Third base in 2011, if Bell can't cut it.

[Frobby]

Was Nick Markakis the O's best option for winning games in 2006?

Yes. He was not guaranteed a spot on the 2006 roster at all, but he won the spot in spring training.

[Frobby]

As to Bell, let's just let September play out before arguing too much whether he is going to be the first option at 3B next year or not. He's had 106 PA. By the end of the season, he'll have double that number and we'll have a better read on things.

1st 48 PA: .167/.167/.188

Next 58 PA: .268/.293/.464

That's good progress. He needs to make a little more over the next month, and hopefully cut down on the strikeouts. But he is headed in the right direction.

[Mackus]

I wouldn't hesitate to sign or trade for a guy at 3B that we think is going to be a very good player over there. Having Bell shouldn't infringe upon that.

However, I don't think we have to go out and get a "solution" at 3B, either. We can sign a competent backup, like resigning Wigginton, and go into the season hoping Bell can be our guy. If he really struggles, then after a couple months or however long, move over to Wigginton or whomever we've got as our backup.

[Nigel Tufnel]

Yes. He was not guaranteed a spot on the 2006 roster at all, but he won the spot in spring training.

I wasn't on the board back then, but what was the general feeling here about Nick for the first two months of 2006? Did people mostly want to be patient with him?

[BaltimoreTerp]

I wasn't on the board back then, but what was the general feeling here about Nick for the first two months of 2006? Did people mostly want to be patient with him?

Of the regular posters, from what I remember it was fairly split, with the group wanting to send him down growing daily through May. Then he started to hit...

[JTrea81]

I wouldn't hesitate to sign or trade for a guy at 3B that we think is going to be a very good player over there. Having Bell shouldn't infringe upon that.

However, I don't think we have to go out and get a "solution" at 3B, either. We can sign a competent backup, like resigning Wigginton, and go into the season hoping Bell can be our guy. If he really struggles, then after a couple months or however long, move over to Wigginton or whomever we've got as our backup.

The problem with this line of thinking is that the FA crop of 3B men in 2012 is terrible and it's going to be some time before guys like Wright and Zimmerman are going to be available:

Third basemen:

Jose Bautista (31)

Wilson Betemit (30)

Casey Blake (38) - $6MM club option with a $1.25MM buyout

Mark DeRosa (37)

Greg Dobbs (33)

Edwin Encarnacion (29)

Wes Helms (36)

Beltre is going to be the best option to upgrade 3B with a proven option for quite some time.

[waroriole]

The problem with this line of thinking is that the FA crop of 3B men in 2012 is terrible:

Beltre is going to be the best option to upgrade 3B with a proven option for quite some time.

Beltre is exactly the kind of guy you stay away from. He's had a great season, and will probably be paid well for it. He's going to be 32 next season, and will probably require at least 4 years to come here. That would be a terrible deal for a guy who will likely not come close to his production from this year.

[Frobby]

Beltre is going to be the best option to upgrade 3B with a proven option for quite some time.

My prediction is that Beltre re-ups with the Red Sox.

[Stotle]

My prediction is that Beltre re-ups with the Red Sox.

This is a decent bet, though I wouldn't be surprised to see Theo try and get a little younger this off-season -- maybe by getting aggressive on the trade market. Beltre wouldn't, of course, preclude other "younger" moves.

[JTrea81]

Beltre is exactly the kind of guy you stay away from. He's had a great season, and will probably be paid well for it. He's going to be 32 next season, and will probably require at least 4 years to come here. That would be a terrible deal for a guy who will likely not come close to his production from this year.

His value lies not only in his bat but his glove.

Even if he only produces with the bat like he did similar to Seattle, he's still likely to be a 4.0+ WAR player.

Can we really say that about Josh Bell?

[olehippi]

I think Josh Bell will become an absolute stud if the Orioles are patient enough to stick with him for a couple of years. And so far, he is proving there's no reason that they shouldn't -- he has shown steady progress. If it continues through the end of the year, Bell will be starting at 3B next spring.

[waroriole]

His value lies not only in his bat but his glove.

Even if he only produces with the bat like he did similar to Seattle, he's still likely to be a 4.0+ WAR player.

Can we really say that about Josh Bell?

I'm aware of his glove. I'm also aware that you rely on WAR as gospel, when it clearly has its problems. I agree that he should still give us value with his glove, but I am very skeptical that his bat will provide enough value for us to be worth a 4/50 contract, which is the least it would take to acquire him IMO.

I'm all for giving Bell every opportunity this year and at the beginning of next year to show us what he can do at a very low salary. Can we say that about Beltre?

[JTrea81]

I think Josh Bell will become an absolute stud if the Orioles are patient enough to stick with him for a couple of years. And so far, he is proving there's no reason that they shouldn't -- he has shown steady progress. If it continues through the end of the year, Bell will be starting at 3B next spring.

And if the O's want to win as many games as they can, if they leave Bell at 3B they'll have to find premium solutions for LF and 1B instead.

If the O's pass on Beltre though, and Bell is a bust, they are likely screwed for several years at that position because of the lack of talent at 3B in general in baseball and the fact the good talent at that position is locked up for several years.

Can they afford to take that chance? I think they at least have to make a solid run at him to try to lure him here.

Then if you don't get him you can put Bell there and cross your fingers, but there's no way we should depend on Bell for the 3B job unless he has a monster September.

[Stotle]

I'm aware of his glove. I'm also aware that you rely on WAR as gospel, when it clearly has its problems. I agree that he should still give us value with his glove, but I am very skeptical that his bat will provide enough value for us to be worth a 4/50 contract, which is the least it would take to acquire him IMO.

I'm all for giving Bell every opportunity this year and at the beginning of next year to show us what he can do at a very low salary. Can we say that about Beltre?

I've spoken with a few evaluators this summer that have stated that Fangraph's "WAR" has too low a threshold for replacement players (for whatever that is worth). In my opinion, it's a useful quick tool to compare players and ballpark their value, but I agree it shouldn't be the be-all-end-all.

[JTrea81]

I'm aware of his glove. I'm also aware that you rely on WAR as gospel, when it clearly has its problems. I agree that he should still give us value with his glove, but I am very skeptical that his bat will provide enough value for us to be worth a 4/50 contract, which is the least it would take to acquire him IMO.

I'm all for giving Bell every opportunity this year and at the beginning of next year to show us what he can do at a very low salary. Can we say that about Beltre?

We've got plenty of salary room. That shouldn't be an issue.

Acquiring talent to win games should be our goal, not just relying on young cheap talent to hopefully step up. We saw how well that worked this year.

We should be all done auditioning players after this year. Now if you don't produce, you don't deserve a roster spot.