Keegan Akin, Ryan Mountcastle, Dean Kremer, and Bruce Zimmermann weren’t expected to make the Opening Day roster for the Baltimore Orioles, but with the first baseball of the season on the horizon, the Orioles have the chance to reevaluate, per MASN’s Roch Kubatko. The Orioles will have to balance service time concerns and the fear of rushing youngsters into an uncertain landscape with the stark fact that the game’s highest level is the only level available for competitive play this season. Prospects can continue to work out, either independently or as part of the 60-man extended rosters, but to get game reps, the majors is the only game in town. Mountcastle, coming off a .312/.344/.527 season in Triple-A, could find himself on the major-league roster, even if the Orioles would prefer – in a vacuum – to allow him more development time elsewhere.
- Yusniel Diaz presents a similarly interesting case for the O’s, per Kubatko. Like Mountcastle, Diaz was expected to make his ML-debut at some point, but unlike Mountcastle, the Cuban outfielder has yet to appear higher than Double-A. Should they choose a more judicious approach, Baltimore can certainly make do with Anthony Santander, D.J. Stewart, Austin Hays, and Dwight Smith Jr. in the outfield. Still, every decision for the Orioles has to be made with the future in mind, and they’ll have to decide whether exposing someone like Diaz to major league pitching earlier than planned will benefit his long-term development. With Trey Mancini out for the year, there are plenty of at-bats to go around for corner outfield candidates.
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Elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic, if the Nationals can lean on their big four in the rotation as they did in last year’s postseason, everything should be hunky-dory for the champs, per Byron Kerr of MASN. Of course, Manager Davey Martinez put those boys through a grind last October, with Patrick Corbin pushed to the limit as a swingman, and Max Scherzer’s shoulder barely holding up long enough to get through game seven of the World Series in Houston. The long layoff should help Scherzer, Corbin, Stephen Strasburg, and Anibal Sanchez avoid a World Series hangover, but the bullpen looks stronger as well. They’ll get a full season from Daniel Hudson, won’t have to lean as hard on Sean Doolittle, and Will Harris joins the team from Houston to shore up the backend. Doolittle has been one of the more vocal ballplayers during the pandemic, but as of now, no Nats have decided to sit out the season.
I wonder if MLB will make any adjustments to Rule 5 eligibility for next year. Also, I’m betting that the O’s are kicking themselves for sending their two Rule 5 guys back early, now that it seems to be much easier to carry them through this short season. I know they were doing the right thing at the time, giving them the chance to go back to their original clubs and make an impression, but for a rebuilding team like the O’s it would have been nice to have two additional guys to add to the talent pool.
Yes, true, it would’ve helped this decision for this year and yet their farm is starting to look good. Less of a need to rely on Rule 5 guys.
Rule 5 players a place holder or a gem
i know this has probably already been adressed, but is this year’s service time simmilar to normal in how if you are up all year you get over a year of service time?
The most service time any player can get in one baseball season is one year.
Meh. 50 losses is still 50 losses, Mt Pony or not
Richie Martin SS
Jose Iglesias 2B
Hanser Alberto 3B
Renato Nunez 1B
Anthony Santander LF
Adley Rustchman C
Ryan Mountcastle DH
Yusniel Diaz RF
Austin Hays CF
If this is for this year I see neither Diaz or Adley playing w O’s this season.
I’d say there’s no chance Adley plays this season. Diaz, maybe- but I’d argue that doesn’t make a ton of sense. The best plan would be to avoid the service time implications, eat the losses, and collect another high draft pick.
Diaz isn’t ready. I wouldn’t rush him. he needs to stay healthy first
Brutal lineup, and not in a good way.
Good for 20-40
Richie Martin leading off? Correct me if I’m wrong but isnt Alberto 2b Iglesias SS and Ruiz 3B? Also why would Rustchman debut already?
Zimmerman is definitely going to sit out, take it to the bank.
The season is a crap shoot , should just let prospects play at a major league level and see what happens
of course he wont sit out. he was just running off at the mouth. players showed their true colors.
as did the owners by having to be shamed into paying the people making the least amount of money.
but hey, keep blowing the owners, maybe they’ll move you up to ball fondler if you do a good enough job.
And thank goodness the owners did that. Because whenever people with guilt trips like you want owners to SPEND SPEND SPEND to your little hearts content, then ticket prices go up to accomodate it. And then we will sit and watch you inevitably cry and whine about rising ticket prices.
Orioles suddenly have a nice little pipeline of bats coming up! Mountcastle is ready, what more does he have to prove??
Idk it’s crush Davis that’s the reason. I know it and they can be cheap like we always are. Sheets give the ravens few bucks so they can lock up all of these high profile players. We need ronnie and humps back. Lamar get him locked up along with Andrew’s. I know this is baseball ⚾️ sry but orioles stink lol