Alright, Birdland, we all know what went wrong this past season. With the playoffs getting underway, it’s now time to look towards the critical offseason of the Baltimore Orioles. Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette spoke to the media on Monday afternoon and gave a blueprint on what is to come.
IMPROVING ROTATION IS TOP PRIORITY
This was clearly the biggest reason the O’s aren’t getting ready to play October baseball. The Orioles can’t go into next season with Miguel Gonzalez, Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson and others fighting for the last two spots of the rotation. If the team could find a way to trade Ubaldo Jimenez they would probably do that in a second.
Duquette and the front office have had to flip their mindset with the starting pitchers due to the injuries to Dylan Bundy and Hunter Harvey. The team was hopeful both would be ready to step into the rotation and form the “Big Three” with Kevin Gausman in 2016, but that will be delayed. Harvey received good news that he will not need surgery, but I’m still skeptical. Bundy will have to be on the roster next year as he is out of options, but he will be relegated to bullpen duty until he can prove he is healthy and can return to pitching at an elite level.
The team needs to spend money on the starting rotation and Duquette made it a point to say they will use their resources to do so. Some of the names to follow are Jordan Zimmermann, Johnny Cueto, and Scott Kazmir. David Price is obviously the top of the list, but he will command Max Scherzer-type money so it’s hard to envision he will wear orange and black. Zack Greinke falls in that category as well so the Orioles will more than likely look to the next tier to fill their holes.
IMPROVE ON BASE PERCENTAGE
Again, we all know this is a huge weakness and has been for the last several seasons. Adam Jones and Jonathan Schoop are who they are so that will always be an issue. Manny Machado took a huge step in the on base percentage department this year and I think that will only continue.
The team needs a legit leadoff hitter so they can slot Machado as the number two hitter or three depending if Chris Davis returns. Denard Span is a player that could be attractive as he has the ability to get on base and play solid defense.
Another name that could surface to help the on base department is Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon. Gordon has a player option for next year so it’s still not a definite he will hit the market, but if he does, he fits exactly what the Orioles are looking for. The 31-year-old is one of the best outfielders in all of baseball, can hit for power, and gets on base at a very solid clip.
If Gordon and Span are running around the outfield with Adam Jones next season, Duquette accomplished his stated goal of improving on base percentage.
QUALIFYING OFERS TO DAVIS, CHEN…AND WIETERS?
There is a lot of debate going around if the Orioles should offer Matt Wieters a qualifying offer. I think it’s a no-brainer that the Orioles offer the former first-round pick an offer. No player has ever accepted it and yes, Wieters may have lost money this past season as he continued to come back from Tommy John surgery, but there’s no way his agent Scott Boras sets the precedent of players accepting the offer. I may be proven wrong, but the Orioles can’t let Wieters walk, have him return to form, and get no compensation out of it. When you factor in the team is “planning” to improve the rotation by signing top level guys, there is a strong chance they lose their early draft picks which means the qualifying offer becomes that much more important.
