It’s an open question as to what the Orioles’ front office will look like beyond 2018, though ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick writes that it seems both executive VP Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter will both stay in their jobs for the remainder of the season. Beyond that, “any and all options are on the table,” including the surprising possibility that Duquette and Showalter could both be retained. Even with John and Louis Angelos (the sons of owner Peter Angelos) taking a larger role in team business, there remains a perception around the league that the family will still have a strong voice in baseball operations. “As long as the Angelos name is attached to it, you know you’re going to have to run the team not the way you want to run it but the way someone else thinks it should be run,” one personnel executive tells Crasnick. This could mean, if Duquette is replaced, that the O’s could lean towards an experienced general manager who has been out of baseball for a while and thus has less leverage to demand more authority, or perhaps the team could hire an executive who has experience in Baltimore and knows how the organization operates. Crasnick suggests that candidates like farm director Brian Graham or Phillies assistant GM Ned Rice could fit the latter description. The whole piece is well worth a full read for a look at how the Orioles operate, and what changes could be coming on and off the field in the coming weeks and months.
Some more from around the AL East…
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman “wouldn’t comment” to media (including the New York Post’s George A. King III) on a recent report from MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi about the Yankees’ interest in Mike Moustakas as a possible first base option. King did note that the Royals recently had scouts watching not just the Yankees, but also New York’s Double-A and Triple-A teams as well, so Kansas City seems to be checking out both Major League and minor league players in the organization. In terms of what the return could be on a potential Moustakas trade, King doubts that the Yankees would part with current first baseman Greg Bird for just two-plus months of Moustakas’ services.
- An MRI revealed inflammation in Jonathan Loaisiga’s throwing shoulder, as reported by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and others. The Yankees right-hander will meet with doctors in New York on Monday to further access the problem. Loaisiga made his Major League debut earlier this season and pitched well in four starts, posting a 3.00 ERA with 10.5 K/9 and a 2.63 K/BB rate over 18 innings. That performance did much to elevate his value, particularly with the Yankees short on rotation depth options. Loaisiga had been sent down to the minors last week but was expected to be recalled for a start on Monday when the Yankees had a double-header against the Orioles,
- Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks was taking some grounders at second base prior to Friday’s game, George A. King III of the New York Post writes. It isn’t very likely that Hicks will actually see time at the keystone with Gleyber Torres on the DL, as New York already has Neil Walker, Brandon Drury, and Tyler Wade (all of whom were also participating in the fielding drills) on hand to play the position. It could be that the Yankees were simply exploring all options, perhaps with a very long view towards maximum roster flexibility during a playoff series, or something of that nature. Hicks also did some warmups as a first baseman last season, underscoring his athleticism and versatility.
- Kendrys Morales had a measly .499 OPS in his first 109 plate appearances this season, but has since posted an .899 OPS over his last 129 PA. While a swing tweak or perhaps simple reversion to the mean could be behind the turnaround, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes that Morales’ hot streak coincides with his decision to stop wearing glasses at the plate. Morales had produced strong hard-hit ball numbers all season long, though he is now putting the ball in the air with far more regularity since losing the frames. It isn’t likely that Morales has revived his value enough to become a legitimate trade chip for the Blue Jays, as he is limited to a DH role and is still owed roughly $17MM through the 2019 season, though it is a bit of a relief for Toronto given that Morales looked like a release candidate through the first six weeks.
Please trade for Moose… Please trade for Moose…
He’s underrated, possibly one of the games most underrated players’ available.
Neil Walker has a .185 / .268 / .254 (173 AB / 192 PA.)
I’d argue he’s one of the most overrated players.
I’d make the same argument for Walker, whom everyone has an excuse for. Can’t hit because he’s a part-time player? Lol. Praying Walker’s not the reincarnation of 2013 Stephen Drew. (That means survives getting cut, through the end of the year)
The excuses never end with Walker (hence “overrated”) but if he’s got one thing going for him, it’s the fact he’s the consummate professional.
Moose would hit 50 HR playing 81 games in Yankee Stadium plus the extra games at Fenway, Camden and whatever were calling SkyDome these days.
Edit: 2015* Stephen Drew lol the NYY version.
2013 he won a ring, which I give him props for
Skydome is perfectly acceptable.
I hear ya. Those excuses date back to the time he was in PIT. There was always a group with a ready made excuse every time Walker struck out, popped out, killed a rally, made an error, cost them the game – whatever. Hey, if the guy is never ever at fault and has no shortcomings, why haven’t they locked him up to a long term contract?
I don’t think anyone sees Walker as more than just a veteran role player who we were hoping to squeeze at least $5 mil worth of production. That being said, we can carry his bat. We need to put our resources into pitching.
You haven’t seen overrated players until Yankee fans start discussing players to trade for him.
Yukie your always here but never really here. Tell us all who your team is.
Yes Xman you are totally on point. Bird could use some more time down in Scranton to get his rhythm, he was rushed to soon because of the need at the time. Like Paul O’Neal said on one of the broadcasts “Bird just isn’t in sync and is rushing it”. I’m not thinking the rest of the year just a month or so.
Why does it feel like Bird is 34 years old, and has played with the team for a decade?
Probably because that’s how long it seems they’ve been waiting for him to be what they’d projected for him.
We’ve seen it. A left handed power hitter with patience but will strike out 20-25% of the time. We just haven’t been able to see him play from spring training to the end of the season.
do you really think Bird is rushing it when he has a 11.2% walk rate (and thats considering the stats im reading just factored in his second walk of the day today. if it didnt its even higher). hes trending upwards. when he starts racking up base hits you’ll see
First of all I’m quoting someone more reliable then you or I in Paul O’Neill, and he’s not the only one I’ve heard this from. “He’s trending up” bro it’s just the opposite the last 7 games he’s hitting .174 with a .269 OBP, the last 15 he hit .143 with 16 SO he’s now been back for 34 games that he’s played and got above .200 overall for a couple days. He can’t do anything but either hit into the shift or SO, and big deal on the 2 HR game because the rest is anemic.
OK just like the other day I’ve got to weigh in here. Today he was dropped to hitting 9th in the lineup and where do you get he’s trending up, cause I don’t see it either.
+cereal
I do value the words of Paul O’ Neil, but i didnt ask “what did Paul O’ Neil think” when I asked you “do you really think Bird is rushing it when he has an 11.2% walk rate”? Regardless, I dont know when Paul O’ Neil said those words. A weeks worth of time makes a difference. 2 weeks ago Bird was not performing stringing together good AB’s as he has been for the past week or so.
He is also not hitting .174/.269 in his last 7. In his last 7 (not including todays game where he went 1 for 3 with two walks) he has a slash line of .227/.346/.500 (https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=birdgr01&t=b&year=2018#121-127-sum:batting_gamelogs).
In the last 7 games before those 7 games, he hit .056/.261/.056. That is literally a trend upwards. Thats a substantial trend upwards.
If you watched yesterdays game (June 6th) he hit two balls hard to straight away deep center field and you can argue that Pillar robbed him of a hit or two. Even after that, he still drew a walk. He’s making good contact, drawing walks, and working the pitcher. And then today he draws two walks and gets a hit (although a bit of a cheapy, it kinda makes up for one of the hits Kevin Pillar took from him the day before). Before you know it the hits will follow. Dont sleep on him.
+Steven
Ok? Gardy was in the 9 spot maybe as far back as a week ago and Gleyber Torres was there not too long ago as well. I dont see what point youre making. You can say that they were sending him a message to pick up the play but other than that its not entirely outlandish that he is batting 9th in such a stacked lineup. Weigh in all you want, i dont feel the difference.
I got that info from Fangraphs and yea he had two walks today but no hits. You can hope he turns it around but also hope he also stays off the DL. Lot of ifs when Moose like the KC guy said is playing first and he’s way more productive. Take a look at what Bird is hitting against lefties and Boston has four of those bad boys. I’m just tired of hearing the same what ifs about this guy every year…time to make a change. Oh yea Torres was hitting ninth until as a rookie he proved himself, and Gardner got off to that horrible start.
No, he had a hit today, unless they turned it around post facto? Im looking at the box score on bleacher report and it has his day logged at 1-3 with 2 walks and thats how they scored it live.
I get my info from baseballreference, roto wire, and pitch fx, whats your point?
Im not just hoping and praying he turns it around, i know he will turn it around. Oh those Boston lefties? You mean the one that he hit 2 HR against last week and has good career numbers against Rodriguez? Really helping your case.
These arent “what ifs”, either, im giving you the numbers and evidence that he is currently turning it around (just like i did in yesterdays thread with even more evidence) and telling you that he is trending upwards.
Garnder batted 9th like last week, so this is past his “horrible start” and im 80% Torres was there a few weeks ago, long after he “proved himself”.
Patience is what got the Yankees to where they are, it’d be a shame if they gave up on a player after 34 games after coming off an injury to get a guy who only has ten more walks despite playing in 50 more games, and an .OPS only .079 points higher despite having more time to get in the swing of things. There is no need to “make a change” just because one player is having a better season on another team.
If given the opportunities, Bird is going to start performing well in the next month. Watch, you’ll see.
You’re right and his BA is up to .198, my bad. Thing is it’s all hands on deck and Bird is playing with just one. By the way he’ll sit against those other Boston lefties and pretty much the rest of the league, as which he should. Go check out the brand new Brad Hand article because that rooster guy is a hoot.
I think Moose would be a really nice addition for the Yankees. I think he would be energized by the excitement of playing in NY and being in the middle of a pennant race. My baseball instincts tell me that Moustakas would be a monster the last few months of the season playing for the Yankees. Of course I could be wrong, but I think whoever trades for a moose will be happy they did at the end of October.
A trade for Moose feels like trading just for the sake of trading. I know Bird is sucking right now but there are internal moves that can be made without costing prospects.
What would those be that would provide a LH power bat?
LH power would be none but there RH options. Yes some LH power would be nice but not necessary.
You’ve answered the question by not really answering the question.
Can you elaborate on: “LH power would be none . . . nice but not necessary.”
Why do you think they’ve waited for Bird and given him the reins when most teams would have benched or optioned him. Not just the LH power but a bat from that other side to go against Verlander for example.
I mean to not give up prospects for Moose who after a good start to the season he has come back down some. We do have some decent LH bats in Hicks and Didi.
Moose-1.9 WAR
Bird-.01 WAR
Please don’t get caught up in the prospect hoarding game, cause they hardly ever pan out. Bird shouldn’t be starting on a contending team especially against LH pitchers. Add up all the production the Yankees have gotten at first from everyone and it doesn’t equal what Moose can provide.
Bird 0.1 WAR
Moustakas 1.9
Please don’t get caught up on prospects because they don’t pan out 90% of the time. Moose has better numbers then the production the Yankees have got from everyone they’ve deployed at first this season.
If I’m the Yankees and I decide Bird is not the answer, I want something better than Mike Moustakas, and definitely someone who’s an actual first basemen.
I’m not saying Bird is having a better season than Moose. If Cashman can get Moose for some scrub that’s fine but if they move prospects it needs to be for a starter.
Depends on what prospects you’re talking about. I have a feeling Cashman will do at least one deal and give up nobody of consequence.
The top prospects won’t move for anyone but a top starter.
Moose can’t be had for a “scrub”…It won’t take the Yankees top prospects to get the Moustakas but if those two teams do make a trade the players the Royals receive must have at least a reasonable chance to play in KC.
Why did you repeat pretty much everything I posted, no big deal I guess…
Everyone seems to forget the massive 40 man crunch that’s looming for the Yankees. They have 8 guys eligible for the Rule 5 draft for the first time this year coming up. And that includes guys like Sheffield and Adams.
Justin Smoak?
Just because Walker had gone totally bad after being consistently good doesn’t make Mouse any better. Solve the Walker problem by cutting him. Moose is no upgrade over Bird, who can actually play first base. As a Sox fan, I hope the Yankees do burn some prospects — or, hopefully, trade Bird himself— for Moose.
Ruben Amaro Jr sounds like he fits the description.
Or Frank Wren
As does Frank Wren
Why does everyone say you only get them for 2 months? Yeah getting Moustakas for August and September is probably not needed nor is it worth much. But getting him for the playoffs might BE worth Greg Bird, especially if you don’t see Bird as your long term solution at first base. It’s not like the Yanks won’t hit free agency and find a capable replacement for Bird.
Doubtful the Yankees are offering Bird or that Royals are asking for him. 3 or so months (plus presumably the playoffs) of Moose is worth maybe a AA positional player or a couple low level pitching prospects.
Orioles and Angelos are a mess and Duquette is no better. Buck Showalter cannot do his job with the mess that has been handed to him. Hopefully he survives or decided on his own that it is time to move on.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Buck Showalter retires after this season. it would be nice to see him lead the O’s to a world championship, but the current ownership is a disgusting train wreck.
Lead the O’s the a championship?
With his Shift?
With putting Danny Valencia in RF?
This current team won’t even run through cheesecloth for him and you are talking about a Championship?
If you can’t understand what a person is saying, don’t respond. It just makes you look stupid.
Even with John and Louis Angelos
Oh yeah Tweedledum and Tweedledee to the promised land!
SMH good luck
The Whole State of Maryland is in disarray in addition to the Orioles
I might be Ted Lerner’s age by the time Baltimore Orioles and the rest of Maryland figure it out.
I like how the suggestion is that one of the O’s options to replace Duquette is someone within the organization who understands how things work. Translation: an insider who has come to terms with the hopeless dysfunction fostered by owners who believe they know better than anyone else and feel mediocrity is just collateral damage.
Chris Davis’ OPS is roughly the same as Morales’ was before he stopped wearing glasses……perhaps Davis should start wearing glasses, reverse morales effect?
“As long as the Angelos name is attached to it, you know you’re going to have to run the team not the way you want to run it but the way someone else thinks it should be run”
That statement really makes no sense. GM’s always run the team the way the owner(s) want it run. Many are just given more latitude in making decisions. A GM who doesn’t listen to their owners will be soon find themselves out of a job. Sadly, in some cases it’s not the other way around.
I disagree Terry. Good baseball executives do not accept the position if the way they want to run it, meaning build and maintain the talent, is not on par with the owners.
Its called being set up to fail. You explain your plan. Your vision and determine what responsibilities you have before you accept. If the owner then interfere’s you resign.
Angelos is a terrible owner. Family are clowns. They are not baseball executives. Thus they will never have an experienced and competent front office as they will only hire puppets who run it the way the clown ownership wants it run.
Moose being showcased tonight in Kansas City… He’s playing first base.
I know I’ll be looking in. You’re right with the post up top the Royals should get at least 1-2 decent prospects. Like the Pope up top I’m not tied to prospects like some of these other guys. The Royals were successful because hey had a great young core and went for it with Cueto.
Justin Smoak or Kendrys Morales would be an upgrade over Bird for the Yankees 1B. I suppose, that anyone would be an upgrade over Bird at this point.
Not hard to agree with you on that!