Baltimore Orioles Thread: Orioles Magic

[Leftwich]

Orioles traded Jim Johnson to Oakland for Jemile Weeks.

SALARY DUMP!

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Salary dump to the A's of all teams. It seems like they are using their revenue money to do something with it. Duquette was quoted as telling TheFan that the money saved is going to "resource allocation" which means they are pocketing it.

The only way this is a win for the team is if the PTBNL is a good pickup, or we use the money elsewhere to make a splash, but that's extremely unlikely. Considering the price it took for the Nationals to get Fister, and our need for starting pitching, I am shocked we didn't try for him.

I think that they will convert Norris into a reliever this off-season, and likely work a committee approach to saves between Norris, Hunter and O'Day.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

As for Jemile Weeks, I doubt we are going to see a return to 2011 out of him but even if he comes close to being between his 2013 minor league numbers and 2012 major league numbers, we'll see a drastic improvement offensively from what we put at 2B last year.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...orioles-column-1204-20131203,0,6268315.column

Good read, and it certainly did not take long for that to go up. Great comparisons to St Louis and Detroit as well.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Rosenthal reporting that we would have no problem departing with our first round pick if we could land Nelson Cruz or Carlos Beltran. Not sure how I feel about Beltran, just with his age and his knees, but I would be behind Cruz. Along with Adam Jones and Chris Davis, that would make for an imposing middle of the order.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

The Orioles have agreed to terms with reliever Ryan Webb on a two-year, $4.5-million deal, CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman has confirmed. The contract is pending a physical.

Webb, 27 and right-handed, in 2013 logged a 2.91 ERA 2.00 K/BB in 80 1/3 innings for the Marlins. For his career, he's pitched to a 3.29 ERA (118 ERA+) across 266 games, all relief appearances.

On the upside, Webb keeps the ball on the ground and in the park. On the downside, he has middling command numbers and platoon issues -- the latter thanks largely to his low arm slot.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24366500/orioles-agree-to-terms-with-reliever-ryan-webb

Decent numbers, important that he is a groundball pitcher with our defense. Not a bad move, but I'm certainly expecting more as far as bullpen help goes. This definitely improves out depth though.

 

[Leftwich]

The Orioles have already lost Scott Feldman (Astros) and Nate McLouth (Nationals) to free agency and Jim Johnson (Athletics) to a trade, and the team seems "unwilling to make even a cursory attempt to compete for quality talent outside the organization," Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun writes. With only Ryan Webb, Francisco Peguero, Jemile Weeks and a few other low-profile acquisitions on the other side of the docket so far, "fans have every right to wonder what exactly is their plan to compete for the American League East title," Schmuck says.

What in the actual fuck.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

What in the actual fuck.

I actually like Webb, but I get it. We didn't even make attempts to bring back either Feldman or McLouth, both of whom could have been brought back at lower cost if we negotiated earlier. I wouldn't be upset if we were after Nelson Cruz, McLouth didn't want to wait and went elsewhere and then we lost out on Cruz. This is getting to be ridiculous. We don't even have rumors of contract negotiations for Davis or Machado. Looks like the old Angelos is back, despite winning, having more people show up to games and his price for season tickets going up.

 

[Villain]

 

 

[ThomasTomasz]

We already struggle to hit left-handed pitching, do not want.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Orioles rumored to be in on Johan Santana, Grant Balfour and Nelson Cruz still. Plus names mentioned above.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

The Orioles have offers out to at least free-agent outfielder Nelson Cruz and reliever Grant Balfour as they try to fill about four holes.

Baltimore is believed to be willing to make Cruz a four-year offer in the range of the $60-million deal Curtis Granderson got from the Mets, perhaps a bit higher. It isn't known what the offer is to Balfour, but various reports have suggested a two- or three-year deal is possible.

Cruz has drawn interest from the Mariners, his old Rangers teams and some others. There was a report Cruz turned down $75 million from the Mariners, and while that couldn't be confirmed, word out of Seattle is that a deal with Cruz isn't necessarily likely at this time. Texas seems more focused on another free-agent outfielder, Shin-Soo Choo at the moment.

Balfour is their No. 1 choice to replace Jim Johnson as a closer, with John Axford and Chris Perez believed to be secondary options.

The Orioles also are in on a starting pitcher, but that name hasn't surfaced.

The Orioles have situations to resolve at closer, left field, DH and in the rotation.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/writer...bidding-on-nelson-cruz-grant-balfour-and-more

I would love to have Nelson Cruz, but I still think it's a stretch. Orioles have been competitive for two years now, so we are a destination now, but I still can't believe we pony up his contract demands, even though Angelos has the money stashed away.

Balfour is a likely signing it seems.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Though it wasn't actually a traded, the Athletics and Orioles have swapped closers this offseason. A few weeks ago, the Orioles dealt All-Star closer Jim Johnson to Oakland and now the Orioles have agreed to sign All-Star closer Grant Balfour.

The two-year deal is pending a physical and is worth $14 million with $500,000 deferred each year, confirms Jon Heyman, as first reported by MASN.com. So Balfour will make $7 million in each of the next two seasons with a million in deferred dollars, meaning it's a $15 million deal in full.

Balfour, 35, took over as A's closer in 2012 and excelled in the role last season. He successfully converted 38 of 41 save attempts with a 2.59 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 72 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings. In the past two seasons, he has 62 saves and only five blown saves.

Balfour is now the obvious choice as the Orioles closer, with the likes of Tommy Hunter, Darren O'Day and Brian Matusz available in front of him.

With Balfour gone, there are still a few proven closers available via free agency, including Fernando Rodney and Joaquin Benoit.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on...lose-to-signing-grant-balfour-to-twoyear-deal

:runaway:

Somehow, Johnson ended up with a higher WAR than Balfour did, but I like Balfour a whole lot more and most of his numbers compare equally or better to Johnson. I really do like this signing, and with Webb also in tow, we have some good depth in the bullpen. Here's what I'm guessing the pen shakes out to be:

Balfour
Hunter
ODay
Patton
Webb
Matusz
McFarland

The seventh spot for long relief is likely up for grabs, but I expect McFarland to come down with it. I'm still expecting the addition of a starter somehow, which would bump McFarland from a shot at the rotation, likely Gausman as well. With Gausman, I expect a full season in the minors.

 

[MVPete]

Still waiting on these guys to do something. I don't consider signing a closer after trading one away something ffside:.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Still waiting on these guys to do something. I don't consider signing a closer after trading one away something ffside:.

Technically no, but we didn't downgrade either :gooby:

There's the money we got back from not having to spend on Roberts and the remainder saved from the Johnson deal, so we better be doing something else. Even if that's an extension for someone, but doing nothing is the worst thing they can do right now.

 

[Matt]

I don't trust Balfour just yet.

He was pitching in a field bigger than the state of Maryland.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

I don't trust Balfour just yet.

He was pitching in a field bigger than the state of Maryland.

At the same time, he has lots of experience pitching at Camden and he's spent a few years in this division. He knows what it's like. I started to really not trust Johnson at all last year, so I figure there isn't any way Balfour can be worse.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

The Royals have traded outfielder David Lough to the Orioles in exchange for third baseman Danny Valencia. The Orioles announced the deal on Wednesday.

The left-handed-hitting Lough, 27, has a batting line of .278/.308/.396 (91 OPS+) in 400 plate appearances spread across parts of two major-league seasons. He's capable of manning all three outfield positions.

As for Valencia, the 29-year-old has a career line of .263/.302/.412 across parts of four major-league seasons. In 2013, he batted a robust .304/.335/.553 for the Orioles, albeit in a sample of just 170 plate appearances. The right-handed-hitting Valencia is likely to see some platoon time with Mike Moustakas at third base this season.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on...end-david-lough-to-orioles-for-danny-valencia

Valencia mashed left-handed pitching. Disappointed to see him go. Don't know much about Lough, but the Orioles like to carry five outfielders so he could be the fifth guy.

 

[SuperKevin]

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/19/orioles-sign-xavier-paul/

Orioles signed OF Xavier Paul to a minor league deal. Orioles apparently plan on winning the AL East by hoarding backup outfielders

 

[ThomasTomasz]

I wonder if that's going to preclude them from pursuing Cruz or another OF via trade or FA.

I know this approach worked two years ago to get us Gonzalez, Chen, McLouth, etc but that was equal parts good scouting and luck.

I would be much more confident if we used some funds that Angelos is hoarding to bring in a difference maker, and then continue to sign these low risk guys.