According to Roch Kubatko of MASN, the Orioles are expected to select the contract of outfield prospect Colton Cowser ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Yankees. Baltimore has a full 40-man roster, meaning the club will need to clear space for the youngster before he can join the team. The impending move will put Cowser in line to make his major league debut.
Cowser, 23, was selected by the Orioles with the fifth overall pick in the 2021 draft. After a sensational professional debut late in the 2021 campaign that saw him slash .375/.490/.492 with more walks than strikeouts between rookie ball and Single-A, Cowser entered the 2022 campaign as a consensus top 100 prospect in the sport. He delivered on that promise and then some, advancing from High-A all the way to Triple-A by the end of 2022 while slashing a solid .278/.406/.469 across three levels of the minor leagues.
While Cowser’s 2022 vaulted him up prospect rankings to the point where he entered 2023 as a consensus top 40 prospect in all of baseball, the Orioles opted to take things slowly with the lefty slugger during his age-23 campaign after he slashed just .219/.339/.429 in 124 Triple-A plate appearances last year. In his return to the club’s Norfolk affiliate, Cowser has proven that he’s mastered the Triple-A level: he’s slashed a whopping .330/.459/.537 with a phenomenal 18.7% walk rate in 257 plate appearances at the level this year.
In making his MLB debut, Cowser joins Baltimore’s youth movement that began with the promotion of Adley Rutschman last summer. Since then, the club has seen top prospects Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez, Joey Ortiz, and Jordan Westburg all debut in the big leagues. The surge of young talent has helped buoy the Orioles throughout a fantastic first half. The club is currently 49-35, second in a highly competitive AL East division and in the driver’s seat of the AL wild card race.
Going forward, Cowser figures to slot into the club’s outfield mix. With Cedric Mullins entrenched in center field and both Austin Hays (132 wRC+) and Anthony Santander (122 wRC+) having excellent seasons, it seems likely that Cowser’s arrival leaves Aaron Hicks ticketed for a smaller role. The 33-year-old veteran has had a resurgence since joining the Orioles after being designated for assignment by the Yankees earlier this season, slashing .262/.374/.464 in 99 plate appearances with Baltimore. Going forward, Hicks seems likely to fill the reserve outfielder role currently occupied by Ryan McKenna.
This team is the Cubs in 2015… a real threat for 3-4 years IF they can make a big name SP addition in the off-season.
Longer than that. They should be contenders for the better part of the next decade.
We also thought that about the Cubs too…
The Cubs did what fans here want to O’s to do…..
Had a nice core, then traded away quality young prospects for expensive veterans that they extended, and signed free agent veterans to long term contracts. The farm system dried up, the veterans got old too fast and their contracts couldn’t be moved.
The Astros on the other committed to their young players and were patient with them. When their veterans wanted more than they were worth the Astros let them go and promoted the youngsters.
It’s still working while the Cubs have sucked for 4-5 years now.
Tell me about the genius of Theo Epstein. HE was the one tanking.
Every team that can’t, or won’t, spend above the luxury tax line now follows the Rays/Guardians way of doing business. Keep a “competitive “ roster while continuing to trade your players at 5-6 years of service and go after the cheap bounce back deals that can be traded away if they’re not going to make the playoffs
We also thought that about the Cubs too…
Perhaps an Astros comparison is better then, but didn’t want to project that stereotype.
I mean this is the same Astros FO that created the team they are today, so yeah that is very comparable.
Filed under: Things fans believe.
Rarely happens that way.
Thanks Rob Manfred, that’s been showing with how their games have been umped recently costing them about 4 of the last 8.
With FA at six years, the window closes somewhat quickly. Draft picks drop as winning percentage rises. Salaries go up as players get to arbitration. Signing a FA comes with risk (ex: Bauer, Rodon, Ray, E-Rod). Some teams stick to the budget, and it gets squeezed. The future looks bright for Baltimore, but in the short term.
Considering this is the old Astros FO they will be contenders for a long long time!
Get rid of one of the garbage relievers…
You realize two are all stars right?
If you watch the orioles, you’d know that Cano had great numbers until a month ago. He’s been giving up hits and runs way too often since start of June. His total season numbers look good, but he’s no all-star based on last several week. He’s blown the lead in at least half dozen games.
Cano has not given up the lead in half a dozen games. Maybe two.
Gross exaggeration!
You realize there are more than 2 in a bullpen, right? Baker, Baumann, Perez not realiable. Cano has been awful the past 3-4 weeks.
Baker and Baumann are less problems than some others. Starters need to go longer to keep them from being overworked IMO. Cano hasn’t been it of late.
They’re just showcasing him for when they ship him to the Tigers in a deal for Erod 😉
Rental erod is not worth anything near the top 100. Especially to an AL east team where he can’t pitch in any of the stadiums.
There’s not much out there for starting pitchers. If he keeps pitching like he had been before the injury someone will bite. Lots of teams need pitching. Prospects are overvalued. I was joking too. Cowser is not the guy I hope they get….we have some OF and a few more in the queue. A middle IF, 3B or even a long term catcher are more priorities in my opinion.
You most certainly aren’t getting a catching prospect that has any potential for a rental.
1B/OF is far more likely.
Any prospect, that the general fan hasn’t heard of, can be had in a trade, regardless of position. Teams have no clue on where they will be in 3-4 years, but if trading an A ball C gets them the starter they need now, they will do it. Besides, with his two year performance on the Tigers (either on the IL or the restricted list), there is not a guarantee that E-Rod will opt out.
Stroman and Leiter Jr. from the Cubs? Cubs need a 3B prospect who is currently at AA or AAA, they have plenty of OF and a few 1B in their pipeline.
Tigers had their chance. But galaxy brain’d themselves into taking a high school pitcher in one of the most loaded offensive top of the drafts recently
Relief pitching addition(s) a must. I like Pierce Johnson. Didn’t fair well as closer and last appearance was ugly but the 5 previous outings were stellar.
IMO Cano is struggling because he’s going solo as a set up guy. Last year having Bautista and Tate there to get to Lopez was a key to their winning ways. Once Bautista moved to closer there was no one there to compliment Tate. Oof.
Pierce as the other set up guy? And if Bautista gets jurt, stop gap closer albeit a sketchy one. Him for a position player prospect plus Os take on some salary?
C Yards Jeff;
Saw this coming and wrote about it here for 2 weeks…..
The problem with the O’s is not the starting pitching. It’s the relief pitching. They depended too much on Cano and Bautista and were bound to burn them out. None of their other relief pitchers have been consistent…and have usually been bad. If one guy pitches a clean inning – that’s nice – then a guy comes in the next inning, gives up multiple runs, and the O’s are playing from behind.
Relief pitchers are the most volatile players from year to year. Teams have to develop their own – they can’t sign 4-5 relief FA’s each year to multi-year contracts just because they had a good previous year….most go south quickly.
Knowing the O’s couldn’t continue to go with 2 relievers indefinitely was bad. But what was worse was their TV broadcast – the worst in MLB. Almost all of their guys talk so much – they do it non-stop. At one point I realized I was watching a hitter bat but I don’t know who it was because they yakked about nonsense when he came to the plate, and their graphics didn’t show the batters name. Sometimes the Brown guy would say 3 pitches in: “Smith is batting”. This is really bad. This is basic stuff. It shows those people care more about entertainment then keeping the fans informed about the game…..which is why fans tune tune in to watch a game. Totally unprofessional. Real bush league stuff.
The O’s future looks bright once they can develop some pitching. But 2023…..not so much.
@Samuel; Happy 4th!
Yep, that announcer crew is painful to listen too, both TV and radio. When John Angelos took over for his dad back in late 2018, he didn’t just make clear to his administrators to gut player payroll but gut it throughout the business model!
Hey, am I too optimistic on Pierce J? Cheers!
What?! Their broadcast is the best in baseball. No stuffy old announcer voice, just guys like KB, Palmer, and Big Ben having fun and cracking jokes. It is WAY better than the broadcasts of the Nats, Pads, and Braves… I watch those regularly too and often have to mute the game because of the announcers
@KingO, thoughtful post. In hindsight, abit over the top on my criticism of announcer crew. IMO, still in need of a major talent up grade sans Big Ben, HOF Palmer and Scott G.
KingOmar;
It’s terrible. Only Ben can make his point in 15-20 seconds….and I love his southern sense of humor…but he isn’t on much this year. The other guys carry on and on except for one old guy that does TV once in a while.
And it’s not just them. It’s the producers. Every half-inning they seem to have some promotion; endless interviews with someone in the stands; and what used to be called “Information Overload” – i.e. I’m tied of hearing things such as “from August 12th, 2001 the guy on the mound pitching has the 3rd biggest break in his curveball in MLB”. It’s non-stop with that broadcast.
You are correct about most local MLB TV broadcasts (the national ones are worse). My favorites are the Phillies, Astros, Giants (if Kuiper and Krukow are doing the game) and the Royals (if Rex isn’t overdoing it that game). Totally professional. They follow the pace of the game. Quickly make their points without talking over the action. Find some low-key humor that’s actually funny. Make watching the game an enjoyable experience.
Otherwise when I watch the games on MLB.TV I use the audio feed from radio broadcasts. The best there seem to be the Rays, Braves, Giants, Dodgers, Mets and Yankees. Ken Korach of the A’s may be the best play-by-play guy on radio, but this year he’s breaking in a young man and has modified his style a lot as he’s bringing him along. My guess is that Korach is either retiring soon or not moving to Las Vegas with the A’s. He’s been with the A’s for 27 years.
The commonality to all the broadcasters above is that like Vin Skully said – viewers and listeners are tuning in to enjoy the game. Most broadcasters today are busy selling their brand and blitzing the viewers / listeners with crap that’s quickly forgotten. This is surely true of the Orioles TV crew.
Hard for me to say the O’s haven’t worked their magic again on pitchers. Perez hasn’t been very good nor Akin. But that’s to be expected with relievers. I never liked Akin very much to begin with. Run of the mill stuff.
He’s still turned coulombe and cano into gems. They were essentially cast offs. Baumann and Baker are fine middle relievers as well. I think the org needs fresh arms to work with. We’ve avoided drafting pitchers. That limits the talent pool which we’re working with. I think they’ve done a nice job with the talent level of the guys they have:
But i do think that some reliever will be added at this point. Hopefully Tate gives us a boost but we need some depth so we aren’t giving so many innings to the other guys. A starter is desperately needed also. Can’t go with the options we have for the 5 slot. Foolish to expect that all of our young arms will be able to hold up pitching more innings than they’ve ever done either. If they do—great but I wouldn’t feel comfortable saying so.
Kevin Brown is top notch. Love Jim Palmer and Ben as color analysts. Geoff Arnold is very good, too. Even Brett Hollander is good at his job. The only weak spot is Melanie Newman; she does not know the game of baseball and it shows. Put a script in front of her and keep her far far away from PBP.
OK, Scott sucks.
The “one old guy” is Hall of Famer Jim Palmer who has been a broadcasting treasure locally and nationally for decades. Learn his name or expose your ignorance of baseball.
Akin might have made a serviceable LOOGY back in the day.
That jury is still out. Their mistake was signing Baez. You can’t preach controlling the strike zone at the plate when you pay top dollar to someone who swings at anything and seldom makes contact.
O’s have gotten this far mainly with great gloves and good hitting in higher leverage situations. They need a consistent starting rotation, but personally I think they should be patient on that front. You do have plenty of good prospects that you can deal for rotation pieces but you should probably have at least 3 established consistent starters before you think about dealing from the farm. I would see far you get with what you have this year then come offseason really get into making moves in free agency or trades.
GRod and Means will be back soon.
scruffmcgruff;
Rule #1 on Pitchers…..
If your coaches can’t develop your own, then bringing in established pitchers only works as long as they’re in their zones. Once they gets out of it – which is normal over a season – and need to be recalibrated, the coaches are ineffective and the pitchers are inconsistent.
–
Teams with good pitching coaches and philosophes – the Rays, Astros, Braves, Phillies, Dodgers, Yankees, Padres, maybe now Rangers* – can acquire a messed up pitcher and most times straighten him out. The Orioles coaching has been uneven with pitchers. Last year they did a nice job. This year not so much.
* Cleveland has an excellent pitching program, but they prefer to work with guys that came up through their farm system.
Rangers not so much, heavy regression since the pitchers left their zones about a month ago, they could still bounce back though, definitely not sold on them being able to reform yet.
Hicks being an ex-Yankee, he will probably be a durable and highly productive player for the balance of his career.
Agreed. And I disagree with this article saying he will be getting less playing time. Santander gets more playing time at first. IMO, Mountcastle is odd man out. Predicting his DL stint goes to the 60 day.
I think you are probably correct about Mounty
And don’t get me wrong, I’m a Mounty fan through-n-through. IMO, change of scenery would do him a lot of good … just so he lands in the NL somewhere.
Mountcastle has been playing for over a week in Norfolk.
How does being an ex-Yankee translate into becoming “duraboe” or “highly productive” for the rest of his career? That’s the stupidest comment I have read on this site in months. And indefensible…
Faaaak….
– bewildered Sox fan
Wow wonder what they were waiting for. Perhaps avoiding super 2 status…..
Hopefully one day the Orioles decide to stop pinching pennies and put some financial backing into what is clearly a very good team. You did the rebuild its going well now its time to take that next step.
Well, would the Cardinals be willing to trade Arenado?
Did you actually read the article, or did you just come here to spew the same tired old crap? The guy hit .219 last year at AAA, he wasn’t starting the year at the majors. They have called up 5 rookies over the past year. Does that sound like a team worried about Super Two? Either get new material or quit commenting. It’s outdated and tired.
Dude they just signed Hicks. They could have promoted Cowser who had a 4 digit OPS at the time instead they chose to sign Hicks who was freaking terrible that’s why the Yankees let him go. Why did they do that unless they were trying to avoid super 2? No sane person would have chose Hicks over Cowser at the time the Orioles signed Hicks.
Cowser was injured when Mullins went down and Hicks fell into place. Cowser has come back from his injury and gotten some reps and now he’s getting the call. That pushes Hicks. If you don’t follow the team or don’t know what you are talking about, perhaps stop short of some of the things you’re saying, just a suggestion.
Cowser was hurt when they signed Hicks, otherwise I am pretty sure he would have been in Baltimore!
They couldn’t have promoted Cowser when they picked up Hicks after Mullins got injured because Cowser was on the I.L. in MiLB. You are out of your league commenting about things you know ZERO about. Step away from the Orioles.
Cowser was on the 7 day IL. Why I had to look that up and not one single Oriole fan mentioned it I don’t know but that’s the truth. 7 days. That’s nothing. His quad was sore. That didn’t change anything at all.
But you think he should have been promoted and sat the bench with an injury instead of picking up a capable CF. smh!
And do you want to discuss those other guys? We can
Westbury just got promoted so they avoided super 2 with him.
Ortiz was up earlier in the year now he’s back in AAA. That’s convenient.
Rodriguez is pitching great at AAA. Why is he still there? Service time reasons of course. He will magically be ready in a few weeks wait and see.
The truth is on my side Bubba. The Orioles organization is definitely manipulating players service time.
He’s not pitching great in AAA he’s still walking 4 per 9 lol
Let’s assume that Super 2 is a factor. The non arb bonus pool is worth more to the player than the extra arb year. Adley is going to make close to $10m out of the bonus pool. Cano is going to collect a similar amount as Adley this year. The league will pay it. Why isn’t that in the player’s interest?
LOL the truth is not on your side at all. GrayRod is still having control issues. Cowser was hurt when Mullins got injured. Ortiz hasn’t done anything to cement a spot on the active roster… he has like one XBH.
Dude, they already called up Grayson Rodriguez and he struggled so they sent him back down to work on things. Don’t say the facts are on your side if you’re only looking at Super 2 and not all the factors.
Kirsten
He has a 2.11 ERA in AAA. If that’s not good then what is????
2.11 ERA. And that’s in an offensively charged environment.
2.11
King of Cards
ERA doesn’t mean a whole lot when you are walking people in a pitcher friendly league.
He has the same peripherals he had in the majors meaning he will keep his weaknesses that got him bullied in the big leagues.
Many cases of low ERA but not great peripherals not translating upwards when hitters are just outright better.
A 2.11 ERA means a lot. What’s the average ERA for a AAA pitcher in 2023? It’s like double that.
Good lord people. Hold onto your prospects. Baby them heck who wants to win in 2023????
The Orioles rotation is a dumpster fire. Rodriguez obviously can help right now.
He obviously cannot. The experiment failed. Calling people up and sending them down is awful for their development.
They are going to call him up in a couple weeks regardless when they can avoid super 2.
So it’s these next few weeks that are crucial in his development. That’s your story. 2.11 ERA he replaces the worst Baltimore starter you have and he’s not ready? Sure…..
He’s on the 40 man, that ship has sailed.
Why do you talk about things you do not understand, hes never thrown over 130 innings a season in his career.
Is his long term health not important for buildup?
Its easier to control innings in the minors….
I don’t doubt that Baltimore manipulates service time, but sometimes patience is best for player and team. I was pissed when Rodriguez didn’t make the team out of spring. Ecstatic when he got called up. And then he kinda sucked. It happens.
I will assume without looking it up that he’s thrown close to 130 innings based on how you worked what you said.
Which means he can throw 150 to 160 this year that’s totally normal.
His 2.11 ERA would help tue Orioles RIGHT NOW. I don’t know why you think otherwise.
Because I watched him pitch 10 games and have watched his minor league starts. He wasn’t ready the first time, he isn’t ready now.
If he can get a couple more like he has his last 2 starts in a row it’s worth a thought. but not much more than a thought.
He does not help right now.
2.11 ERA in AAA
I bet there isn’t a guy in AAA with more starts and a better ERA. I bet there is not a single one.
2.11. That’s all I can say.
Ortiz has no place to play on this roster. He’s not better than the alternatives right now. Cowser wasn’t up because Hicks was playing very well and he was recovering from an injury.
G-Rod’s super 2 status is a non factor right now. He’s already at last seasons inning count. There’s no way he’s going to be starting into a postseason run. He had to pitch his way back up for a call up anyway. He’s now done that so we’ll see. But I’d bet we add a SP at the deadline because it’s a need for this year and moving forward.
You know you can look this stuff up? It’s the halfway point in the season how in the world would he have thrown 130 innings already? That would mean he’s on pace for 250+. He has thrown 83 2/3 innings this year, only off by 50 innings or 8 starts. He’s currently averaging almost 4.5BB per 9, which led to his 7+ ERA in MLB. You don’t bring him back until he fixed that. Yo-yo-ing arms back and forth from AAA to MLB is awful for development, and he hasn’t proven he’s better than our current five yet.
I think you are confused about what I was saying regarding his innings.
He just pitched 6 shutout innings at AAA struck out 12.
Are you an Orioles fan? If so why on earth would you not want him instead of one of your current starters?
He has a 2.11 ERA at AAA.
2.11
Normally I’m with the “bring him up” crowd. But a 2.11 ERA in AAA is much different than making it at the MLB level. Walk rate is still elevated, but the AAA hitters don’t/can’t capitalize. Look at his MLB stats, HR/9 and H/9 WAYYYY higher than AAA.
He’s at that odd stage where he isn’t going to develop anymore at the AAA level but he’s going to put guys on base and give up a bunch or runs at MLB level.
He’s definitely a better option than Irvin right now though, but if they brought him up he could figure it out and outperform Kremer and Gibson at least, or he could get lit up like he was last time.
Your right it is different. AAA is an offensively charged environment. A 2.11 ERA in AAA is actually better than a 2.11 ERA in the bigs.
How many pitchers right now in AAA have more starts than him and a better ERA?
I bet you can’t name a single one
I’m not taking that bet because I don’t follow the minors that closely.
But in terms of who is the better pitcher, I’m going to take the guy who’s a 2.11 ERA in MLB over a 2.11 ERA in AAA. I’ll take a sub 4 ERA in MLB if I’m the Orioles.
If you don’t follow the minors that well then you should listen to people who do.
AAA is an offensively charged environment in 2023. A 2.11 ERA in AAA is actually better than a 2.11 ERA in the bigs because the parks are smaller and the ball is jumping in AAA. That’s why I said find a guy with more starts and a better ERA in AAA because I know you can’t. He’s outpitching literally every starter at AAA. It’s clear he deserves a call up.
His name is WestburG, They don’t have to worry about service time manipulation with Ortiz.
Grayson started 10 games to begin the season so they CLEARLY were not manipulating service time with him. He is still working to regain the command he displayed pre-injury last year. He has just started to change his pitch mix in recent starts.
You do not know what you are talking about when it comes to the Orioles. You are embarrassing yourself. Stick to commenting about your team.
It was a typo fella. It happens.
You are highly defensive about an organization that values penny pinching over winning games.
They demoted Rodriguez. He’s pitching better than literally anyone in the entire league at the moment and he’s still there. Why?
Name an Oriole who has qualified for super 2 status recently. Just name 1. It’s not my team you are the expert here not me. So name 1. If somehow you can then name another.
You cant.
GrOD pitched erratically in his first starts when returning to AAA. His most recent start was by far the best since his lat strain last year. Hopefully he will be called up again soon. But he didn’t earn a promotion in June.
Every good start he has at AAA is one that could have been in the bigs.
I think the Orioles will miss the playoffs by a game or 2. And if that happens they can look at decisions like this as to why.
Again, it’s WestburG! You claimed typo on your other misspelling but the truth is you don’t know the guy’s name. Which fits because you don’t know what you are talking about when it comes to the Orioles,
I think it autocorrected you fool. I know who he is.
You want to talk Cardinals? I thought so…..
I’m not shooting my mouth off about the Cardinals. You are shooting your mouth off about a team you have demonstrated you have little knowledge of.
Here is some advice for you: It is better to remain silent and be thought the fool than to open one’s mouth and prove it.
But yeah, I am a “fool” because of YOUR repeated misspellings. LMFAO! Sorry, that doesn’t even work in elementary school.
Correcting your errors is not “being defensive.” I am trying to explain to you what is happening with Orioles promotions on an individual basis. Whether service time manipulation is happening with some players, clearly it is not happening with every player. And we will not know the result of the alleged manipulation for 2 more years, so the point is currently moot.
Ortiz has looked overmatched in the box.
Westburg was not even on the 40 man prior to his promotion. Bet you didn’t know that,
@king
“That’s all I can say.”
Let’s hope that is a promise. You have to let this service time manipulation thing go.
GRod is not quite ready as his control isn’t there as noted by the walks. To yank him back and forth when the starting rotation is actually holding its own would not help him develop and can do damage to his confidence. His stint in the Bigs was not at all what he likely expected and getting him some momentum in Norfolk surrounded by strong talent will not hurt the O’s but help him when he possibly joins the team later this season.
Other than Gibson recently, the rest of the rotation has looked fine. They’re not needing to break the glass in case of emergency yet.
I kind of wish DL weren’t in Sarasota sorting out whatever he is bc a left middle reliever to fill that Akin spot would be nice about now.
Apparently, DL is doing a lot of weight training to make up for missed training during the off-season, when he was affected by back pain.
@king o cards
They were waiting for him to be ready. His first taste of AAA was ugly. The current roster has been winning. There was no urgency, or a place to play him. Yo-yoing a top prospect up and down to fill in for short term injuries just isn’t done.
Goldschmidt for Cowser sounds pretty good to me.
I’m sure it does.
Why would the Orioles do that? They have too many bats as it is, so whenever they move a few prospects it’ll be for a pitcher.
Mountcastle isn’t that good. Goldschmidt is last years MVP and he’s playing well.
You don’t want an MVP candidate????
It’s better to keep the platoon together until Kjerstad is ready.
Cardinals fans been off their rockers ever since they couldn’t get the second coming of Holliday.
I’m not an Orioles fan so it doesn’t matter what I want for them to do, but that just wouldn’t make sense for them
I suggested us trading you an MVP CANDIDATE and all you can do is talk about prospects.
This is insane. It truly is.
In what world does replacing Mountcastle and his sub 700 OPS and negative WAR with an MVP candidate not make sense for them?????
Seriously. What on earth are you guys talking about????
Offense needs a spark. I think their rotation is much better than given credit for. No, they don’t have a shutdown “ace” but Wells and Bradish have been very good as of late. Bullpen seems to have lost a step and the bats have been the biggest issue the past week or so. Mullins, Hays, Mounty all missing time hasn’t helped. Tough to say what this team will do at the deadline. Hoping Cowser brings some life to this lineup. This team needs the all star break asap
I wish we’d pull up DL Hall and let him rip in the pen. Guy isn’t a starter. Let’s see what he has out of the pen. Clearly guys like Gillespie & Vespi don’t have it.
Actually Vespi DOES have it. Sure, he gave up a dinger today, but he had three scoreless innings just a couple days ago and was good last year except from one appearance. It’s guys like Akin, Zimmerman, and Gillaspie that don’t have it. Don’t lump Vespi in with that group.
DL Hall hasn’t pitched in a game in 3 weeks. He’s not on any roster.
Yep, he is in Sarasota doing weight training and conditioning, DL experienced back problems in the offseason that set him behind,
What will be the OF going forward when Hays is back?
Mullins, Hays, and Cowser. Santander will see time at DH and maybe 1st when Adley is DH. Most likely Hyde tries to schedule Adley to DH against lefties if possible to get O’Hearn in at 1st against righties.
What about Mountcastle?
It is unsure whether Mountcastle will return before Hays.
Goldschmidt and Montgomery for Cowser who says no?
Probably the Orioles because they are too cheap to pay those salaries.
Cowser would be an excellent fit the for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals need pitching, not to add to their surplus of young outfielders.
Walker is no outfielder. Oneill is a lock to be dealt. Edman has no business in center. Burleson is a beer leaguer. There is no surplus of outfielders.
If Walker’s not an outfielder move him to 3rd and we’ll take Arenado and Montgomery!
RE Walker: Bad reads, bad routes or something else preventing him from playing OF well?
Bad reads. He has no instincts out there. He just turned a single into a triple yesterday he has athletic ability but no instincts for the outfield
Not uncommon for infielders to be unable to adapt to outfield. So his future is 3B/DH?
1b
I was thinking that in the back of my head.
His misplay yesterday in right costed the team 2 runs. Cardinals lost by 2 runs.
He’s terrible. I have seen bad outfield defense before but never anything like this.
Have you seen DJ stewart? That guy’s straight up unathletic.
DJ Stewart is a nobody. Walker is the supposed top prospect in all of baseball.
Fair point. I was just busting Stewart’s balls because I saw him do things that I never imagined any player would do.
If the O’s deal Cowser, it should be for a front-end SP. And no they shouldn’t move Cowser.
Orioles have a lot of outfielders in their system I don’t think they would miss Cowser all that much.
This is insane. My team the Cardinals have spent 15 years straight being buyers at the deadline. First time in 15 years we are going to be sellers and all people want to tell me is how much these contending teams need to keep their prospects. Logan Gilbert is Nolan Ryan. Alek Thomas is the next Mantle. It’s insane.
When you have a chance to win go for it!!!!!
Logan Gilbert? He’s not a prospect.
Why would the Orioles want that deal? Montgomery is going to be a FA and Goldschmidt has a big contract and will be a FA after next season. I agree with others, the Orioles already have bats, if they trade their prospects, it will be for controllable pitching (Montgomery doesn’t move the needle and barely would even if he wasn’t a rental).
Montgomery would be the Orioles freaking ace come on. He would instantly be their best pitcher.
And Goldschmidt is last years MVP.
A team trying to win it all would be thrilled with those 2 guys. What are we talking about here????
Get outta here Montgomery is no ace on anyone’s club
Montgomery’s xERA is just over 4.00. He’s fine but he’s not even controllable. Even if he was the Orioles best pitcher, he would be the worst #1 in the playoffs. They’re not giving up a major prospect for a #3 starter with an expiring contract. They might trade Vavra or Ortiz. Goldschmidt is good but only has one more season in his deal; the Orioles aren’t mortgaging the future for him.
What Orioles pitcher is better than Montgomery? You tell me…..
He’s better than what the Orioles have right now again he would be their number 1. No of course he’s not a true number 1 but the Orioles simply don’t have that guy.
Bradish and Wells may be better than Montgomery. But Montgomery, Bradish and Wells make a solid top 3 in the rotation. And the three together would look strong as the main starters should the Orioles make the post-season.
Now you are talking. I would like to add Montgomery and Goldschmidt for a guy who has not demonstrated he can hit lefties.
Cardinals have Carlson who hits lefties well and so does Nootbaar and Walker so yeah he could sit against lefties no problem.
At least some Oriole fan wants to win here. I don’t get it. Orioles probably won’t take on all that salary but to say you as a fan wouldn’t want last years MVP on your team is insane.
Elias may have a limited budget proscribed by ownership. We have no idea whether that is true nor what that ceiling may be.
Coming off an exciting 2022 the Orioles spent basically nothing. I have a hard time believing they are ready to spend big now. I think they should I think the rebuild is over and the young talent is in place. But there is no evidence that they will.
Sounds like you are not familiar with what is going on with Orioles’ ownership. Elias probably would like to spend more. We’ll see if he gets that chance at the deadline.
All GMs would like to spend more. I don’t need to know anything about the Orioles to know that.
This is why I have advised not shooting off your mouth about things you don’t have knowledge of. The situation is more complex than you could imagine.
Orioles clearly need pitching. Starting the clock on all these young prospects doesn’t make sense if you don’t make a couple of deals to get some arms.
Notagain it’s July. It’s nice that you understand fiscal responsibility but Cowser is tearing it up in AAA he belongs in the bigs. Calling him up now doesn’t cost the team squat they still get 6 full years of control and avoid super 2. That’s EXACTLY why they waited this long to do it in the first place.
I’m not sure it was because of Super 2 with him. I think it’s his position, they have the same problem the Refs have with CES: how does he get regular ABs
They went and got Hicks instead of calling up Cowser.
It was because of Super 2. They wanted to avoid it and they have.
Again, wrong. You keep responding to everyone’s post saying it’s a service time thing and that is patently false if you actually pay attention.
Cowser was injured when Mullins went on the IL so he wasn’t available to call up which is why they added Hicks. Who if u look at the numbers has been very good with the Os. Idk how anyone can still argue with that signing. Montgomery was a scrub in the AL East, that’s an awful trade
You do realize Cowser and Mullins were hurt at the same time hence the Hicks acquisition? Please don’t speculate on a Team you clearly don’t follow and gtfoh with these ridiculous trades of rentals for top 10 prospects.
Exactly. Cowser was hurt, he probably would have been called up if he was healthy.
COWSER WAS HURT . . . . . On the IL when Mullins went down. Hence, they signed Hicks!
How many super 2s do the Orioles have right now?
You tell me.
Never discussed anything with a fan base that cared so much about the owners money than you Orioles fans. It’s insane.
It has nothing to do with Hicks performance at all. It’s the luck of fools that Hicks has played well your division rival released him.
Cowser wasn’t hurt for very long. He had a 4 digit OPS in AAA. He deserved the call a long time ago.
You can talk about how much your prospects are worth while you are getting knocked out in the wildcard round.
I don’t get it. It’s like you are so used to losing you don’t understand what it takes to go for it.
The Orioles have a window. It’s open now it won’t be open forever.
Again you make a fool of yourself claiming they could have called up a player on the Injured List. Tell us how that would work and how it would have been better to have an injured player talking up a roster spot than claiming Hicks.
7 day IL. That’s what Cowser was on. That’s a week.
Mullins went on the DL May 30th. Cowser was back in the AAA lineup June 3rd.
Why did I have to look that up?
You really seem like a jerk. One chance left and you are getting muted. I don’t need this kind of nonsense in my life
You earn it by being a big-mouthed idiot who doesn’t know shtt about the Orioles.
You are the one claiming Cowser was injured when not once did you or anyone else mention it was a very minor injury he was only on the 7 day IL
Why not mention that? Why did I have to look it up and say it myself???
Who are you trying to decieve here?????
Okay well if it’s such a problem for you then perhaps go discuss topics on another teams news post!
For what it’s worth though, there are clearly two types of Orioles fans, and you will often see them going at each other as well:
1. Those Orioles fans who seem to dwell on the past and seem to forget that the Orioles actually DID spend money, they just didn’t spend it wisely, on the right talent and other areas that would have helped develop and infuse added talent into the system. These fans that also cry about ownership not spending money also fail to realize or recognize that Peter is no longer controlling the team and decisions and they base every single opinion from the basis that he is. These fans generally have the “sky is falling” reaction or attitude more often than not, overreacting at even small hiccups or 3 game losing streaks.
2. The Orioles fans who see the wholesale changes for the better, support team management/Elias/Hyde and recognize that, while ownership remains in the same family, things are being done completely different from the past when Peter ran the show. These fans seem to be more “educated” on the status of the organization from top to bottom and supported the rebuild and the effort that went into it. They seem to be more patient and put more value into thinking about the entire club, not just product on the major league field
Those are my opinions and observations, they aren’t gospel but I am sure plenty on the boards and team groups online would understand and agree.
What? Look at how they’ve lost the last two weeks. Paltry offense. The pen and the starters can be blamed outright for… four of eleven losses. The rest, the offense choked up less than 4 runs. If any. Can’t win that way.
The bad pitching is putting too much pressure on the hitters.
Well when the starter is only giving up 1-2 runs in seven innings and the offense can’t score at all, I think that’s a completely bogus excuse.
KingOmar;
And how many times has that happened 2023? Heck, Gibson seems to give up 4 runs by the 2nd inning at the latest….the good news is that he settles down for 3 innings after that.
I don’t know because I stopped watching the O’s 2-3 weeks ago when I saw what was developing. You can’t run a game expecting to get ahead by a run, then bring in your 2 top relief pitchers in the last 2 or 2.2 innings over an entire season. There are 11 pother pitchers on that staff and they have to step up.
Agreed. But they shouldn’t trade prospects for them when the can buy them in the offseason. Someone like Luis Severino would be a good fit as I don’t see the Yankees resigning him.
Why didn’t they buy them last offseason?
Orioles fans have a right to feel frustrated with the front office not spending money.
There was no one available for a realistic price this past offseason. The only ones who have been worth their deals have been Wacha, Eovaldi, and Bassitt (mostly).
That doesn’t justify the teams lack of spending.
They’re playing well in a stacked AL East so O’s fans should be happy. We’ll see what they do in the offseason. The Yankees are an aging team. RS are probably going to repeat this season. Rays have guys getting expensive through arb and may trade pieces. Jays have their own issues.
So you’re saying that while basically none of the free agents from this class are playing well, the orioles still should have spent just to spend and come away with worse players than they have right now?
What?!?! Everything you say is demonstrably stupid. The lack of spending was the right call. Aside from 3 bad starts, Gibson has been worth the $10m. Though his average isn’t good, Frazier’s contact rate and surprising power have been worth the $8M. They spent on Givens and he’s…. Cooked.
You don’t spend just to spend. That’s foolish. The SP market was nuts, way overpriced for glass pitchers. Glad they abstained.
Omar
Givens, agreed. Done. They threw money down a hole there.
Frazier is a bit of an improvement over the gaping hole otherwise known as Roughned Odor, but he’s not much. Worth $8 million? They can do better.
Gibson is a below average innings eater, a back end of the rotation guy on a competent pitching staff, but the anchor on the Orioles. They spent $10 million on him and the garbage named Irvin was their other big pickup. They could have done better nearly by default (unless they would have held onto Lyles, wow I wasn’t paying attention but he’s nearly as bad as Irvin).
The problem is, on a supposed contending team they haven’t made the moves to fill in the gaps and these guys (and Mateo) are the ones dragging down the team.
Someone came to me elsewhere with “well the 1983 Orioles had Dempsey, Dauer, and Cruz, and they couldn’t hit”. Yes, but they had the best 2 players in the league in Murray and Ripken, the other 4 spots in the lineup were above average, they had a top 3 rotation and an excellent bullpen. That’s why they pulled ahead in August and dominated in September and October. Not seeing that in 2023.
Tell me where Baltimore was in attendance last year, when you claim the fans have a right to feel frustrated. The TV revenue has been in escrow while they hashed out the split with DC. Payroll will always be based on revenue, not wishful thinking. They have the lowest payroll in the division, and are 14 above .500! The fans should be ecstatic.
Start Cowser everyday in RF and send Santander to 1B/DH.
Start Westy/Gunnar/Ortiz everyday at 2B/SS/3B in whatever order you want and send Mateo to the bench.
LFG BABY BIRDS!!!!
Heston can buy you a bullpen from Detroit.
And a couple starters…..
The Tigers should offer the Orioles’ head of the scouting the GM job in Detroit.
Teams don’t trade middle of the order bats with 30-40 homer power for relief pitchers.
Teams do trade prospects though which is what he is. 30-40 HRs is a projection that he might never reach. Lange for instance will bring back a quality prospect.
Lange is not available. Lets talk Cisnero, or Shreve.
Ok, but it won’t be Kjerstad in a 1 for 1 deal.
People’s reading comprehension astounds me……
Haha, you’re right. Sorry. I’m sure I’ll get worse before I get better…
No thanks. Kjerstad is untouchable. And I don’t say that about most prospects, but he fits the bill. Near Future MOO.
me in 1976: it must be fun to be a reds fan
me in 1979: it must be fun to be an orioles fan
it’s like my childhood all over again!
OF Colton Cowser
2B Connor Norby
C Maverick Handley
RHP Justin Armbruester
That package should bring back Dylan Cease.
Maybe they go cheap and bring back an old friend in Alex Cobb. That’s if the Giants fall off and decide to sell.
Cobb is hurt again though. Flashback.
I don’t think that’s quite enough for Cease. Look at trade values that’s a useful site.
That’s probably an overpay for Cease. He was outstanding last season, no doubt. However it was one year for a player that otherwise looks like a rather league average starter. He also hasn’t lit the world on fire in Camden Yards.
Cease certainly has value, I just don’t see him having that much value.
Cease has barely been a 5 inning pitcher. Maybe if he starts averaging 7 innings.
Again, no. It’s like you know nothing about baseball.
@KingofCards this trade proposal is one I made using the trade values site.
Apologies yes I can see you did I just tried it myself. Cease has dropped in value and Cowser has went up in value. Cowser is a bit overrated imo at the moment. Yes my mistake for sure. If I was the Orioles GM I would do that deal. Perhaps not if I was the White Sox GM. If Cease bounces back his value will go up even with less control.
“…has gone…”
Speak English, tool.
Baseball Trade Values is a TRAVESTY. It is a bad joke that does not reflect reality.
It’s the best of what we have. Most of those values feel right to me. It’s certainly better than listening to biased fans opinions.
No, it’s not better than listening to educated opinions. Even your JoMo/Gold trade proposal was good and you are an idiot.
Educated biased opinions. That’s the difference. Trade simulator doesn’t have a bias.
You are an Orioles fan. What players you think they have ranked wrong? You tell me. I think Cowser is slightly overrated but he wasn’t 2 weeks ago they just updated his ranking. I don’t think any of their values are all that far off. If you do name some.
@Ra
Other than calling calling another user an idiot, why don’t you provide something useful to this thread? Unnecessary hostility is ugly, we’re all here because we love talking baseball, man. What do you think would be a fair offer from Baltimore for Cease?
I stopped going to their site when I realized it was garbage. Many of their values are so far off it is comical. I created all sorts of stupid, indefensible trades by matching supposed “values” just to see who would bit. It’s NOT how GMs consider baseball trades and they damn sure never go to BTV to think up trades, believe it!
I don’t think the Sox will trade Cease. They are not really rebuilding.
Giolito yes for sure.
What’s he worth to you
I heard people saying the Orioles should trade for Bieber a few weeks back. Yeah, as if being 5 games under .500 in the AL Central means time for a fire sale! So ridiculous.
Not a ton of prospect capital. Maybe Max Wagner and Peter van Loon.
The Guardians traded Mike Clevinger at the deadline in 2020 while they were winning their division. With the way they produce MLB caliber pitching, it wouldn’t be a shock to see them do the same with Bieber. Especially with his slight decline and his rising costs. It would just be a sell low situation, so it’ll be intriguing to see how that plays out.
The Clevinger trade was a wildly different situation. You do remember that, right?
Ryan O’Hearn can play 1B while Ryan Mountcastle is out. When Mountcastle returns, someone has to go.
I would love to see Ryan McKenna and Terrin Vavra in Detroit.
I predicted Michael Lorenzen would end up in either Baltimore or St Louis but I rarely get my predictions right.
Colton Cowser, an equine/bovine nomenclatural phenom!
Sure to sport galloping speed and cud-chawin’ power!!
This team should be fun to watch for a long time. Loaded with talented players and Holliday is still lurking in the minors.
They could use some rotation help for sure, but if I were their GM for a day I would protect this young core and try to sign supplemental pieces.
We have seen what big spending spree teams feel when you look at the Mets and Padres. They need to follow the Braves and Rays model and they will be a powerhouse if they play their cards right.
They are following the Astros model!
Umm, they really aren’t.
Man the orioles minors are stacked. They drafted so well the past 5/6 years. Took that Chris Davis contract on the chin(worst contract in major league history?) they could even make a move for Ohtani at this stage but I wouldn’t advice losing your prospects. Great to see
Cease is also ARB 2 next season so no, the Orioles wouldn’t do that deal.
Package a deal for Giolito,Sox might bite… package a lesser deal for Goldschmidt, “mature” bat in with the kids, and effective arm in with the up n downers
Jus Sayin’
They are not trading for goldschmidt and his contract to waste a year of Kjerstad.
They will not trade for a 7th #3 starter either.
When is John Means supposed to be back from his TJS? He was pitching like a solid #2/3 prior to getting hurt. As a NYY fan, I wouldn’t mind seeing them trade for E-Rod. I don’t think he’ll be worth whatever the cost ends up being. Last thing I’d like to see them do is trade for Burnes from Milwaukee, and the sign a guy like Urias or Nola in the off season. Their young position player’s all seem to be legit quality MLB talent. But you can’t win in October if you don’t have a true #1-Ace at the top of the rotation.
ok folks…
Great to see them bring Cowser up. In terms of them keeping Cowser in the minors earlier and picking up Hicks instead I believe they would have brought up Cowser when Mullins got hurt.
But they’ll need to play Cowser. They brought up Ortiz and played him once a week. Not fair to judge what Ortiz is based on that little bit of time.
This is a sub .500 team since around Memorial Day, folks…not the team that started 19-9 and feasted on an easy schedule. They are not playing as well as their overall record indicates (starting pitching mostly awful, key relievers beginning to tire, not getting on base as much and striking out more) but I don’t think they’re as bad as the last 30-35 games have been. Right now this is a slightly above .500 team but not a playoff team.
Will Mountcastle – who doesn’t walk and strikes out a ton – really help them a lot when he’s healthy? If Cowser sticks, you have O’Hearn and Santander who can fill in at 1B and Kjerstad is lighting it up at AAA.
Some of the surplus at OF/1B can be traded for pitching, which is needed in a huge way. Relief depth as well as competent starting pitching. As I posted earlier Grayson Rodriguez is probably an improvement on Irvin but maybe not much more than that at the moment. The team cannot possibly think it can contend trotting garbage like Irvin and Gibson out there to follow with tired relievers?
Those counting on Means to pick up where he left off after TJ to be the complete difference? I know something was made legal in MD on 7/1…
To me that says more than anything else, if they don’t trade for pitching and give up a medium prospect in the mix in July they’re not serious about contending this year and will not be surprised if they fade to .500 by October. They’re not that far up on NYY and Jays.
Thats cool, every team plays the same schedule now, and those with better records will always have weaker strengths of schedule because they are putting other teams down the column.
If you exclude a slow last 10 days (hint you won’t because your narrative is just dooming and posting on day old posts to try to blow smoke) They are 16-10 in your little sample there.
You can pick any number of teams that have been off over a 10 day span.
Oh and they are .500 since memorial day, if you’re going to so confidently spew falsehoods you should make sure they are true.
Kirstin
1. I clearly said “around Memorial Day” and they are 17-18 since Friday May 26.
2. That is not a small sample size. That’s 35 games, nearly half of the season played.
3. Not everyone plays the same schedule now. Its better but still a division heavy schedule. The Orioles missed the playoffs versus Cleveland last year because they didn’t get 19 games x 4 against the little sisters of the poor. “every team plays the same schedule” is false.
4. I don’t look at the past 10 days, didn’t even mention.
Thanks for playing though.
You also can’t discount parts of the season that don’t agree with your narrative. I took into account the whole season in saying they are a team playing like they are a few games above .500. Like I said, they’re not at a 17-18 level. Not 19-9 either. This is an 84 to 86 win team….they can get to that total by starting 50-35 just like they could starting 35-50. I’ve seen the Orioles go 67-95 after starting 63-63 (2002) and 31-50 (1987)
Let me also put this out there again:
Mateo since May 1 is hitting .148 with a .195 OBP, just 5 doubles in his last 161 PA. 1 for his last 22. That’s not a small slump, that’s 50 games. We may as well bat a pitcher for him.
I don’t care what he can do with his glove. He’s driven in 10 runs and scored 16 in that span. He’s left way more a deficit on offense than he makes up for with defense.
The team needs baserunners, hits, walks, and runs. It doesn’t need a pitcher batting (unless its Ohtani)