Orioles Rumors

Orioles Expected To Pursue Catching, Pitching Depth After Lockout

By Steve Adams | February 3, 2022 at 9:17am CDT

There’s no end to the lockout in sight, but all 30 teams — even those who aren’t/weren’t planning to be overly active in free agency — will have to work at an accelerated pace coming out of the lockout. With that in mind, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com takes a look at what’s typically a busy month for the Orioles, who in recent years have been quite active in February. Beyond recapping some of the team’s February dealings in recent years, Kubatko suggests that the O’s are likely to pursue additional depth both behind the plate and in the starting rotation.

Baltimore has already added a pair of catchers on minor league deals this winter, signing both Anthony Bemboom and Jacob Nottingham (an Astros draftee during current Baltimore GM Mike Elias’ first season as scouting director in Houston). Elias “isn’t averse” to a big league deal for another catcher, per Kubatko, though what was already a thin market for veteran backstops has been largely picked over.

Of course, given that the Orioles are widely expected to give 2019 No. 1 overall draft pick Adley Rutschman his MLB debut at some point in the 2022 season, any catching additions would only be in the backup mold anyhow. Veterans such as Robinson Chirinos, Kurt Suzuki and Austin Romine are among the yet-unsigned backstops awaiting the lockout’s resolution, and any would ostensibly make sense as an early-season starter to hold the fort down until Rutschman debuts.

Rutschman, the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball according to both Baseball America and Keith Law of The Athletic, is fresh off a season in which he posted a combined .285/.397/.502 with 23 homers, 25 doubles and a pair of triples in 543 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. The switch-hitter, who’s set to turn 24 this weekend, is arguably ready for a big league look right out of the gate, though most teams tend to delay the debuts of prospects of this caliber in order to secure an additional year of club control.

As currently constructed, the service time system would only require the O’s to keep Rutschman in Triple-A for just over two weeks in order to push his entry into the free-agent market back from the 2027-28 offseason to the 2028-29 offseason. It’s a natural call for a front office from a business standpoint, but the simplicity with which teams can delay a top prospect’s free agency is one of the many topics the MLBPA sought to discuss heading into labor negotiations this winter.

On the pitching side of things, the outlook is far more open. The O’s do still have a pair of highly touted top prospects — righty Grayson Rodriguez and lefty D.L. Hall — who could debut in 2022, but the current lack of depth could create opportunities. John Means and veteran Jordan Lyles, who agreed to a one-year deal just before the lockout, are locks for rotation gigs early in the season. Beyond that pair, Baltimore has already gotten looks at Dean Kremer, Bruce Zimmermann, Keegan Akin, Zac Lowther, Alexander Wells and (briefly) Mike Baumann in the big leagues. Prospect Kyle Bradish had a nice 2021 season between Double-A and Triple-A as well.

The O’s aren’t necessarily lacking options, which is likely why Kubatko suggests that any veteran additions at this point would likely be on minor league deals with non-roster invites to camp. The O’s have worked out such deals regularly in recent years (e.g. Matt Harvey, Wade LeBlanc, Tommy Milone), and at least one more addition along those same lines would further deepen the pool of rotation candidates and help to keep the team from overworking up-and-coming arms. Such signings can also net trade candidates at the deadline, and if the player in question has fewer than five years of MLB service (Jakob Junis, for example), there’s always the possibility of retaining them via arbitration next winter — should things go well.

There’s also plenty of fluidity in the infield, where the O’s are currently looking at some combination of Rougned Odor, Jahmai Jones, Ramon Urias, Kelvin Gutierrez, Rylan Bannon and Jorge Mateo to shoulder the load at second base, shortstop and third base. There’s ample room for a veteran addition here, but it’s worth noting that the largest deal for a free-agent position player under Elias has been Jose Iglesias’ $3MM deal prior to the 2020 season. A large splash isn’t likely, even if the O’s are currently only projected for a payroll in the $60MM range.

Quick Hits: Mullins, Farm Rankings, Mariners, Universal DH

By Sean Bavazzano | February 2, 2022 at 10:23pm CDT

Cedric Mullins of the Baltimore Orioles, baseball’s top power-speed threat in 2021, opened up in a video (Twitter link) that dropped today about some previously private health struggles with Crohn’s disease. The 27-year-old details how teammate Trey Mancini’s abrupt colon cancer diagnosis before the 2020 season helped him pay more attention to his own health woes.

This introspection ultimately led Mullins down a path that included intestinal surgery in November 2020, severe weight loss, and a Crohn’s disease diagnosis that very well could have been career-derailing. That Mullins broke out last season— earning an All-Star nod, Silver Slugger, and the distinction as baseball’s only 30-30 player— is made all the more remarkable by the presence of a condition that so often proves debilitating. We at MLBTR tip our collective caps to Mullins for sharing his story and raising awareness for a condition that is growing in prevalence.

Some more uplifting news from around the league…

Baseball America unveiled their 2022 Organization Talent Rankings today, with the Seattle Mariners claiming the top spot on this offseason’s installment. With talented youngsters like Julio Rodriguez, George Kirby, and Noelvi Marte forcing their way up the minor leagues and the Mariners fresh off a 90-win season, the time may be right to buy stock in the Mariners franchise. BA’s Kyle Glaser notes that 16 of the last 17 teams to claim the top farm system have reached the playoffs within two years of earning that distinction. The one team who bucked that trend, the 2011 Royals, took three years, reaching the World Series in 2014 and winning it in 2015. This history may prove to be of huge import for Seattle fans, who are now 20 years removed from their last playoff appearance.
Jon Heyman of MLB Network lent more credence to the idea that a universal DH will be included in the next CBA, stating (via Twitter) “Barring something totally unexpected, it can be assumed at this point that the universal DH will be in place in 2022”. Heyman adds that both the player’s union and league are in favor of implementing the rule, though there is some disagreement about which party will benefit more from having a DH in the National League. We polled readers back in December to gauge how a universal DH would be received, with 62% of readers expressing enthusiasm, 26% expressing disdain, and another 12% expressing indifference to the change.

Quick Hits: Assistant GMs, Kjerstad, 2022 Draft

By Mark Polishuk | January 21, 2022 at 1:57pm CDT

There’s plenty of ambition to be found within baseball’s front offices, and yet for an increasing number of executives, remaining in a secondary role is a nice place to be, The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli and Eno Sarris write. Whether in an assistant GM role or as a general manager working under a president of baseball operations, these “top lieutenant” positions tend to involve more job security, increased pay in recent years as teams try to prevent other clubs from poaching employees, and a lot less public pressure than being the head of a baseball ops department. As one former GM put it, “there’s so much scrutiny on it that people are like, ’Screw it, I’m happy making a nice living and can be around my kids and go out to dinner without being recognized.’ ”

On the other hand, if there is relatively less movement amongst front office personnel, that can also lead to a stagnation of hiring practices. This makes it harder for minority candidates to get opportunities for a notable front office position, let alone consideration for a PBO or GM job. As White Sox executive VP Kenny Williams has observed, teams are increasingly hiring front office personnel lacking in baseball-related experience, and yet that same lack of experience is often cited as a reason why women or minority candidates aren’t given promotions to larger roles.

AL East Notes: Guerrero, Bichette, LeMahieu, Camden Yards

By Mark Polishuk | January 16, 2022 at 6:51pm CDT

The futures of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are “the most pivotal bigger-picture personnel matter facing the Blue Jays,” Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes, and it remains to be see if both young stars will remain in Toronto over the long term. Guerrero and Bichette are both controlled via arbitration through the 2025 season, and since their price tags will only rise (Guerrero is already arb-eligible as a Super Two player and projected for $7.9MM in 2022), locking them up sooner rather than later would be beneficial for the Jays. That said, the two players have already done enough to ensure any long-term extensions would cost the Blue Jays a sizeable amount, certainly far more than $200MM and maybe even nearer the $300MM mark depending on the number of years involved.

As Davidi notes, Jose Berrios is the only Toronto player under contract beyond 2026, so the Jays have somewhat kept their long-term ledger clear in the event that Guerrero and/or Bichette are indeed extended to major deals. Speaking of the “and/or” usage, the Blue Jays might opt to just extend one of the two, “and the relationship dynamic between team and player could be impacted if there’s only one extension.” It will make for a fascinating topic for the coming years in Toronto, as Guerrero and Bichette’s contract situations weigh heavily on both the Jays, and on other players and teams around baseball looking to those two as possible precedents and comps.

Details On The Orioles’ Signing Of Cesar Prieto

By Mark Polishuk | January 16, 2022 at 5:02pm CDT

While most members of the 2021-22 international signing class are teenagers who are years away from the major leagues, 22-year-old infielder Cesar Prieto could potentially help the Orioles as early as this season. It makes Prieto a particularly intriguing player to watch from this signing period, as noted in separate pieces by The Baltimore Sun’s Nathan Ruiz and MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko.

Prieto defected to the United States from Cuba last May, and MLB declared him eligible to sign only in November. This left Prieto in a bit of a tough spot heading into the January 15 signing period, as since most teams had already committed most of the money in their bonus pools, the $650K Prieto received from the Orioles counts as something of a bargain for a player with his experience and track record.

Since the money was relatively tight across the board, however, the O’s tried to stand out from the field in other ways. Orioles senior director of international scouting Koby Perez told media that he and GM Mike Elias personally visited Prieto to pitch him on joining Baltimore’s organization.

“He decided on us. There was other suitors, and we’re excited that he wants to take this journey with us,” Perez said. “Sometimes, you’ve got to wait for the late bloomer, or sometimes these guys from Cuba come out unexpectedly, and you want to be prepared to be able to get them. It played right into our hands in this situation.”

Given the lack of established infielders on the rebuilding Orioles, it also isn’t surprising that Prieto saw Baltimore as a possible quicker route to the majors. Perez said Prieto will start next season in the “mid to upper levels” of the farm system, with the O’s eyeing him as mostly as a second baseman but flexible enough to handle third base or shortstop in a pinch.

While the Orioles don’t want to harm Prieto’s development by promoting him too soon, it isn’t out of the question that he could make his MLB debut in 2022, considering his age and past pro experience. If an early call-up would only come if Prieto adjusts quickly and dominates minor league pitching, his time in the Cuban National Series (Cuba’s top league) is evidence that Prieto can indeed be a big force at the plate.

Over his last two CNS seasons, Prieto has recorded 68 walks against only 34 strikeouts, while batting .379/.452/.533 in 690 plate appearances. Prieto doesn’t offer much power (11 home runs in those two seasons), yet he makes up for that lack of pop with tons of contact and a keen batting eye. According to Perez, some O’s scouts used Nick Madrigal as a comp for Prieto’s skillset.

Prieto’s ability to handle multiple positions could make him something of a utilityman in the majors, depending on how the Orioles’ future infield picture eventually shakes out. On the current MLB roster, Rougned Odor is a veteran stopgap set for regular second base duty, Ramon Urias is already 27 but has looked good in his first two Major League seasons, and Kelvin Gutierrez has yet to show much at the big league level. Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg are the Orioles’ two top infield prospects, and Prieto being lined up as a second baseman reflects how the O’s seem to be eyeing Henderson and Westburg as the future left side of their infield (with the specific positions yet to be determined).

Travis Snider Announces Retirement

By Anthony Franco | January 13, 2022 at 12:19pm CDT

Former major league outfielder Travis Snider announced his retirement on Instagram this morning. “Thank you baseball. You have given me countless relationships and experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life,” Snider wrote as part of his statement. “I am so thankful that I got to live out my childhood dream and share it with the people I love and care about. I have contemplated this day for a while but the time has finally come for me to hang up the spikes. … To my teammates, coaches, trainers, front office, and clubhouse families, thank you for all the amazing memories.”

A first-round pick of the Blue Jays in the 2006 draft, the left-handed hitting Snider quickly emerged as one of the sport’s more promising prospects. Baseball America ranked him among the league’s Top 100 farmhands over each of his first three full pro seasons. That included a #6 overall ranking heading into the 2009 campaign, not long after Snider had made his big league debut at age 20 late in the prior season.

Snider would go on to spend the next three-plus seasons in Toronto. He never emerged as the middle-of-the-order slugger evaluators and the Jays’ fanbase hoped he’d become, but he hit around a league average level over his first few seasons. Snider struggled in 2011, though, and the Jays traded him to the Pirates for Brad Lincoln at the following deadline. He spent the next couple years as a platoon outfielder in Pittsburgh, posting a career-best .264/.338/.438 showing over 359 plate appearances in 2014.

The following offseason, the Bucs traded Snider to the Orioles for Steven Brault and Stephen Tarpley. He didn’t perform well in Baltimore and wound up released in August. Snider hooked back on with Pittsburgh late in the season but was outrighted off the Bucs’ roster after appearing in 18 games.

That ultimately proved to be the final big league run for the Washington native, as Snider hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2015. He’s hung around the periphery of the majors as a high-priority depth option, logging Triple-A time with the Royals, Mets, Rangers, D-Backs and Braves over the past half-decade.

All told, Snider departs having appeared in eight big league seasons and suiting up in 630 games. Across 1,971 plate appearances, he hit .244/.311/.399 (93 wRC+) with 54 homers, 100 doubles and seven triples. Snider never blossomed into a star or even as a true everyday player, but he played in the bigs every year between 2008-15 and ultimately spent a decade and a half in affiliated ball. MLBTR congratulates Snider on his career and wishes him all the best in his post-playing days.

Orioles Changing Left-Field Dimensions At Camden Yards

By Mark Polishuk | January 11, 2022 at 6:11pm CDT

Construction has begun on the left field area at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports, as the Orioles are looking to make their ballpark’s dimensions slightly more favorable towards pitchers. The stretch of the left field wall from the foul pole to the bullpen area in left-center field will be moved back roughly 30 feet, and also elevated to around 12 feet high from its current height of seven feet.

The renovations are expected to be completed by Opening Day. This is the first notable change to OPACY’s dimensions in 20 seasons, though even those changes (increasing the distance between home plate and the outfield wall) were rolled back a year later.

As Ruiz notes, Camden Yards has allowed the most home runs (5911) of any ballpark in the majors since OPACY first opened in 1992. While obviously many new stadiums have since opened and don’t have the 30 years of compiled history, any number of metrics or just plain naked-eye measurements leave no doubt that Camden Yards is one of baseball’s more hitter-friendly venues.

The oft-struggling state of the Orioles’ pitching staff has naturally played a role in those numbers, though it can certainly be argued that Baltimore pitchers might have had better numbers if right-handed batters had more of a challenge in reaching the seats on fly balls to left field. “While Camden Yards will remain a hitters’ park, the hope is for the changes to prevent it from being an outlier in terms of home runs,” Ruiz writes.

Orioles pitchers have allowed the most homers in baseball in each of the last three 162-game seasons. That includes a 2019 campaign that saw Baltimore pitchers set a new MLB record with 305 home runs allowed in a single season. The use of the livelier ball led to a huge surge in home runs league-wide in 2019, yet while the five highest single-season homers-allowed totals in history occurred during that season, the Orioles’ 305 total still comfortably led the pack (the Rockies were second, surrendering 270 home runs).

Quick Hits: Camden Yards, Blue Jays, Nationals, A’s, Valentine

By Mark Polishuk | January 8, 2022 at 10:00pm CDT

The Orioles have called Oriole Park at Camden Yards home for the last 30 seasons, and the team continues to negotiate with the Maryland Stadium Authority about the ballpark’s future and a lease extension. “The good news is both the Orioles and the stadium authority feel very strongly that we want to renew this partnership and that it’s been beneficial for all parties — the state, the city, the team,” Orioles senior VP of administration and experience Greg Bader told The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Barker. The Orioles’ lease at Camden Yards is up in December 2023, though the club can decide by February 1, 2023 whether or not it wants to exercise a one-time, five-year extension that would run through 2028.

Given the mutual interest between the two sides, there doesn’t appear to be any concern that the Orioles would actually leave Baltimore, despite the uncertainty that often surrounds discussions of ballpark leases or renovations. Bader said the team is looking to upgrade OPACY to match “what a lot of newer or renovated ballparks have in terms of those social spaces, those areas for people to engage with baseball the way that people do today.” This could include loge seating, outdoor seating or concession areas, or a sportsbook, as “the Orioles are quite interested in finding the right sports gaming partner.” That said, Bader also stressed that old-school experience of watching a game at Camden Yards (the modern stadium that started the trend towards more retro, baseball-only venues) wouldn’t be significantly altered. “We’re not looking to upend the traditional side of a baseball park. We’re very confident that what makes Camden Yards so special would be able to be retained with whatever we do,” Bader said.

Orioles “Favorites” To Sign Cuban INF Cesar Prieto

By TC Zencka | January 8, 2022 at 12:07pm CDT

The Orioles are the “favorites” to sign infielder Cesar Prieto when the international signing period opens on January 15th, per MLB.com’s Francys Romero (via Twitter). Romero reports the signing amount to be somewhere between $650K and $750K.

Baltimore has been aggressive under GM Mike Elias in pursuing international free agents. It’s one of the few avenues available to teams to add talent without giving up talent in return. Prieto raked as a 21-year-old in the Cuban National Series, slashing .403/.463/.579 over 360 plate appearances, showing off an intriguing combination of bat-to-ball skills, speed, and gap power.

Fangraphs lists Prieto as a second baseman with a 40+ future value ranking. They write, “Prieto is the best pure hitter in Cuba. He broke Kendrys Morales’ rookie hits record then broke the Serie Nacional’s hit streak record (40 games) in 2020 while striking out just six times in 250 plate appearances. His swing and game resemble Eric Sogard’s.”

At 22-years-old, Prieto is older than many international prospects, which could just make him a fast riser in Baltimore’s system. The Orioles need as much talent in their system as they can muster. Prieto represents a low-cost, low-risk opportunity to add a hitter with a proven track record of success in Cuba.

Seven Years And Counting For The Orioles Rotation

By TC Zencka | January 8, 2022 at 10:39am CDT

Though the Giants have made putting together a starting rotation look easy, most teams struggling to contend know how complex a process building a competent pitching staff can be. Bullpens are fickle, so consistency in run prevention is best guaranteed with a reliable rotation.

The Baltimore Orioles know the challenge better than most. The rotation at Camden Yards finished 26th in 2021 by measure of fWAR, but last with a 5.99 ERA and 5.41 FIP. In fact, their rotation has finished in the bottom-10 by ERA AND FIP in every season since 2014. That’s a pretty remarkable run of incompetence. It’s almost impressive, especially considering they were able to overcome those subpar rotations to make the playoffs in 2016 and finish .500 in 2015.

The Orioles invested in their rotation this offseason for the first time in GM Mike Elias’ tenure. Small as that investment was (they signed Jordan Lyles to a one-year, $7MM guarantee with a team option for a second season), it’s a step in the right direction. Lyles alone isn’t going to keep the Orioles from an 8th consecutive season with a bottom-10 rotation. He made 30 starts in 2021 and finished with exactly 0.0 fWAR, after all. But he also tossed 180 innings, which makes a difference in saving a bullpen and providing enough breathing room for young rotation arms to thrive.

Forget productivity for a moment. The Orioles rotation will have a watchable rotation if and when D.L. Hall and Grayson Rodriguez establish themselves in the Majors. That duo is likely to start next season in Triple-A, but they’re close. When they arrive, there’s going to be some honest-to-god excitement around Baltimore’s rotation. That duo probably won’t have a full season in the bigs until 2023, however.

There’s at least one more season of fungible, fill-in-the-blanks taking the bump in Baltimore. Just because the big-name prospects aren’t set to arrive doesn’t mean there’s no progress to be made this season. After all, with Lyles and presumptive ace John Means, they’re in a better place than usual.

Rich Dubroff of Baltimorebaseball.com went through each of their internal candidates to fill out the rotation behind Means and Lyles. Dubroff lists Keegan Akin, Mike Baumann, Dean Kremer, Zac Lowther, Alexander Wells, and Bruce Zimmermann as the incumbent candidates, with Zimmermann as the most accomplished of the group, even if he was most successful as a long man out of the pen.

The other way to build out the rotation, of course, is through free agency. The Orioles aren’t probably going to spend any more than they already have in terms of a one-year salary, but for free agents at the bottom of the hierarchy, Baltimore offers more opportunity than most other rotations around the game. Matt Harvey is the mold, a former star looking to rehabilitate his image.

Harvey posted 1.9 fWAR but only a 6.27 ERA, but he did make 28 starts and toss 127 2/3 innings in 2021. A 4.60 FIP suggests Harvey might have something left in the tank. Besides, amazing though this is, Harvey’s 2021 ranks as the 13th-best output by fWAR during this seven-year run of Orioles’ bottom-feeding. There simply hasn’t been much success of any kind, even the tempered brand of success offered by Harvey in 2021.

Unfortunately for Baltimore, most teams looking for mid-season upgrades have higher standards than the Orioles. Their goal for 2022 should be to add arms that might actually be flippable at the deadline. Lyles qualifies, even if his numbers from last season aren’t all that inspiring.

Other names that might be available to Baltimore are Jose Urena, Mike Fiers, Aaron Sanchez, and/or Mike Foltynewicz. Guys with slightly more upside, say, Chris Archer, Drew Smyly, Chad Kuhl, or Steven Brault might cost a little more than Baltimore wants to spend. Carlos Martinez or Matthew Boyd might present the highest upside, either in terms of their current ability or their eventual trade value, but even those arms are higher up the totem pole than Baltimore has ventured in years past.

What could change that calculus is a trade of Means. There’s not a real high likelihood that Baltimore wants to move Means at this juncture, but if it means selling high on the southpaw, they might consider it. There are enough teams in need of pitching to make Baltimore listen to pitches. If they do move the 28-year-old, they’d probably be better off in the long run, but it all but guarantees another disastrous finish for their starting staff in 2022.

Frankly, Means isn’t unique enough of a talent to hold onto, should the prospect return be right. But teams also haven’t been eager to move prospects of value recently. The longer they hold onto Means, the more his salary will rise, and the lesser of a trade piece he becomes.

Then again, teams generally aren’t as desperate in the offseason because there are more options available and more margin for error with a full season ahead. If they hold onto Means to start the year, he will still have a year plus of team control at the deadline, and that might be just the right calculus to make a deal happen.

It’s not hard to blame the Orioles for holding onto Means. Prospects aren’t a sure thing. Kevin Gausman had the best season by fWAR (2016) of any Baltimore starter in this current era, and when they traded him, Zimmermann was a big part of the return. So it’s not as if trading off their starters has yielded the path to a turnaround.

The rub here is that GM Mike Elias has yet to actually try to build a winning rotation. His goal since his arrival has been to build a long-term competitive engine, a process that’s still very much in the works. So they can sign more free agents, and they can trade Means or hold onto him, but until Elias is willing to really give it a go, expect Baltimore’s rotation to stay in the bottom 10.

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