JotCast | Orioles Offseason Chat

Orioles Offseason Chat

Darragh McDonald

4:29

Greetings, sports fans.

4:30

It's an exciting time to be a fan of the Orioles. Let's dig in.

Criminally underrated Chris Hoiles

4:30

hello! What do you think would be a few moves that would sabotage the Orioles plan to return to relevancy? Thinking about the Javier Baez signing last year…

Darragh McDonald

4:31

I don't think it's fair to say that Baez specifically was to blame for the woes of the Tigers. He was one of several players who had a disappointing season, in addition to many who got injured.

John

4:32

Could the Orioles be sleepers to land Ohtani next offseason? Would not obtaining a Turner or Correa type player this offseason give them a more realistic chance to pay Ohtani?

Darragh McDonald

4:33

The O's have no future commitments because they haven't given out a multi-year deal to a free agent since 2018. They could be players for any free agent they want, theoretically.

4:35

We don't know how much they're willing to spend, of course. And we don't know how Elias will distribute the payroll he's given. But they could be a sleeper on anyone.

Kirby

4:38

With the new more balanced schedule- how do you see the odds of this 2023 team (based on what we currenyly know) making the wild card?

Darragh McDonald

4:38

Yeah, the schedule should help them out a bit. Fewer games against Yankees/Rays/Jays and more games against Royals/Tigers/Pirates/etc.

Sidney

4:39

How might the new ownership deal in the DC area affect the MASN debacle that has been going on for year?

Darragh McDonald

4:40

That's a very good question.

4:41

If Leonsis ends up as the new owner in D.C., he's in charge of NBC Sports Washington and apparently is interested in moving the Nats there from MASN.

4:42

Anthony wrote about this for the site last night...

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/10/ted-leonsis-group-emerging-as-f...

Chrost

4:42

Are we underestimating ( based on experience) the Orioles ability to attract front line pitchers now that the opacy dimensions have been changed. How much does a Frontline catcher in adley help with? Thanks

Darragh McDonald

4:43

I think that, ultimately, they will still have to spend the appropriate amount of money to get guys to sign.

4:44

Adley and the wall probably help a bit, as does the fact that the team looks more competitive.

4:45

But it's probably more that, in previous years, if the O's and other teams were offering similar money, a guy would go elsewhere. They will probably have a better chance in those situations going forward.

John

4:45

Will the Orioles go all out for pitching once they feel the young bats have arrived and produced(like Houston did with Verlander, Cole, Greinke)? What is holding them back from getting Degrom? Do they feel it’s too early in the rebuild?

Darragh McDonald

4:46

It definitely seems like the position player core is ahead of the pitching staff right now, so they should focus their spending on the latter.

4:48

Going after deGrom would be amazing, but I think it's more likely that they spread the money around to multiple arms as opposed to spending about $40MM per year on an ace.

Clark

4:49

I cant see justifying picking up Lyles 11 Million tab for next year (minus 1 million buyout). Sell me why besides innings eater or just agree with me lol.

Darragh McDonald

4:50

Yeah, I don't blame you for thinking that. He was okay but not amazing in 2022.

4:51

But they have no real strong locks in their rotation right now. A lot of guys who showed encouraging signs, but most of them were inconsistent.

4:52

If you lock in Lyles, you just get a bit more certainty.

Talent

4:53

Baltimore has no shortage of young talent. How are they going to deal with the giant influx of players breaking into the bigs at the same time?

Darragh McDonald

4:54

Not all prospects pan out according to expectations. So, the ones that deliver will get playing time. Those that fall short might get moved to different positions or traded.

If you end up with too many good players at a particular position, that's a good problem to have. You can use the surplus in a trade to address an area of weakness.

Rick Dempsey

4:55

Will the Orioles move the fences in at least a little for next year? More bombs for Gunnar!

Darragh McDonald

4:55

Maybe they should get fences that move back and forth as the game is being played. Sort of like one of those arcade basketball games.

Dan

4:56

Realistically who do the Orioles sign/acquire?

Darragh McDonald

4:56

It's hard to answer this because we've never seen Mike Elias in "go for it" mode. But they could do a lot.

4:59

My guess would be multiple mid-rotation starters. If they got, say, Chris Bassitt, Mike Clevinger and Nathan Eovaldi, they'd start to look pretty good.

That's just a total guess, to be clear.

Dan

4:59

Do the Orioles go after Senga?

Darragh McDonald

5:00

I think they make sense, sure. But just about every team will be interested.

Don

5:00

What different types of starters might the Orioles try to look for via trade?

Darragh McDonald

5:01