Orioles Offseason Needs: Starting Pitching Edition

The Orioles had a large amount of rookies pitching both in the rotation and out of the pen in 2009. The question is, which rookies showed that they were ready to stay in the big leagues? Let's start with the rotation. Heading into the 2010 season, there are some holes that need to be plugged for our starting five. Koji Uehara, who was previously a starter, will in all likelihood working out of the bullpen because of stamina and injury problems last year. The de facto number one starter heading into the season would be Jeremy Guthrie only because there is little competition for the position. Brian Matusz seems to have a hold on a spot next year as well as Brad Bergesen. Rich Hill was cast aside (but may return) and David Hernandez seems better suited for a bullpen spot. That leaves three spots assured, which Chris Tillman having the inside track on a fourth.

The free agent class this winter provides a plethora of options for a team looking to add a veteran in the rotation. Some of these veterans are coming off career years while others were derailed by injury in 09. Some of the often mentioned key starters on the market this offseason are John Lackey, Erik Bedard, Ben Sheets, Brad Penny, Rich Harden, Jason Marquis, Randy Wolf, Jon Garland, Carl Pavano, Jarrod Washburn, Justin Duchscherer, Randy Johnson, Brett Myers, and Vicente Padilla. Sheets, Harden, Bedard, and Duchscherer have had injury histories that may turn some teams away; while Washburn, Lackey, Marquis, and Wolf had years that may allow them to cash in this offseason.

With the Orioles current situation, the best fits out of this group seem to be Rich Harden, Ben Sheets, Carl Pavano, Jon Garland, or a return to Baltimore for Erik Bedard. These pitchers can mentor the younger guys and hopefully be innings eaters as well. Harden, Sheets, Pavano, and Bedard are all risky injury wise but can be a big help to a staff who depends on its bullpen way too heavily.

These pitchers are most likely going to sign contracts with low base salaries but incentives as well, and may be willing to settle on a one year deal. The Orioles just need pitchers to keep those rotation spots warm until the rest of the young arms develop their way in to pitchers at the major league level.

Next entry will profile available bullpen free agents as well as who would be the best fit for the Orioles at closer in 2010.

Orioles Offseason Needs: Hitting Edition

With the 2009 baseball season finally coming to a conclusion, we can now focus on the offseason for the Baltimore Orioles. With Melvin Mora's option being declined, the Orioles are in the market for a third baseman to hold down the hot corner until prospect Josh Bell arrives. Another position of uncertainty is directly across diamond at first base. As the roster stands now, Michael Aubrey is the incumbent starter. Other possibilities include Luke Scott and Ty Wiggington.

The Orioles have no true cleanup hitter so one of those positions should be filled with a power bat. Another direction that Baltimore could go in would be to acquire a full-time DH with power to slide into the number four slot in the lineup. Off the top of my head, Jim Thome and Carlos Delgado come to mind. Other players that could be given consideration would be Adrian Beltre, Pedro Feliz, Nick Johnson, or even Vladimir Guerrero (if not resigned).

Carlos Delgado would be a great fit, even if relegated to mostly DH duty. Delgado is a given for 30 HR's and 90-100 RBI's a year and the Orioles sorely need that production As for first base, Nick Johnson could be looked at but may be looking for a multi-year deal.

The outfield will be crowded in 2010 just as it was this past season. With Felix Pie proving valuable in a fourth outfielder role, the Orioles have great depth. Adam Jones put together a great year, Markakis is the mark of consistency, and Nolan Reimold looks to be showing the talent that was seen in the minor leagues. Let's not forget that Luke Scott is out there as well, currently holding the DH position with spot starts in the outfield.

The Orioles could look in to Chone Figgins but he will probably be commanding to high a salary to be landing in Baltimore. The catching duties will be handle by budding star Matt Wieters with Chad Moeller possibly returning after being non-tendered. Cesar Izturis will be the man again at SS with Robert Andino being the backup. 2B and our leadoff responsibilities still fall in the hands of fan favorite Brian Roberts fresh off his contract extension.

My next entry will profile the pitching needs for the Orioles in their starting rotation.

Orioles Make a Trade

The Orioles have shipped out utility player Oscar Salazar to the San Diego Padres in exchange for relief pitcher Cla Meredith. Salazar was out of options so he had to remain on the roster and could not be optioned down to the minor leagues without being placed on waivers. In that scenario, a team most likely would have put in a claim and received Salazar while the Orioles would have not gotten anything in return.

Oscar's stay on the roster became in issue once Cesar Izturis was reinstated after his surgery. Salazar did make the most of the small amount of playing time he received, slugging two homeruns and driving in six runs.

Meredith has a 4.17 ERA this year coming out of the Padres bullpen. San Diego needed a player to fill the infield void since both David Eckstein and Edgar Gonzalez are injured, and Salazar fit that need. We will see what Meredith brings to the table in the coming weeks and good luck to Oscar Salazar in his new home.

Miguel Angel Sano Sweepstakes

With the international prospect signing period having recently began, MLB teams are doing their homework and scouting to see what players may have an eventual impact on their franchise. Miguel Angel Sano is a shortstop from the Dominican Republic who is considered to be the consensus best international prospect of 2009. He just turned 16 years of age; however, his age is under investigation because of age accuracy rumors. The sweepstakes has been narrowed down to what seems like three franchises.

Along with the Orioles, the Minnesota Twins and Pittsburgh Pirates have shown interest in this international talent. The Orioles have been said to see Sano as a first round pick if he were in the MLB draft, so they may offer up a deal higher than both that of Brian Matusz and this year's top pick, Matt Hobgood.

One of the main factors here is the confirmation that Sano is indeed 16 years old. Once the age situation is investigated and straightened out, the sweepstakes between the teams will heat up.

I think that Sano could sure up the shortstop position in the future while it will be held down by Cesar Izturis in the present. A last thing of note, it was mentioned somewhere that Sano has been compared to Miguel Cabrera, which in case you haven't watched baseball in the past 9 years is a great compliment.

More news will be posted on Miguel Angel Sano as this situation continues.

Former Oriole Updates

News broke recently that B.J. Ryan, reliever for the Toronto Blue Jays, was in fact released by the team. Ryan became a household name playing for the Orioles from 1999 until 2005, after he was acquired in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds. After the 2005 season, B.J. Ryan inked the largest contract ever given to a closer, which was 5 years and $47 million. This season, Ryan was injured early on and lost his closer's job in favor of reliever Scott Downs.

Another former Oriole made headlines recently. Ryan Freel was in the news yet again as he was traded and will be playing for his third team in just about half a season. Freel was traded to the Chicago Cubs from Baltimore in exchange for Joey Gathright earlier this year. After not producing in Chicago, the utility player was again shipped off, except this time, to the Kansas City Royals back in the American League. Maybe this change of scenery will help Freel to salvage the rest of what seems like a lost 2009 season.

Examining the Bedard Trade

Before the 2008 baseball season, the Orioles traded staff ace Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for five players. Headlining the deal was stud prospect Adam Jones and reliever George Sherrill. The Orioles desperately needed a closer when Chris Ray would not be able to play in the upcoming season. Sherrill was predominantly a set-up man during his tenure in Seattle and performed at a high level in that role.

Jones was drafted as a shortstop but was shifted to the outfield by Seattle. The other pieces in the trade were three pitchers: Tony Butler, Kam Mickolio, and Chris Tillman. Tillman has huge upside as a potential top of the rotation starter, while Mickolio profiles as a bullpen guy. Butler is currently injured but I am sure will be given a chance to be part of the Orioles future.

Overall, I think this was a brilliant move by the Orioles. They took advantage of Erik Bedard's breakout year and got a strong haul in return. A year and a half after the deal, the Orioles have reaped the benefits of Sherrill and Jones being All-Star selections in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

Bedard, the other side of the deal, had an injury plagued first year in Seattle but has pitched very well in 2009 when healthy. This year is big for Bedard because he will potentially become a free agent at the conclusion of the season.

This trade was supposed to propel Seattle over the LA Angels of Anaheim into first place in the American League West division. Furthermore, it would have given Seattle a lethal one, two punch at the top of the rotation with a maturing "King Felix" Hernandez and Bedard.

Bedard has pitched twice against the Orioles this year. The first start resulted in a win for Seattle as Bedard was definitely on his game. Bedard was on a pitch-count for last night's contest since he was coming back from injury. He did show his velocity and movement as there was a point where he struck out four Orioles hitters in succession.

Looking back, this trade definitely worked toward helping the present and building the future for the Orioles franchise. Seattle has control over its destiny with Bedard and it comes down to whether they believe he can be that go to starter they sought.

Random Updates/All-Star Selections

I wanted to congratulate to Orioles CF Adam Jones on being selected as a reserve to the 2009 MLB All-Star game taking place in the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis. While coming down to earth offensively recently, Jones is still by many measures having a great year and it is good that his merits go recognized.

The great thing about the All-Star game is seeing each team represented; not to mention whichever league wins receives home field advantage in the World Series.

In other recent Orioles news, Chris Ray has been placed on the disabled list while RP, Kam Mickolio was called up to take the roster spot. Also, Cesar Izturis will begin a rehab assignment in the minors as his return from his appendicitis nears.

Downtime

Hey everyone! Sorry that it's been awhile since my last post. I have been busy with working and took a short vacation down in Ocean City.

I just wanted to reassure everybody that I will still be updating here with any important Orioles news that unfolds.

Izturis Hospitalized

Cesar Izturis, the Orioles starting SS was taken to a local hospital in Oakland on Friday when he had complained of a pain in his stomach. It was later diagnosed as appendicitis after a CT scan was done. An appendectomy was scheduled to take place on Friday night as the Orioles took on the Oakland Athletics. Robert Andino took the field as the starting SS with Izturis being out of action.

According to various sources, a recovery time after an appendectomy is between 10 days and 4 weeks. We will find out in the coming days how long this will leave the Orioles without their starting SS. Izturis has been great defensively and contributed some timely hitting this season for the Orioles. He is an important cog in the lineup stabilizing the bottom of the batting order and also serves as a mentor for the younger players.

I will update everyone on new information about this when it becomes available. Best of luck to Cesar Izturis in a quick and healthy recovery. We cannot wait to have you back on the field!

Felix Pie Situation

It had been made clear by Andy McPhail that OF Felix Pie will not be sent to the minor leagues. Pie, has struggled for the most part but is showing flashes of the potential tools that he possesses. The reasoning for the decision is simple. Felix Pie has options remaining (to be sent to the minor leagues), but would have to be exposed to waivers where he can be claimed by any team before he got sent down.

If Pie were to be put on waivers, it is widely assumed that a team would take a flier on him and put on a waiver claim. That would mean that Pie could potentially end up with them and the Orioles would lose an outfielder.

Even with Nolan Reimold starting basically every day and Luke Scott back from injury, Pie will be the back up outfielder and Dave Trembley will still find him some at bats for the rest of the season to show the Orioles that he belongs in the majors leagues to stay. It has and will continue to be about fulfilling potential for the young outfielder.

Jamie Walker To Be Released

Veteran relief pitcher Jamie Walker will be given his release from the Orioles due to his lackluster performance coming out of the bullpen this year. Walker's primary job was to get out left-handed batters but he was not successful with that in 2009, as lefties batted a staggering .458 off him.

This was the last year in the 3 year $12MM contract that Walker inked before the start of the 2007 season. The Orioles will still owe $3MM to Walker. The move was not a surprise as it was being discussed often over the last few weeks. Walker was prone to the HR ball as well, losing his past effectiveness. To replace him on the roster, the Orioles will bring up Alberto Castillo, a left-hander. That name might sound familiar as Castillo pitched in 28 games with a 3.81 ERA for the major league club last season. To begin 2009, Castillo was assigned to Triple A Norfolk

The Future Looks Bright For the O's!

Luke Scott and Nolan Reimold powered the Orioles to yet another victory last night as we defeated the Detroit Tigers by a score of 5-1. Luke Scott looks healthy as ever, hitting another two HR's in yesterday's contest. David Hernandez had a solid major league debut pitching 5 2/3 innings and only yielding a run on five hits. This was the fourth time this season an Orioles pitcher was victorious in their major league debut. The Orioles improved their record to 22 and 26.

The best part of it all is that more is yet to come. Tonight, all eyes will be on catcher Matt Wieters, rated as the number one prospect in all of baseball. He will make his long awaited Oriole debut tonight against Dontrelle Willis, who has worked his way back from anxiety issues and has put together some great outings lately.

The younger Orioles are contributing better than most have expected at this point in the season, which really shows how far our minor leagues and scouting have come. One thing is for sure, the Orioles are exciting to watch once again!

Another Major League Debut on Thursday

With the current Orioles injury situation on their pitching staff, they needed someone to fill the slot of Koji Uehrara, who is out with a hamstring injury. The O's decided to dip down in to the minor leagues once again and promote David Hernandez from Triple A Norfolk. Hernandez, 23, had a 3-1 record in Norfolk to go along with a 2.91 ERA.

Hernandez is known to be a strikeout pitcher, who struck out 14 batters his last start in the minors. This is the latest addition by a team that I previously stated has lots of pitching depth down in the minors. The fact of the matter is that these are not just journeyman pitchers, but pitchers who are young and demonstrating skills at the minor league level.

Overall, I now feel like maybe the Orioles can start making some noise in the crazy AL East division. As it stands before play starts today, we have a 21-26 record; only 5 games under the mark of .500. Nolan Reimold came through in a huge way for us yesterday hitting the walk-off 3-run HR which propelled us to victory in extra innings. For a fan like myself, this youth movement is becoming exciting to watch, and it will only get better.

With Matt Wieters' debut looming, the Orioles will be fielding a rotation with three rookies, a rookie C, a rookie LF, and a second year CF. The future and even remainder of this season is looking bright for Baltimore. Finishing at .500 is entirely possible as this young team mixed with its share of veteran leadership learns to play together and mature.

Uehara Will Hit the DL

Koji Uehara did some jogging on the field today and limited throwing but the hamstring injury has still not fully-healed. All signs point to Koji missing his turn in the rotation on Thursday and will spend time on the disabled list. This is a precaution because the pitcher is older and will most likely have an increased workload than what he is used to in Japan.

It has not been decided who will take the turn in the rotation for him but someone may make the move from the bullpen such as Matt Albers or Mark Hendrickson. Manager, Dave Trembley, wants to maintain all of his bullpen for the stretch of these upcoming games so another starter may have to be promoted from the minors.

Breaking News: Wieters Debut Announced

According to preliminary sources, Matt Wieters has been said to be making his long awaited major league debut for the Orioles on Friday. In some people's opinions, Wieters may have not been performing as well as had been hoped in Triple A Norfolk. He had an injury he sustained early in the year but as of late, the catcher has been hitting and will get his shot at the big leagues.

More information on this will be posted when available regarding a corresponding roster move and if the Orioles will keep three catchers.

UPDATE: Andy McPhail said this live on the MASN broadcast so expect to see Wieters in the lineup against Dontrelle Willis on Friday. Time to look forward to our future O's fans!

Orioles Trade Options

As the year progresses forward, the Orioles will have some decisions to make regarding players who are performing at a high level and can bring some young prospects back in trades. Players that fit this mold are Danys Baez and Aubrey Huff and Jeremy Guthrie. Other names being tossed around the trade market are Chris Ray, Melvin Mora, Mark Hendrickson, Jamie Walker, and George Sherrill.

As far as the rest of the roster is concerned, there are very few untouchables at this point. We can all agree that Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, Brian Roberts, and Nolan Reimold are not going anywhere. There is possibility even Luke Scott is dealt, depending on how well he returns from injury. On the pitchng side, Jim Johnson will stay put, as will Brad Bergeson and Koji Uehara.

The team believed to have interest in acquiring Aubrey Huff is the New York Mets, having lost 1B Carlos Delgado for an extended period of time. This is just a thought but the San Francisco Giants, in desperate need of power, could take a flier on Huff as well. The Giants have young pitching to deal from both in the minor leagues and in the majors.

Jeremy Guthrie could be dealt because he is cheap, durable, and under team control for a few more years. Guthrie will not bring in the haul that Erik Bedard did from Seattle but expect a decent return if he is dealt.

I am by no means signaling that the Orioles are going to throw in the towel now or any time soon, but if some of these trades may better the club now or in the future, they deserve to be looked at. An alternative route the Orioles could go is to let their free agents leave and get draft picks from the teams that sign them depending on Type A or B free agent status. Only time will tell what the Orioles decide to do and if trades are in their future.

Pitcher Call-Up: Jason Berken

The Orioles made the announcement that minor-league pitcher, Jason Berken, will be called up to make his major league debut on Tuesday against the Blue Jays.

Berken is not one of the star-crop of minor league pitchers for the future, but he has had great success this season and seems to be the most ready to pitch in the major leagues now. Brad Bergeson has been decent since he has been called up and the success will be expected of the young Berken as well.

Other pitchers considered for the spot included Troy Patton and Chris Waters. With these names, as well as the triumvirate group of potential star starters, the Orioles now have great depth within the minor league system for pitching. The recognizable names, Arrieta, Matusz, and Tillman are not going to be called up because the Orioles want them to gain experience and spend more time feeling out their skills.

Jason Berken will oppose another rookie, SP Ricky Romero for the Jays. Romero got off to a great start but then was shelved for some time due to a strained right oblique. This should be a great pitching match up as these talented rookies go head to head.

Injury Updates: Uehara and Montanez

Two Orioles who have been bit by the injury bug are Koji Uehara and Lou Montanez. Montanez who was getting playing time in LF has a thumb-injury, said to be some type of partial tear. If Montanez decides on surgery, which seems likely, he may be out for a few months. This injury will open the door for Nolan Reimold, who is heating up a bit as of late, to play the majority of left field even when Luke Scott returns from the DL.

Pitcher Koji Uehara had to be removed from his start, after 3 innings on Saturday versus the Nationals because of what was originally thought to be something weather related. It turns out that Uehara had a sore left hamstring. This is a similar problem to what the Japanese rookie experienced during Spring Training. Koji has been the Orioles most consistant pitcher, with his record suffering from bullpen meltdowns late in games. Due to the injury to Uehara and the release of Eaton, the Orioles now have two holes in the rotation.

Orioles Weekend Summary: The Battle of the Beltway Part 1

For the many fans of both the Orioles and the Washington Nationals, this past weekend brought the two teams together for the annual "Battle of the Beltway" series. Tons of people came out to newly-made Nationals Park for the three-game series.

The Nationals and Orioles meet for two series' in 2009 and the Orioles took the first, by winning 2 of 3 games from our beltway counterparts. Adam Jones showed his immense talent once again, coming up with key hits in games including a HR (his 10th) in game number three. Jones definitely warrants All-Star game consideration with the magnificent year he is having both offensively and defensively.

The Nationals showcased some of their young arms, including Shairon Martis and Jordan Zimmerman. Another young arm, Joel Hanrahan flashed his potential as he shut down the Orioles one, two, three in the bottom of the 9th inning to win game three for the Nats. The Nationals are building quite a starting pitching foundation, soon to have the company of mega-prospect Stephen Strasburg. Offensively, 3B Ryan Zimmerman was very steady, reaching base in each game. Adam Dunn, the big signing of the offseason for Washington had a 2 HR and 6 RBI game and was a star this weekend.

One last note, the announce team was split down the middle for the broadcasts. The combination I saw was Jim Palmer and Rob Dibble. Other broadcasters, Gary Thorne and Bob Carpenter were featured as well. That was the first time that I ever noticed the announce team that way. After a few innings, the duo would change to give a different view of the game. After this series, the Orioles start a series with the Blue Jays and Washington will travel to take on the New York Mets.

Adam Eaton's Orioles Tenure Comes to an End With his Release

Pitcher, Adam Eaton, who the Orioles signed close to the end of spring training has reached the end of his leash as the O's finally decided to release him. Eaton was having a dismal 2009, going 2-5 with an 8.57 ERA. He was prone to big innings as well as being unable to go deep in to most of the games he had started.

In the corresponding roster move, Dave Trembley called up Matt Albers, who will be working out of the bullpen for the Orioles. The one question that remains is who will be taking over the rotation slot vacated by Eaton's departure. The Orioles already moved Mark Hendrickson to the bullpen.

Options for the rotation spot are down in the minor leagues, as Brad Bergeson was the first Orioles young arm to be given the call this season. Time will tell who will fill in for Eaton and if Trembley decides to use a 13-man pitching staff. In my opinion, the young arms we have slated for our future need more seasoning and it would be irresponsible to call any of them up in this situation. The free agent market posesses some arms such as Paul Byrd, Pedro Martinez, and Ben Sheets, who is healing from injury.

Orioles Swap Outfielders

Last week, the Orioles traded unhappy OF/IF Ryan Freel to the Chicago Cubs for speedy outfield reserve Joey Gathright. Freel was unhappy with his playing time here in Baltimore and was injured and unproductive. Gathright brings speed but lack of any real power. The Orioles assigned Gathright to the the minor leagues for the time being.

This trade had to happen because Freel and Andy McPhail both agreed that Freel was more apt to receive playing time elsewhere, which ended up being the National League where reserves come into the game more. The Cubs just had an injury happen with star 3rd baseman Aramis Ramirez so let's hope that Freel gets that playing time he's hoped for. I wish him good luck in the remainder of his baseball career.

Pitching Update

Rich Hill finally made his debut in the 2009 season this past Saturday and notched his first win, beating the Kansas City Royals. Hill went 5 and 2/3 innings while walking two batters and striking out six.

Hill will help to fortify the number three slot in the Orioles rotation behind Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara, who has exhibited great command since his arrival in the major leagues. As for the odd man out of the rotation, it looks to be Mark Hendrickson, who the Orioles originally signed to use as a long man in relief.

Another positive sign of things to come is the great performances of top pitching prospects, Jake Arrieta, Brian Matusz, and Chris Tillman. Arrieta tossed a complete game one-hitter in Double A on Saturday night, striking out a career-high ten batters. If this continues, the future looks bright for the Orioles pitching staff in the coming years.

Adam Jones to Return on Tuesday

At Yankee stadium in the first game of a three-game series, Orioles center fielder, Adam Jones should be back in the starting lineup. Jones has been out of action since Wednesday because of a mild right hamstring strain. This is good news for Baltimore since the top of the lineup just has not been the same (no offense, Mr. Izturis).

We will have to see what this will mean for top prospect, Nolan Reimold, who was just promoted to the big leagues because of Jones, Luke Scott, and Lou Montanez's injuries.

Introduction

Hey everybody! The 2009 season is in full swing as the Orioles hope to develop their talent and start to contend in the coming years. This blog will serve as a reference for Orioles fans of all kinds. Come and keep track of Baltimore's team, with updates, opinions, and transactions. Let's hope for a great year!