Thursday Thoughts: Kim Saga, Gone-Zalez, Rickard & More

This is a weekly column that dives into eight random thoughts about the Orioles/MLB. Why eight? It’s a nod to Cal Ripken Jr. of course. That, and doing 2,632 of these would be a little overboard. – A.S.

1. This week’s rumor mill surrounding Hyun-Soo Kim is all very strange, but also very predictable. Allow me to explain. The fact that the Orioles are possibly looking to dump a guy that was their projected starting left fielder just a few months ago is a bit baffling. However, when you think about the fact that this is the Orioles (the weirdest team in all of baseball) looking to save a few million bucks, it’s not shocking. Kim has not been good this spring. There’s no way around it. He started out horribly at the plate and has only gotten marginally better.

But this is spring training, where starts aren’t supposed to matter. Are the O’s taking spring stats too much into account? I don’t think that’s it. I think there’s a larger issue here with something they see in Kim. Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports pointed out in his blog that Kim is killing breaking balls, but is having trouble catching up with a major league fastball. If bat speed is the largest issue, do we really see that improving? And is attempting to do it in Norfolk really practical? The outfield there is already plenty crowded.

Why it has taken this long to see it, and why it wasn’t seen by a scout prior, is a totally different issue. If Kim ends up back in Korea, it would be one of the strangest blunders in team history. Remember that we’re talking about this happening in the same offseason as the Dexter Fowler fiasco and the near miss on Yovani Gallardo.

In the end, I think the O’s will somehow convince Kim to take a month in Norfolk with an opt-out clause at the start of May. I don’t know what would motivate him to do such a thing, but the O’s somehow manipulate their roster each year to fit what they want to do. I’m sure they’ll find a way to do it once more.

2. The hottest of all takes in regards to the Kim news is that Joey Rickard is ready to take over as the starting left fielder for the Orioles.

rule V pickup joey rickard on verge of winning starting LF job for O's. rickard (50K pickup from TB) said to lead for job.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 28, 2016

Once again, aren’t spring training stats supposed be as meaningless as Martin O’Malley’s presidential campaign? Rickard could turn out to be a productive player, I’m not going to argue that. The Orioles have gone down this road before, looking to protect Rule 5 selections. It was much harder to do with Ryan Flaherty and Jason Garcia, but perhaps Rickard will be a different story. I’m going to remain cautiously optimistic, because we all expected Kim to do good things. Now we are talking about possibly never seeing him play in a regular season game.

GulfBird Sports/Craig Landefeld

Again, it’s fine to be excited about Rickard and his potential, but also remember that there’s a reason the Rays left him unprotected and able to be selected as a Rule 5 choice. Let’s just pump the brakes a tad.

3. Another somewhat interesting element to the revolving outfield door is the fact that the O’s have been linked to a few left-handed veterans who they could’ve signed early in the offseason.

Weird thing about potentially forcing Kim off the roster to make room for David Murphy is the O's could have signed him in the first place.

— Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer) March 28, 2016

David Murphy and Matt Joyce have been rumored to be in the crosshairs of the Birds. If Dan Duquette wanted to go down this road, why didn’t he just do it earlier in the winter?

Again, this may go back to a more pressing issue of scouting with the franchise, but it all induces much head scratching. Adding either of these players days before Opening Day seems like an “Orioles” move, but there’s no reason to believe either would pay off. Keeping Kim around would seem to be the less risky move, even if it doesn’t work out. I can’t imagine the backlash if Murphy or Joyce were to come into a platoon situation and become Travis Snider.

4. Yesterday’s news that Miguel Gonzalez is being handed his walking papers shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. In an offseason that has been as strange as I can remember, what’s one more twist? I’ve been writing here for weeks that Gonzalez shouldn’t be gifted a rotation spot. It’s not like the O’s have many better options, but Gonzalez hadn’t earned that distinction. He’s been a contributor for quite a few years in Baltimore, and that will not go unnoticed. He’s a well-liked player and goes about his business in a way that seems to be respected by teammates.

But Bud Norris did the same thing. When the production isn’t there, this is what happens. This is a results business and Gonzalez didn’t produce the results. The fact that Mike Wright and Tyler Wilson were breathing down his neck all spring didn’t help.

GulfBird Sports/Craig Landefeld

5. Chris Tillman will be the Orioles’ Opening Day starter for the third straight season. It’s the first time an O’s pitcher has done that since Mike Mussina in 1998-2000, which I realized is terrifying. Not only is it sad that the Orioles haven’t had a pitcher they could rely on since then, but it’s also downright depressing that Chris Tillman is now that pitcher.

I’m not one to make a big deal out of Opening Day starts. It’s just the guy that starts the first game. It doesn’t give that player special powers or a big contract bonus. The larger issue is that Tillman is considered the leader of a group that is likely going to be among the worst in baseball. He needs to have a massive bounce-back season in order to earn that “leader” status.

6. While fTillman, Yovani Gallardo and Ubaldo Jimenez are healthy and locked into the rotation, there’s still some mystery after that. We all know that Kevin Gausman will be locked in once he’s healthy, but no one really knows when that will be. It could be as early as his first turn in the rotation, and that’s what we’ll all hope for.

When it comes to the fifth and final spot, though, there are questions. The only player that would need to be replaced from last year was Wei-Yin Chen, and that was accomplished with the signing of Gallardo. Entering the winter, it was safe to assume that Gonzalez would have a rotation spot. Now that the idea of him even making the roster is out the window, Wilson and Wright figure to fill in. Again, we aren’t talking about a great unit here.

I wouldn’t be surprised if more than ten or twelve players make a single start for the team this season. They are coming in with three sure-fire starters, one who is hurt, and another spot that will appear to be a revolving door. The starters are going to need to massively over-perform if the O’s want to have a shot at the postseason this year.

7. Perhaps the biggest story surrounding the Orioles this week (I’m kidding, mostly), is the fact that they’re heading to arbitration with the Nationals over MASN rights. A court document filed Monday shows that the two sides are choosing a mediator to figure things out.

This case has been strange from the start, and it’s only getting messier. If you haven’t been paying attention – and not many have – this is a situation where two MLB franchises are slinging mud where the league basically has no say in the matter. MLB has asked both sides to cool it, but neither has listened. There’s no telling where this will go, but the basic message from the O’s to the Nats has been, “you signed a deal, now comply with it.”

Washington doesn’t feel it is getting a fair share of the money that MASN produces. Keep an eye on this, because even though it’s an off-field matter, it will greatly impact the field in the future.

8. I’m using my final “Thought” this week to do a little bit of shameless self-promotion. Just in case you were unaware, I’ll be contributing on behalf of Eutaw Street Report over at MASN Sports once again this year. This is the fourth season I’ll be writing pieces for MASN, and each of mine will be posted Monday morning, starting this coming week. I’ll be diving in trying to make sense of what this season might become for the Orioles, including some the joys of Opening Day.

I, like many baseball fans, look at Opening Day as an added holiday. It’s a sort of re-birth and new beginning that anyone can get behind. No matter how grim the outlook for your team, the start of the season brings an excitement. Even fans of the Phillies and Braves will be pumped up come next week, even if their teams are expected to stink it up this summer.

For O’s fans, the feeling should be much of the same. The outlook by some may not be great, but none of that will matter come next week. I can’t put into words how much I appreciate each of you that take the time to read me in this space each week, and hope you’ll join me over at MASN on Mondays throughout the season as well.