caulfield12

Unless he can magically conjure up long term benefits thinking at his age…as another failed 3-5 year rebuild as GRF leases are expiring will lead to him being treated about as well as Krause’s widow. Should just take Hobson/Lucas money and run.

But tanking alone doesn’t give them those Top Five picks anymore…tearing it all the way down to the studs in dealing Robert is inevitable as well, but the prospect cost to other teams makes it prohibitive until at least another year from now. Imagine Sports Guy saying that at best you can have is Kjerstad OR Cowser and Mayo for Robert…he probably wouldn’t even agree to that relatively tame or benign trade. There are only 3-5 teams in the league that could deal for him. That severely limits your options unless you can find another Rizzo or Preller out there with a KWish riverboat gambler type of personality. Everyone else too risk-averse like Elias.

How many would know that Haber was so intimately involved with that blown selection...? Compared to Hahn/KW/Fabian...obviously Shirley, etc.

https://nypost.com/2024/01/24/sports/domingo-german-has-offers-for-mlb-return-after-alcohol-abuse-treatment/ Newest solution for Orioles/Blue Jays and four other teams...former Yankee Domingo German coming off alcohol rehab stint

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/why-is-almost-no-team-interested-in-bill-belichick-171012591.html

https://www.mlb.com/news/top-shortstop-prospects-for-2024?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage Maybe Sports Guy won't come here to come out with his "absolutely unavailable" comments about top Orioles' prospects... Guess he's more excited to see where Mayo lands at 3B when that list comes out. Answer is 4th. https://www.mlb.com/news/top-third-base-prospects-for-2024?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage Norby was 7th at 2B, but definitely no Nicky Ortiz. Michael Busch 7th at 3B, where he undoubtedly won't stick in the long run. Edgar Quero was the 9th ranked catcher... Humblest beginning: E. Quero Neither Quero signed for big money on the international market, with Jeferson (Brewers #2 prospect, catcher as well) turning pro for $200,000 out of Venezuela in 2019 and Edgar receiving the same bonus out of Cuba two years later. Jeferson's defensive upside was obvious at the same stage, so Edgar gets the nod in this category.

Member of Keith Law Family Tree?

Everyone wanted to put him together with Cowboys and return to the Parcells/J.Johnson high-wattage celeb coach mode but that must have been nixed by Jerry.

Hard to know where to count Arlington as it feels like suburban sprawl between Dallas and Ft. Worth. Definitely far from downtown/s and set up just like KC with two stadiums and easy interstate access.

Harbaugh to SD...not Atl. Not a shocker.

Sounds like a perfect prescription for White Sox...too.

DR?

Actually his offense was higher than his defense…but that was really carried by April 2023. The rest of 2023, he hit just .205 with 12 homers and 33 RBIs, or what you might expect out of Conor Gillaspie. He wants to be paid $30 million for at least 4-5 years, but he’s likely a low $20s and falling further hitter…and it was 3.5 fWAR vs. the quoted 4.4 bWAR, a pretty significant spread. Certainly his agent wants him to be regarded as the same player he was in his 20s, from 2017-2021. We can let Sports Guy and Rolle Tide assess how much he’s worth to the Orioles, lol. Nobody on this board would favor signing him for $150 million and five years. It’s the primary reason why he is still unsigned.

The 755 OPS…which is closer to 675-700 if you strip out the first six weeks. Turning 31. At some point his defense will start to slip. You’re paying at least 65% for past performance with this contract. Maybe you get two decent years…maybe…but the other 2-3 are going to be pretty terrible, something like Longoria’s collapse. Matt Chapman has a .205 batting average with 84 hits, 12 home runs, 33 RBIs and 49 runs scored in 113 games since May 1, 2023. fWAR paints a story of diminishing defense well off his 2021 peak…and at some point falling off a cliff…it also paints a picture of a player falling from the 4’s into the 3’s and losing more and more by the years in all likelihood. https://www.fangraphs.com/players/matt-chapman/16505/stats?position=3B

“Assuming he's healthy, Hoskins should slot right into the middle of the Brewers' lineup while also giving new manager Pat Murphy another potential option at designated hitter. Defensively, Hoskins doesn't fit the profile of the current Milwaukee roster; he accounted for minus-nine outs above average in 2022 – much lower than even former Brewers first baseman Rowdy Tellez. However, the team's need for offense at the corners is such that it's willing to deal with that potential shortcoming in order to add Hoskins's bat while at the same time keeping him away from the NL Central-rival Chicago Cubs, who had reportedly been interested in signing him. Milwaukee first basemen combined for a .231 average, 23 homers, 79 RBI and an OPS of .681, collectively one of the (worst) first (base) performances at the position in the majors in 2023.” https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2024/01/23/brewers-reportedly-agree-to-terms-with-ex-phillies-slugger-rhys-hoskins/72332868007/

Chapman might be done…certainly well post peak.

Aka Truist Park

Orioles going to have to roll the dice https://www.si.com/mlb/orioles/news/brandon-woodruff-baltimore-orioles-free-agency-opportunity-matt9 Old article but certainly still relevant... "They found that 68 per cent of the players were able to get back into action (pitching competitively) approximately 12 months after surgery. Some players were able to return to pitching within nine months after the surgery. Others were not ready for a year and a half (18 months). Very few actually made it back to sports participation the same year they had the surgery. This was especially true for those who had rotator cuff or labral surgery." eorthopod.com/news/rate-of-return-to-el

This definitely takes Corbin Burnes off the market, by the way. Plus they can bring up their shiny new CFer without worrying about service time.

And Boras is waiting for $175-200 million, not $140-165. $170 million seems close to the compromise point.

https://www.baseball-almanac.com/hof/hofstca.shtml How many catchers in the last 20-30 years, though? Biggio started as a catcher, lol. Ivan Rodriguez, with a cloud over his head. Piazza, likewise. Carter and Fisk from the previous generation.

Kansas City????? Las Vegas project?

Swinging like a slow rusty gate that hasn't been greased isn't exactly a highlight. It's more like another reminder of Leury and Grandal....or Darin Erstad.

Gun in the gut...

You HAVE to pick the RIGHT player. You simply cannot afford to be wrong. Bellinger is the only hitter out there...but the risk is extreme of being left with an albatross contract by Sox standards. Think back to the Cubs' adding Lester to their young/emerging core to get that rebuild jump started. The timing here is ALL wrong to jump the gun by at least one year without knowing EXACTLY what you have throughout and across the organization. It's making a move just to make a headline and fire up the fanbase but the consequences of missing are way too high...because it means JR would simply use another failure in FA as an excuse not to dip into that water again. I watched this happen with SD last year...Preller missed out on all of his targets (Judge in particular), and they signed Bogaerts when they didn't even need to (had 4-5 shortstops on their roster already) and a top 20 MiLB prospect as well. That one move pushed out Wacha, Hader, Lugo and Soto...and might push out Ha Seong Kim as well in his FA year. Now you have a player past his prime with a bad contract who will likely decline unless he's playing at 100% health.