Orioles Rumors: Burnett, Markakis, Japan

No way the Braves offer AJ a five-year deal. His injuries make it far too risky.

None of the Japanese pitchers is anywhere near Burnett's talent, of course, but Uehara, especially, would be a good pick up, and the Orioles need multiple starters, anyway. I agree, too, it would be nice for the Orioles finally to do something in the Asian market.

I'll admit that I don't know much in the way of the Asian scouting...I just hope that when the O's do venture into that market that they do so wisely and not just because it is something that some thing they SHOULD be doing.

If the Orioles can lock in Markakis, extend Roberts (assuming he is onboard with his loyalty), bring in a solid fielding shortstop and sign one (ideally both) of Teixiera/ Burnett they could vastly expediate the timeframe on getting back to competitiveness in the AL East. Those moves alone won't take them from "Worst to First", but it could prove to make things much more interesting THIS season and put them just a couple pieces away heading into 2010.

The Phillies don't need to spend $45 Million on a Pitcher that has been on the DL 10 times in the past 10 years....

The Phillies will re-sign Moyer who had a BETTER win/loss percentage and a lower ERA!

Moyer is old, so what... his PITCHING style doesn't matter at his age, and he is a VERY good athelete!

14-11 in 2007 and 16-7 in 2008
Moyer is good for the #4 starter.

Phillies need to concentrate on protection for Howard. Out of ALL the teams except for the Rays, I believe the Phillies have the LEAST amount of holes to fill...

And hey, we ARE the 2008 World Series Champions!

Please, scribbletone. What an absurd trade suggestion. Markakis is worth three times that.

good thing the o's dont want to trade markakis, not even for the world, i agree with playwright on this one, i wouldnt even trade the whole cubs farm for markakis

Re-signing Nicky must be our first priority of the winter. Just lock him up for the next ten years or something. I hate to even THINK about losing the guy; it would be a crippling blow to our rebuilding efforts. After that, I think we'll be pretty quiet.

I hate to burst any bubbles, but I REALLY don't think Tex is coming home. In the long run, I also think this could be a good thing. While the Birds need a quality first baseman and Teixeira IS the hometown hero, he's also a- um- well...let's just say he's a member of the world's oldest profession, if you know what I mean. There's no question in my mind that whoever offers the most money will acquire the mercenary-minded slugger. Unless the O's grossly overpay, that won't be Baltimore. Nor should it. Dropping $100 mil or more on one guy doesn't strike me as fiscally responsible for a team with as many holes (or impending holes) as the O's have. MacPhail has given the organization its first glimmer of hope, largely on the basis of scouting and player development. I believe we must continue to build and grow our infrastructure in order to establish a pipeline that can routinely supply players of the caliber we'll need so as to regularly compete with the big money boys in New York and Boston. We can't compete with them on a budgetary level, so we need to maximize our investments. Fortunately, the O's aren't a small market club, meaning we can keep the stars we develop, but it's going to take patience and discipline NOT to break with the game-plan. Signing Tex would have long-term effects that could instantly wipe away any gains we've made over the past year or two.

Which isn't to say we stand pat. I have no idea what the free agent market is going to look like next winter, but consider this: among current starters/key contributors, Brian Roberts, Aubrey Huff, Melvin Mora, Ramon Hernandez, Jamie Walker, and Danys Baez are all slated to become free agents after the 2009 season. In some cases- Walker, Baez, and Hernandez- that's more cause for celebration than concern, but it does pose some questions; among them...should we look to re-sign Roberts, Huff, and/or Mora? How might we better utilize the cash freed up by these losses? What kind of draft compensation will we net?

It's already been established that the Birds would like to keep Roberts, which I believe is probably the right move. You need SOME veterans to rebuild around and Roberts has remained productive as he's aged. Huff was brilliant last year, but could be worth more on the trading block this summer as the deadline approaches. Given his inability to regularly play the field (effectively) I can see the argument either way. Mora's second half excepted, the third baseman looks to be in decline and shouldn't be offered anything more than arbitration (we don't have a clear successor and by offering arb. there's a chance we net a Type B pick).

Add this year's pair of free agent starters- first baseman Kevin Millar and shortstop Juan Castro- to the list and...well...that's a lot of holes to fill! And we haven't even BEGUN to discuss the rotation!!!

As impressive a job Mac and Co. have done toward rebuilding the farm system, it hasn't reached the self-sustaining level of Tampa or Boston and looks particularly light on quality position prospects. On the other hand, there's seems to be a surplus- if that's ever possible- of quality arms, with Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, and Brandon Erbe highlighting a deep and talented group of future starters poised to join young guns like Radhames Liz, Garrett Olson, Troy Patton, and Hayden Penn at the big league level.

So why, then, would I advocate signing one or both of Burnett and/or Uehara over an obvious offensive upgrade at a position of clear need? One need look no further than last year's club to answer that question. Sadly, injuries are unavoidable, and the O's are no stranger to the misfortune of fallen hurlers. Toward the end of 2008 we'd already thrown our best young, near-ready, pitchers to the wolves and seen them predictably devoured. That eventually led to experiments- like turning Sarfate into a starter- and ridiculously unqualified 'prospects' like Chris Waters and Alfredo Simon getting tossed out to the mound like sacrificial lambs. Occasionally they came through; more often, they didn't. The 2009 rotation, as it stands, could shape up as such: Jeremy Guthrie, Garrett Olson, Daniel Cabrera, Radhames Liz, and Troy Patton. Umm...anyone else worried yet. It's not like anyone's expecting us to win the division, but you can't keep sending guys into the season without hope!

Burnett and/or Uehara, in addition to the wonderful surprise that has been Jeremy Guthrie, would provide the foundation for a respectable- if unspectacular- rotation on whom the team could dream and, more importantly, build. No longer would the Birds be forced to rush their better prospects- who knows what damage was done with regard to Olson and Liz last year. Within a year or so, Tillman and perhaps Matusz could join the vets; eased in and allowed to learn from their more experienced teammates. Over time, the O's might actually have too many potential starters; an enviable 'problem,' and one that could allow them to deal away an arm or two to fill the aforementioned holes. After all, we saw with Bedard the premium that pitching can fetch through trade.

And of course, there's the cost. While Burnett certainly fails to qualify as
'cheap,' his contract demands would almost certainly pale in comparison to Tex's. And looking beyond 2009, it's fair to suggest we'll need the money.

Last year, the O's demonstrated over the second half, that the offense could, indeed, carry the club. Even if the numbers aren't replicated, it's safe to assume that players like Markakis and Jones will continue to improve as they head into their 'prime' years and that up and comers like Matt Wieters, Lou Montanez, and Nolan Reimold might mitigate any lost potency. Without pitching, however, it'll all be for nothing. The reason is simple: rebuilding doesn't begin with runs scored or prevented, but with the belief that winning is possible.

Hendry's not getting another bite at that apple. In the 2003 draft the Cubs had the #6 pick and selected Ryan Harvey (yes THAT Ryan Harvey). With the 7th pick the Baltimore Orioles picked......Nick Markakis.

Ouch!

I think Tex would consider signing with the O's because that line-up with him in it makes them a tough team to beat. With him, Markakis, Huff, Roberts, Jones, etc., it's a legit major league offense.

If the O's can sign someone like Burnett early, they can use that as a selling point to their commitment to succeed. Maybe trade Sherrill for another SP too.

markakis is definately a star on the rise. but the o's need to stay away from burnett. they're rebuilding.

Scribbletone, To be fair Playwright said Markakis is worth 3 times that amount, and since your original trade proposal included Sherrill then really you only need to mulitiply the value of Marmol and Vitters. (maybe Sherrill isn't worth Pie and Cedeno but he's def worth more than either one of them on their own). I do think Markakis could be worth around 3 times the value of Marmol and Vitters. Look at Jason Bay a player who is 5 years older and a year and a half closer to free agency then Markakis he netted the Pirates 4 pretty good young players. Bay was also coming off a knee injury and his speed and defense while good have never been on the level of Markakis's. Also since when did Marmol and Vitters become Elite?? Don't get me wrong I like both players alot but I think they are both far from elite. Marmol is a nice arm and could have a nice future but I don't think you can call a 3.43 ERA and 8 career saves elite esp for a 26 year old. Guys like Papelbon and Soria are eilte young closers, Marmol can be a good closer but he is not in the same category that they are. As for Vitters while a very good prospect I dont know if i'd call him elite. He may be one day but he def. fell behind the other top high school hitters from the 07 draft (Moustakas, Dominguez and Heyward). Basically I'm saying Markakis won't be traded for a Rookie Ball player and a good setup man. Yes I do realize u were joking in the first place but I just wanted to show where Markakis's value really is.

CMM- Agreed.

My dream (read: not going to happen in a million years) scenario, were it economically feasible:

1. Sign Markakis to a long-term extension.
2. Sign AJ Burnett ($$$)
3. Sign Tex ($$$$$)
4. Sign BRob to an extention
5. Trade Sherrill, DC, and Mickolio (maybe another prospect or even one of Olson/Patton) for JJ Hardy.
6. Sign Uehara ($$)
7. Pray Grant Green falls to us at the fifth spot in next year's draft.

That way the lineup looks something along the lines of...

Roberts (2B)
Jones (CF)
Markakis (RF)
Teixeira (1B)
Huff (DH)
Wieters (C)
Hardy (SS)
Scott/Reimold (LF)
(platoon)
Mora (?) (3B)
(with Green on way to either play SS, moving Hardy to third, or 3B, with Hardy remaining at short)

The rotation would consist of:
Burnett
Guthrie
Uehara
and whoever wins the last two rotation slots from among: Patton, Olson (at least one won't be in the Hardy deal), Liz, Hayden Penn, Matt Albers (if he's healthy by spring training), and Brad Bergeson, with Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz waiting in the wings (and Arrieta and Erbe hopefully not too far behind).

Like I said...never happen. Still...I can dream.

milehigh78 - yeah, he actually does have good control and command. His fastball could climb up to 92 mph (mostly in 88~90mph range) with great breaking stuffs (mostly forkball), but nowadays, I see his fastball being mostly in 86~88mph range and his forkball seems like it lost a little bit of edge but it can still fool hitters. He can still put them in anywhere in strikezone but he's a flyball pitcher.

Good news for Uehera for this year is that he was really solid after converting to reliever. He only allowed 4 walks in 62 IP and had 66 strikeouts with 0.82 WHIP. He's nowhere near his 1999 form, but if his control and stuff works, he could be a nice MRP in major leagues.

SteveO-

Let me defend scribbletone for a minute... Dude was joking!

Your points are all well made, but you forgot the most important part...it's all moot. There is no way in hell that the O's trade Markakis any time soon. And scribble knows that; which is why he stated ahead of time that HE WAS NOT SERIOUS!

Still, any Markakis fan is cool with me.

BTW- ever look at the guys who were drafted ahead of Markakis in that draft? Wow. Delmon Young (1), Rickie Weeks (2), Kyle Sleeth (3), [who the hell is] Timothy Stauffer (4), Christopher Lubanski (5), and Ryan Harvey (6). Can't think of another draft that starts that poorly.

I suggest that NOW is the time to trade Roberts. His value will never be higher and he's not likely to be contributing significantly in 3-4 years when the O's squad is rebuilt. Branch Rickey said "it's better to trade a player a year too early than a year too late". Roberts could help that 2012-13 team more by being traded now for a couple of top prospects.

or ethier, mcdonald, dejesus jr, and withrow

Nice post Milehigh and yeah, fondly recall all the years it was a 3 horse race with O's, Sox and Yanks down to the wire and it would sure be nice to have them get back to a semblance of that once again, only Angelos has to sell that team and quick, ever since he got albert belle, he has just ruined that team and is afraid to do anything right it seems and I am afraid that even if Tex would be willing to take a discount and sign with the O's, he's be afraid to pull the trigger, or hesitate too long and someone else would swoop in and swipe him away, he just plays scared now.

Tazawa just signed with the Red Sox.