The Orioles stayed out of the news for another day.<\/p>\n
Releasing right-hander Juan Duran from the Dominican Summer League roster doesn\u2019t really count.<\/p>\n
Free agency begins five days after the World Series, with teams deciding whether to issue qualifying offers and exercise club options. But until then, let\u2019s pull 12 more questions out of the mailbag.<\/p>\n
Hey Roch! Do you think it\u2019s in the Orioles\u2019 best interest to continue to have three catchers on their active roster?
Hello, and no way. The only way it makes any sense is if that third catcher can be a super-utility player. Yohel Pozo rotted on the bench and wasted a roster spot. I understand the logic behind a third catcher, but Samuel Basallo doesn\u2019t need to play first base. Pete Alonso spends the vast majority of his time at the position, and Coby Mayo or Christian Encarnacion-Strand can start at first if Alonso serves as designated hitter. Basallo might have to move from DH to catcher late in a game, but that risk shouldn\u2019t bump a more useful player from the roster. The infield could be carrying Alonso, Mayo, Encarnacion-Strand, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg and Blaze Alexander. That leaves room for four outfielders, with Alexander able to be a fifth. Colton Cowser, Dylan Beavers, Tyler O\u2019Neill and a new acquisition? Someone else returning? Trading from the infield excess? This offense can\u2019t stand pat. I don\u2019t know how it\u2019s going to shake out, but a third catcher is a hard fit.<\/p>\n
Will we be taking another look at second base?
Mike Elias and Craig Albernaz didn\u2019t go into detail about the organization\u2019s roster plans. However, Elias said the following when asked about Holliday sticking at second: \u201cEnormous talent, great head on his shoulders. As I\u2019ve been talking about with the draft picks, you look at where he is and the age, and then the other top picks around him that year, he\u2019s way ahead of the curve and we continue to believe in him and build around him. He is very athletic. We started him at shortstop. He ended up at second base. To the degree that evolves in multiple different directions, I think he\u2019s so early in his career that we\u2019ll see, but we absolutely believe in his ability at second base, and him as a second baseman will be a big part of our planning this winter.\u201d\u00a0So there you go. A big part of the planning. Also, Jordan Westburg (if he\u2019s healthy) and Blaze Alexander (if he\u2019s healthy) are options at second. But the Orioles need to add a bat somewhere, and that\u2019s one of the more interesting storylines this winter.<\/p>\n
Any plans on what you\u2019ll do in the event of a lockout\/strike? Long vacation? Play with the grandkid? Take cooking classes?
Parasailing. Setting up a fruit stand in my neighborhood. Lots of possibilities. I\u2019ll still be writing, though I\u2019m not sure why I do it every day. That\u2019s by choice. The grandkid always is a priority. For the most part, it should feel like a typical offseason except major league news won\u2019t break. The Winter Meetings could be canceled, but not for the first time. Spring training could be pushed back, but not for the first time. Just have to get creative with ideas. Tom Davis will keep me busy with some MASN shows. I won\u2019t sell my laptop, mainly because it doesn\u2019t belong to me.<\/p>\n
Do you see as many batting tees around the ballpark as you used to?
This question is related to last month\u2019s CBS Sports article on Driveline\u2019s pull-side philosophy and how it\u2019s impacting hitters. There\u2019s an anecdote about an Oriole who was working his way back to the majors and brought a tee to a minor league park. A coach remarked that he hadn\u2019t seen one of those \u201caround here in a long time.\u201d The media doesn\u2019t see many tees because guys use them in the indoor cage that\u2019s out of our view. There are some occasions when they\u2019re brought outdoors for a drill. Perhaps it\u2019s accurate that the Orioles rely more on live pitching and machines, but I haven\u2019t seen their tee inventory. Is it tee for two, 26 or none? I\u2019ll need to ask.<\/p>\n
Isn\u2019t 30 years enough time to forgive a kid for catching a home run ball?
No. Not now, not ever. And to be clear, he didn\u2019t catch it. The ball hit off his hands. But he interfered and umpire Richie Garcia blew the call, defended it and signed autographs for Yankees fans the next day along the first base line. He should have been fined or fired for that action alone. Or maybe tarred and feathered. I\u2019m a reasonable guy. Orange and black feathers.<\/p>\n
Would you trade Gunnar and insert Holliday as shortstop?
Nope. One argument against trading Henderson is that the team would be selling low. And he\u2019s still perceived in the industry as one of the most talented players in baseball, even if he didn\u2019t play like it. Ask any scout and he\u2019ll say, \u201cI\u2019d take him in a heartbeat,\u201d or words to that effect. Get Henderson healthy \u2013 shoulder, wrist, whatever. Work on his approach and high chase rate. See if he can get back to his All-Star form. A trade could be considered if the Orioles are falling out of contention again, his free agency is getting closer and a team blows them away with an offer. Holliday doesn\u2019t need to be bounced to another position. The Orioles made a commitment to develop him at second. He also could use a healthy season. Let\u2019s see what he does at age 23.<\/p>\n
Is there a press conference coming up with David Rubenstein?
If so, the media hasn\u2019t been alerted to it. There doesn\u2019t appear to be anything imminent. He didn\u2019t attend the season-ending presser, but those sessions are reserved for the front office executive and manager. Rubenstein is more visible than previous ownership with his appearances at pressers announcing signings and contract extensions. It\u2019s been a long time since we\u2019ve seen him in the stands tossing Orioles caps to fans. Maybe in 2027.<\/p>\n
Moving Coby Mayo to right field seems to be the popular move on SOR. Moving a young guy to now a third position while he\u2019s also adjusting to major league pitching seems a bit overwhelming to this fan. Our overall defense wasn\u2019t the best last year, so why add to that problem? Maybe it would be different if he played winter ball, but that\u2019s not happening. Your thoughts?
I feel you, dawg. I shot down the Mayo-to-right suggestion in a previous mailbag entry for the same reasons that you stated. He\u2019s making huge strides as a hitter. Don\u2019t mess with him. The Orioles allowed the most unearned runs in the majors this season. Don\u2019t risk doing more damage. They need to improve defensively, not conduct an experiment. Let him shag fly balls and see whether he could be an option on occasion, but a full-time move from the infield to the outfield seems like a bad idea. It\u2019s a contradiction to the vow to place more emphasis on defense.<\/p>\n
Are they getting rid of the concept of Mr. Splash entirely, or just replacing the person who did the job? If it is the latter that seems kind of odd to me. Same with Oriole Bird, condiments etc.
The Splash Zone will remain in place, though players have ditched their water celebrations and moved on to the bird hand gesture. I guess fans still love to get soaked. The odds are better that a beer gets spilled on them as more bars are built. The person who portrayed Mr. Splash is gone, but someone else can fill that role. It\u2019s odd to me that so many people think the Orioles got rid of The Bird and won\u2019t have a mascot next season. Sorry to kill the illusion, but there\u2019s more than one person inside that costume. Not at the same time. You know what I mean. <\/p>\n
Who did the Orioles get with the Competitive Balance pick from the Bryan Baker trade with the Rays? And don\u2019t say \u201cyour mom!\u201d
I\u2019d never! Prep outfielder Slater de Brun was selected with the No. 37 pick in Round A. And then, get this, the Orioles traded de Brun, Cadine Bodine, Michael Forret, Austin Overn and a Competitive Balance Round A pick to the Rays in the Shane Baz deal. And then, get this, they acquired Forret from the Rays for Tyler Wells.<\/p>\n
Since Adley was traded, who is the next likely member of the \u201ccore\u201d prospects to be sent elsewhere? Gunnar, Holliday, Cowser, someone else? Guessing Big Sam isn\u2019t going anywhere, given that he is now the No. 1 catcher and that whole eight-year extension thing.
I suppose anyone and anything is possible if the Orioles were willing to part with Rutschman. I\u2019d guess Henderson only because he could wind up in the same boat, where free agency is drawing nearer and an agreement can\u2019t be reached on an extension. A team could dump a bunch of top prospects in the Orioles\u2019 laps. However, here\u2019s another thought. The Orioles could make a move for a bat that necessitates a counter move in the outfield, which puts Cowser on the block. Or Dylan Beavers if we\u2019re including him in the core. But we\u2019re just tossing out ideas here. These aren\u2019t predictions.<\/p>\n
Does either Tyler O\u2019Neill or Heston Kjerstad ever make another appearance in an Orioles uniform?
O\u2019Neill has another year left on his contract and he\u2019s being paid $16.5 million. The Orioles could try to find a trade partner, but I\u2019m assuming that he\u2019s back. Kjerstad will be out of minor league options. He\u2019d have to break camp with the team and the Orioles would have to find room for another left-handed hitting outfielder on the roster. They need a right-handed hitter who can play center and improve the offense and defense. Kjerstad appeared in only 11 games this season and had to wait until September to be recalled. Between these two players, it seems like O\u2019Neill has the better shot at playing for the Orioles in 2027. And man, that would be a sad ending to the Kjerstad saga that began with his myocarditis diagnosis after the draft. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Orioles stayed out of the news for another day. Releasing right-hander Juan Duran from the Dominican Summer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":879547,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[831,80666,7949,37774,363,48262,148834,99],"class_list":["post-879546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-featured","tag-gunnar-henderson","tag-jackson-holliday","tag-mailbag","tag-mlb","tag-orioles","tag-roch-kubatko","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=879546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/879547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=879546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=879546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=879546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}