Offseason Plans- Orioles
Orioles could be a team on the rise. They have some good young players. Let's take a look.
ORIOLES OFFSEASON PLAN
Who will they bring back?: Jay Payton will not be back. Kevin Millar might be back in a DH role. With Matt Wieters in the wings, Ramon Hernandez becomes expendable.
Who will they get?: This is the million dollar question for O's fans. Will Mark Texieria come home? A source close to the situation told me that it's 70% he comes to Baltimore. We'll have to wait and see. They need an outfielder. Juan Rivera, Cliff Floyd, Brad Wilkerson, Pat Burrell, Emil Brown could be options. They need a shortstop. I expect Felipe Lopez, as he was rumored to be going there at the deadline. Pitching is a huge need. AJ Burnett? Oliver Perez? Maybe someone more consistent like Ryan Dempster or Derek Lowe. They would love to get some middle relievers, like Luis Ayala or Joe Beimel.
Projected '09 Rotation
Guthrie
Cabrera
Dempster
Liz
Safarte
Projected '09 Lineup
Wieters, C
Texieria, 1B (Don't be surprised to see his name on a bunch of teams. With so many suitors it's impossible to predict where he will go)
Roberts, 2B
Lopez, SS
Mora, 3B
Juan Rivera, LF
Jones, CF
Markakis, RF
Hernandez/Millar, DH
New relievers/other acquisitions:
Joe Beimel, RP
Will Ohman, RP
Juan Rincon, RP
Nick Punto, INF
Since these are just projections, you will see players with multiple teams. If they can get some pitching, the O's are a couple years away from contending.
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August 22nd, 2008 - 23:45
Personally, if the Orioles are going to spend a lot of money, it needs to be on the rotation. Ryan Dempster would work, but it looks as if he’s staying in Chicago (3 years, $40M is my guess). Maybe bringing in Jon Garland and Derek Lowe? Lowe knows the division, so that should help the O’s greatly. Garland, I’d love to see him find his old form. I used to enjoy watching him pitch. They will likely shop Melvin Mora, trying to save a lot of money there. Ramon Hernandez could get a good return from a team like the Marlins.
August 23rd, 2008 - 01:47
WTF juan rivera, whered that come from
August 27th, 2008 - 21:24
I don’t think the Orioles will go after big name free agents with big contracts – I think they’ll get some injury reclamations or other pitchers with lower contracts, and stick with their youth. Also, that rotation…no way Sarfate is in the rotation, he was a bust in the rotation this year, and much better suited to be a reliever, so he’s definitely not there next year. I think the Orioles will see how Matt Albers and Troy Patton recover from their injuries, and how the young pitchers progress, rather than sign some veteran pitcher. Also, a LF? really? Have you seen what Luuuuuuuuuuke Scott is doing? He’s hit 21 HR, and has an 861 OPS, much better than Rivera’s 686 OPS. Sure, he’s not great against lefties, but I think the Orioles will stick with in-house options, like Lou Montanez (who will probably replace Payton next year), or maybe Nolan Reimold. I could see the Os going after a bullpen arm or two, but I’m not sure. I can also see them going after FLop and Punto, they could both be solid signings.