REALITY: Dan Duquette and the Orioles continue to refuse to offer an “opt-out” to any player.
#Orioles won't do opt-outs. Fine. But if every other team does, will anyone sign with O's?
— Joe Polek ????????⚾????⚽???? (@JoePolek) February 25, 2016
PERCEPTION: I understand this thought process, and especially their reasoning. They say that it doesn’t benefit the team at all, so why would they do it? I agree and that seems like the right stance to have when trying to make decisions for your team. However, if every other team is willing to include a player “opt-out” in a contract, will any player sign with the Birds? Even if the Orioles offer more money (which is unlikely), would a player take being locked in to a four or five-year deal, when they can take similar money with an opt-out that gives them a chance to become a free-agent and cash in again in a short amount of time?
I agree with the Orioles’ philosophy, but it will only work if there are other teams refusing to offer opt-outs also.
REALITY: Without signing anyone else, the Orioles will be stuck with a RF-by-committee, as they were last season.
Once again, my answer for #Orioles is Davis in RF, Trumbo at DH, Wieters at 1B and Joseph at C.
Fixes all problems and spends $0.— Joe Polek ????????⚾????⚽???? (@JoePolek) February 25, 2016
PERCEPTION: I have said it before – I know this will not happen, but it still intrigues me
Last summer, the Orioles put Chris Davis in right field for a two-month period. When asked, last summer, why Davis was in RF, Buck Showalter would say that Davis is guy who can play multiple positions and they are putting him where he helps the club most for that game. Many thought they were trying to showcase Davis or Chris Parmelee for a possible trade.
Davis showed that he is a fully capable right fielder. If Showalter thought Davis could play RF with no problem for two months last summer to help the club, why not put Davis there for a majority of 2016?
If you put Davis in RF, then you let Mark Trumbo play first base and you have Matt Wieters at DH. That leaves a fully capable Caleb Joseph at catcher.
To me that’s a better line-up than having a RF-by-committee. If the O’s keep Trumbo and Davis out of the outfield, that leaves Nolan Reimold, Dariel Alvarez, Henry Urrutia, Joey Rickard, Jimmy Paredes, and/or Ryan Flaherty to play RF. Do any of those guys strike fear in the opposition?
Reimold has shown flashes throughout his career of being a capable player, but he has never been able to keep that offensive production steady, or stay healthy. Flaherty, Paredes, and Urrutia are good off the bench, but should not be starting in RF. Rickard is a Rule 5 guy, so he will get some chances if he makes the roster, but you don’t want him starting every game out there. Alvarez is probably the best option of them, although he only has 12 major league games under his belt.
If the Birds don’t have to give up too much, the best option might be to bring in someone who is not currently on the roster.
REALITY: Duquette says the Orioles are still exploring options outside the club for right field.
orioles are still looking for an outfielder. jay bruce and austin jackson are 2 of the possible options
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 29, 2016
PERCEPTION: Reporter Jon Heyman says the Orioles have once again asked about Jay Bruce and Austin Jackson. Both players are in their late 20’s, and are not as highly thought of as Dexter Fowler, but they are still proven everyday major leaguers, unlike the group discussed above.
Bruce would require giving up something in return, as he is currently under contract with the Cincinnati Reds.
Jackson is a free agent and might come on a one-year deal, though he just turned down a one-year deal from the Angels.
If the O’s are looking outside the club, I hope they go with Bruce. That would give the Orioles a nice looking line-up that could be the same every night. Now if the rotation would hold up, the O’s would be contenders.
Speaking of the rotation…
There is still one move the Orioles could make that might fix the RF problem as well as the starting rotation dilemma.
Before Fowler and even before Yovani Gallardo was officially signed, the Orioles had talked to the San Diego Padres about Matt Kemp and James Shields (and even Andrew Cashner).
I would love to see the Orioles re-visit those talks. If the Front Office really wants to “go for it” this season as all their moves indicate, then why not? Put Kemp in RF and Shields at the top of your rotation. Now you’d have Chris Tillman, Shields, Gallardo, Ubaldo Jimenez/Miguel Gonzalez, and Kevin Gausman. This takes a lot of pressure off Gausman and would give the O’s a lot of flexibility in their rotation for when injuries come (and they will come).
Will it happen? Probably not, but we can dream, right? Why Not!
