Extension Priorities

[Orioles West]

6 minutes ago, interloper said:

How many times can we talk about extensions? Isn't it getting old? Just wait and see what they do, if anything. 

We all obviously want Gunnar, Adley, Westburg, Holliday, etc extended.

How many times on extensions? Quite a few actually.

I’ll take the over at 25+ more times before October.

 

[dystopia]

Gunnar, Adley, Holliday, Westburg. Gunnar is obviously #1, the order of the next 3 are debatable. 

[Aristotelian]

24 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

You don't have Westburg on your list and that's a crime.

Was going to say the same. He might be the one who would take a team friendly deal. I feel like Gunnar is probably out of our price range already. 

[Aristotelian]

1 minute ago, dystopia said:

Gunnar, Adley, Holliday, Westburg. Gunnar is obviously #1, the order of the next 3 are debatable. 

Is price a consideration? 

[Aristotelian]

Also, the bold move right now would be Holliday...

[Sports Guy]

7 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

This would be a perfect first move at locking up the Orioles young talent. I know people are going to say Gunnar won’t accept because he’s represented by Boras, but make him say no first before locking up Adley to an extension. 

No chance he turns it down. 

[RZNJ]

You can’t extend Ying without Yang!

[BobP]

I could care less. I don't understand why this board is so obsessed with this topic. Most players will still be here for a few years and let's enjoy them while they're here. Don't get me wrong, if an extension happens, I will be happy. It takes two to tango and there are many good reasons both sides may not want to (at least right now). 

Burnes - has made it clear he is going to be a free agent (the reason he signed with Boras) so including him is a waste of time

Gunnar - signed with Boras, so that tells me he's not really thinking about extensions. Even if he is, good chance he waits until Soto signs and that's where he starts the discussions. He seems like an ultra competitive person who's probably not looking to give any discounts. Rumor is they may be working on this one - be happy to be wrong.

Holliday - signed with Boras and hasn't proven he can hit MLB pitching

Bradish - need to wait to see if he gets through the season and status of his elbow

GRod - he's a pitcher who throws the ball violently - no rush

Adley - I believe this may be the one that could get done, he's older and his value is a more defined 

Westburg / Cowser - still improving, until performance/value more defined, risk on both sides

Orioles / Rubenstein - new owners, still probably working on defining cash flows, wouldn't be surprised they have ME working on multiple scenarios outlining salary $ and wins tradeoffs. We could be talking close to a billion dollars to sign all the above.

I'm just going to enjoy and root for the team in the now, and worry about next year's team in the off-season.

[emmett16]

Mike Elias would be my first priority. 

[Bemorewins]

39 minutes ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

Let's think long term. Of all the ayers the Orioles have, who do you think should get extended and what is your order of priority?

For me I used to say Adley Rutschman was top priority because he is the heart and soul of the clubhouse and pitching staff, and he plays a impactful position that is paramount to a Quarterback but in the sport of baseball.

However, recent weeks have showed me it's Gunnar Henderson who should be top priority. He's an athlete with all the tools, also plays a premium position, and has lifted the Orioles up in a big way to compet for 1st place.

My priority list for players to give extensions and build around, at this present time, thinking about the long term success of the team, is probably...

1.Gunnar Henderson

2. Adley Rutschman 

3.Corbin Burnes (for the right contract)

4. Kyle Bradish

5. Grayson Rodriguez 

Then after that we have to watch and see what we have because we will definitely need a premium Centerfielder and Cedric can still be that in the short term (short term deal) if he's bouncing back.

The outfield situation is a bit unclear for the future, at this moment. More data is needed to decide who plays where. Santander will be valuable throughout the competition of his contract once gets hot like he usually does.

Mountcastle is another guy you don't know what to do with. He's an excellent fielding 1st basemen. And he can hit for alot of power. But he can also be very streaky and inconsistent.

Players like Holliday and Mayo have yet to show their ability in the Majors. Cowser is still developing. So all those unproven players are too early to predict if they would reach their potential, and aren't candidates for an extension.

So I feel pretty good about the players I named in the top 5 to build around.

1. Gunnar 2. Adley 3. Westburg

The rest are kind of mid to me. Don't get me wrong, I would love to retain Burnes. But IMO he is more of a luxury than a necessity (especially with Adley and Gunnar not resigned). IMO Adley and Gunnar are the key to everything (besides Elias) to what we are building.

[Moose Milligan]

10 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Was going to say the same. He might be the one who would take a team friendly deal. I feel like Gunnar is probably out of our price range already. 

I hate to play the "blame Boras game" but not a lot of his players get to free agency.  Though, if Gunnar really was interested in staying, he could speak up for himself and instruct Boras to get an extension done.  We'll see how real the "aw shucks, yes ma'am, yes sir" quiet boy bred in the South thing that people seem to love holds up when free agency comes around.

For me, Westy isn't the biggest target on the list but I do believe he'd be the most likely to get a deal done before Gunnar, Adley, etc.

[Sports Guy]

Westburg is a FA when he’s 30.  How long do you want to extend him for?  Honestly as much as I like him, he’s not even on my list right now.

[Orioles West]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

Westburg is a FA when he’s 30.  How long do you want to extend him for?  Honestly as much as I like him, he’s not even on my list right now.

I could see an extension this year or next for Westy to include 1-2 of his FA years at best — but I would imagine he is a bit farther down the list for Elias now as well.

[Rbiggs2525]

There are quite a few occasions in MLB history of teams taking the right path and the wrong path. Early contracts have risk but by far greatest reward. Atlanta Braves have locked up most of there stars. Acuna, Olsen, Albies, Riley, Strider, Murphy, Harris. Its cost them money up front but will be massive savings down the road. Acuna on the open market would net 50 million per year for over 14 years. They are paying him 12.5 million per season. There are teams like the Nationals who let Harper, Soto, Turner all walk because of ownership and not early intervention. People were saying it was stupid for Juan Soto to turn down Nats contract. He will get more this offseason for sure. Also the Nats were in that situation because they had talks 1.5 years left on the contract. 
 

Contract order for me would go

Gunnar-by far number 1, already comparable deal with Witt Jr. Has to get done, Has to be lifelong Oriole

Westburg- Not something crazy but buying out arbitration years something like 7-8 years 80-100 million

Bradish-something that pays off arbitration and pays 2-3 years free agency.

Burnes- Frontloaded contract where first 4 years are majority of pay. Most of our payroll increase comes in 4 years when Adley hits free agency. 
 

I would continue to monitor Holiday.

 

Adley is a wait and see. He will be a 30 year old catcher. Have to see how Basallo progresses in next year.

[CaptainRedbeard]

Mayo and Basallo are the only non-Boras, non-pitchers who will debut at a young enough age that you’d be buying out free agent years before age 30. As much as I’d like to extend Gunnar, Holliday etc., I think those are the most likely candidates.

But they have such big question marks about the defensive value they will provide that it might be pretty hard finding the right number. You don’t want to be paying them as a 3B/C when they end up a 1B/DH.

And I also don’t expect to Orioles to do an extension before they get some MLB exposure under their belts. Just this year, the Keith and Rafaela extensions are looking really rough and showing the risks to that approach, and I’m going to assume the Orioles will remain very risk averse to guaranteed money until proven otherwise.