The Baltimore Orioles front office will have some really tough decisions to make this offseason. If they were the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox, the decision would be easy…spend, spend, spend. But most teams in baseball are on a budget, and can’t afford to just give high-dollar contracts to every player.
The Orioles are having their most successful season since 1997. They are leading the AL East and are in store to have home field advantage in the ALDS. They are five games back of Oakland for the best record in the AL and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
With success though, comes players seeking big money.
Nelson Cruz will be a free agent after this year. He signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Orioles before the season. After the first half of the season, it appears Cruz would demand a HUGE contract this offseason, ensuring that he would not be returning to Baltimore. But after hitting just .113 since the All-Star break, he’s come back to reality. He may not be helping the Orioles on the field much right now, but he may be helping them off the field. If he doesn’t break free from his slump, it gives the O’s a much better chance to re-sign him, if they want to. If they don’t, they could use Steve Pearce and David Lough as their options in left field next season.
Nick Markakis is not necessarily a free agent after this season, but he very well might be. He has a mutual option on his contract worth $17.5 million, which would make Markakis the 35th-highest paid baseball player next season. Or the Orioles can do a $2 million buyout to let him become a free agent. Markakis is one of Peter Angelos’ favorite players, so maybe he pays Markakis, but I’m not sure I can see the Orioles giving him that much money. That doesn’t mean they won’t re-sign him, but I can’t see the Orioles picking up the option.
Delmon Young is having a career year, hitting over .300, and coming up clutch in many at-bats. He is a free agent at the end of this season, after signing just a minor-league contract with the O’s. I’m sure the Birds would love to have him back, but they are going to need to pay him well, or someone else will. Young could be an option for the Orioles to replace Cruz or Markakis, but it seems just as likely that he’s gone in 2015.
J.J. Hardy is another player who is without a contract after this year. Hardy is hitting .278 this year, but he is lacking in power, hitting just four home runs. But Hardy is still one of the best defensive infielders in baseball, and he continues to come up with clutch hits. I’m not sure the Orioles have any options in their own system, so if they don’t re-sign Hardy, they’d have to look elsewhere. If that’s the case, I’d rather spend money on what-you-know…and I know Hardy is a positive for this ball club.
Back-up catcher Nick Hundley has $5 million club option for next year. It was rumored that Hundley was on the trade block before the non-waiver trade deadline. So I can’t see the Orioles picking up that option, especially with Steve Clevenger in the minors, ready to be called up.
But the big question for me is this: what do you do with Chris Davis and Matt Wieters? They are not free agents after this season, as each have one year left on their contracts, but a decision still needs to be made.
You cannot let those two Scott Boras clients walk free after next season. They have been valuable to the Orioles, but I don’t see any way that the Orioles are able to re-sign either of them after next year, so the O’s need to get something for them. In my opinion, that means they need to trade this off-season. Waiting until next year’s trade deadline limits you on the number of teams available to trade with. If you do it this off-season, then you have the entire league to work a deal with.
Chris Davis is interesting. Hitting just .198 this season, he does have 19 home runs, but he still looks lost at the plate. The Orioles would be fine with him hitting 25+ home runs if he was also hitting doubles and singles, but he’s not. He is either hitting a home run, or striking out and looking lost. If he goes all season this way, I’m not sure what value there will be for him in the offseason. But there is still some value, which is better than letting him walk after next year. They have no reason to sign him long term, when the Orioles have Christian Walker tearing it up in the minors. I think he will be a quality first baseman with power for the Birds in the future.
I do not see any way the Orioles re-sign Matt Wieters. He is as good as gone after the 2015 season. Caleb Joseph is spectacular behind the plate. He is throwing out half of base stealers (well above the MLB average), and is really good at calling a game behind the plate and framing pitches. With Joseph showing his offensive ability since the All Star break (13-for-38 with four Home Runs and seven RBIs in his last 11 games), there is no reason to believe that Joseph couldn’t be your every day catcher starting next season. That makes Wieters expendable this off-season. Trade him for something of quality that you need, which could be a shortstop, outfielder, or first baseman/DH.
I would love to see the Orioles re-sign Cruz, Hardy, and Markakis while trading Davis and Wieters in the off-season. Will it happen? Only Dan Duquette truly knows. But it will be a season of change this winter for the Birds.
Hopefully one that includes the “change” of hanging up a new championship banner, in addition to the usual roster turnover!
