring, I’m not sure he met the high burden of proof.  Anyway, l’m not going to worry about it.  Just win, baby.   

What else could he have possibly done in a small sample of spring ABs? He never had a chance, and certainly not a "strong chance" which I believe was the verbiage.

[Frobby]

15 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

“Jackson has had a limited number of at bats at AAA. He is a freakish talent who has sped through our system. I am not ruling out the possibility of him making our OD roster. I am also not going to make any guarantees that he will.”

 

 

If Mike said something along those lines I think the outcry today would not be as loud. 

What if he’d said this:

“I think he is going to be impressive [in spring training],” Elias said. “We’re going to make a baseball valuation with our eyes and our coaches and some of his performance, and then also what our alternatives are. He’s in camp to try to make the team. Brandon’s going to put him in every position to do so. He has not spent very much time at Triple-A, and if he goes back — regardless of how he does in spring — I do not think it would be a waste of his time. So there’s always that. So we will weigh that against whether he should be on our team on Opening Day.”

Oh wait, that’s exactly what he did say.  https://nypost.com/2024/02/17/sports/orioles-will-give-jackson-holliday-every-chance-to-make-team/amp/  If anyone read that as a guarantee that he’d make the team, or even that it was his job to lose, that’s on them.  

[Ohfan67]

I'm disappointed. Odor, Frasier, and now Wong all during a time when the organization is stacked with talented infielders. I sure hope Westburg is the opening day starter at 2B, but it will probably be Wong. Pretty bummed. The Orioles just don't seem capable of trusting some of their highly touted minor leaguers (that statement is less about Holliday and more about the older prospects that they have slow rolled). Hopefully it is much ado in a few weeks, but opening day will be slightly less enjoyable for me than if the team was starting Holliday, included Mayo, etc. 

[emmett16]

I’m salty and thought for sure he’d make it, but let’s not over react.  Westburg will play 2B and Uris at 3B.  Not exactly garbage.  Westburg just got his opportunity, he deserved some time.  Urias is a good player and the vote of confidence and audition will hopefully make him a little more attractive to a team with a need at 2B/3B.  McKenna is in his last chapter as an O. Maybe they can get a bag of balls.  Imagine his leash will be short.  I don’t see him as a MLB caliber player.  I don’t know what to think about Wong.  Head scratcher.  

Edited March 22 by emmett16

[emmett16]

7 minutes ago, rm5678 said:

Isn't there a decent chance that McKenna will make the OD roster instead of Wong? If they wanted Wong, wouldn't they have told him he's making the team before this afternoon's opt-out deadline?

Leverage and options.  Opting out is the prudent move.