What moves do you HONESTLY expect the Orioles will make this offseason?

[TonySoprano]

A jump to the left

And then a step to the right

Put your hands on your hips

And bring your knees in tight

Then make a pelvic thrust that really drives them insaaaane

The O's time warp back to....2009, no major moves, the fanbase grabs its ankles for the pelvic thrust

[LookinUp]

And he's right. Every year.

The beauty of change (this time it's Buck) is it provides new hope.

[e16bball]

If you "just stick Luke Scott at 1B," who gets the AB at DH? Reimold?

Total stopgap idea, but if we're planning on using Luke at 1B, we could go after Hideki Matsui. He had a very solid season last year (124 OPS+, 125 wRC+) as a 2-win DH for the Angels.

He would also bring some added benefit (credibility in Japan), particularly if we also made Koji and Nakajima (really wish they'd go ahead and post him) focal points.

[MrOrange82]

On the day Reimold was sent to the minors, he was hitting .205/.302/.337. Granted, that is very poor. But Jones was hitting .230/.257/.353, and Scott was hitting .186/.255/.384. Those guys were given a chance to straighten themselves out, Reimold wasn't. Maybe if he hadn't been sent down he would have gotten things together like Jones and Scott did. Obviously, his poor performance his first couple of months at Norfolk suggests otherwise. But it's also possible that Reimold just got thrown out of kilter by being sent down. He had hit a little better in the 2+ weeks right before he was sent out.

I'm not making excuses for the guy, just saying the O's had a pretty quick hook with him in 2010. Hopefully he comes into spring training with his foot 100% healthy and his mind clear, and doesn't underwhelm Showalter or anyone else next time around.

Reimold was the only one of the three coming off both a serious injury and a serious interpersonal problem. And if sending him to the minors to play just about every day and face weaker competition actually made him worse, he probably didn't belong on the ML roster. Yes, an argument could've been made to send down any of the players you mentioned, but Reimold was a very reasonable choice, IMO. Even without knowing all the details of his personal life, he looked physically bad at the beginning of last year.

[flashjordnk]

Reimold was the only one of the three coming off both a serious injury and a serious interpersonal problem. And if sending him to the minors to play just about every day and face weaker competition actually made him worse, he probably didn't belong on the ML roster. Yes, an argument could've been made to send down any of the players you mentioned, but Reimold was a very reasonable choice, IMO. Even without knowing all the details of his personal life, he looked physically bad at the beginning of last year.

But how does this impact how we judge him for next year.

And this is the really tricky part. Because Reimold just never looked himself last year. I think we all saw a high energy, full effort, disciplined hitter come up the first time.

I just don't think Reimold's batting eye or hustle can ever be lost. And if the guy comes in ready to compete, I think the Orioles will end up finding a space on the roster for him.

Now how that affects the off season plans is really tricky. I don't see the O's winning 90+ games next year, so I think you definitely need to leave room for him to be able to have a spot if he does well. The O's chances of bringing in a few impact guys to really turn the team around are limited, so there is no reason to just assume the guy is done for next year.

[Going Underground]

The Yankees turned down Berkman's option.

The Yankees declined their 2011 options for Kerry Wood, Lance Berkman and Nick Johnson. The team exercised its option on 2007 first rounder Andrew Brackman.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/10/yanks-decline-options-for-wood-berkman-johnson.html

[Arthur_Bryant]

The Yankees turned down Berkman's option.

The Yankees declined their 2011 options for Kerry Wood, Lance Berkman and Nick Johnson. The team exercised its option on 2007 first rounder Andrew Brackman.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/10/yanks-decline-options-for-wood-berkman-johnson.html

I wonder what the market will be for Berkman. He was a superior hitter for 10 straight years until this season. I wouldn't go more than two years, and I would rather have Derrek Lee, but I think there's still a good chance that Berkman returns to at least 130-ish OPS+ for the next couple of seasons.

[Frobby]

But how does this impact how we judge him for next year.

And this is the really tricky part. Because Reimold just never looked himself last year. I think we all saw a high energy, full effort, disciplined hitter come up the first time.

I just don't think Reimold's batting eye or hustle can ever be lost. And if the guy comes in ready to compete, I think the Orioles will end up finding a space on the roster for him.

Now how that affects the off season plans is really tricky. I don't see the O's winning 90+ games next year, so I think you definitely need to leave room for him to be able to have a spot if he does well. The O's chances of bringing in a few impact guys to really turn the team around are limited, so there is no reason to just assume the guy is done for next year.

Bingo. I don't assume he's done -- nor do I assume he returns to his form of 2009. I'd have other options, and make Reimold earn his playing time.

It's funny, last spring a lot of posters were projecting Reimold to have an .850-.900 OPS, while I was projecting .775. Now I'm the one saying don't write him off.

[SrMeowMeow]

Here's a plausible offseason I would find exciting:

Bill Hall for SS, Reynolds for 3B, Derrek Lee for 1B. Re-sign Koji for a couple million or try to pick up a decent short reliever rebound candidate for under a million bucks. Re-sign Wigginton as a utility player if his price is acceptably low; otherwise, Izturis wants to come back and would be fine and cheap. Sign Rich Harden for one year if his physical is promising and set the over/under at 15 starts of 4.00 ERA, and find a warm body in the Vicente Padilla mold for depth.

[El Gordo]

The Yankees turned down Berkman's option.

The Yankees declined their 2011 options for Kerry Wood, Lance Berkman and Nick Johnson. The team exercised its option on 2007 first rounder Andrew Brackman.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/10/yanks-decline-options-for-wood-berkman-johnson.html

Oh good. Thank God Nick Johnson is available. I thought we'd have to settle for Overbay.:mwahaha:

[El Gordo]

I wonder what the market will be for Berkman. He was a superior hitter for 10 straight years until this season. I wouldn't go more than two years, and I would rather have Derrek Lee, but I think there's still a good chance that Berkman returns to at least 130-ish OPS+ for the next couple of seasons.

I'm betting Berkman goes back to Houston.

[MrOrange82]

Bingo. I don't assume he's done -- nor do I assume he returns to his form of 2009. I'd have other options, and make Reimold earn his playing time.

It's funny, last spring a lot of posters were projecting Reimold to have an .850-.900 OPS, while I was projecting .775. Now I'm the one saying don't write him off.

What does "write him off" mean in this context? Personally, I just don't think the O's need another .750ish OFer. And I'd like for the team to do better than that at first as well.

I guess my question revolves around the fact that writing him off in the career-failure sense might be unfair, but I don't think Reimold's upside (or lack thereof) plays well for the Orioles going forward.

[Catch 8]

The beauty of change (this time it's Buck) is it provides new hope.

I'll believe it when I see it; talk is cheap.

And I'll be the happiest crow-eater if I'm wrong.

[mikezpen]

My big hope is that the Orioles can make a play for Butler and or Greinke. Something tells me they will.Forget the megabuck free agents. Ain't happening.

Otherwise, I see them going for Lee or Berkman at first. Maybe Betemit or Jose Lopez at third.(Pleeze not Feliz or Overbay). They'll try to stay with Izturis at short.

[DrungoHazewood]

What does "write him off" mean in this context? Personally, I just don't think the O's need another .750ish OFer. And I'd like for the team to do better than that at first as well.

I guess my question revolves around the fact that writing him off in the career-failure sense might be unfair, but I don't think Reimold's upside (or lack thereof) plays well for the Orioles going forward.

Why do you think he has a lack of upside? He put up an .832 OPS as a rookie in 2009. You'd have to assume his upside is at least that high, maybe higher. We can quibble over how likely it is he reaches that, but he's already shown the ability to be an above-average hitter.