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Baltimore Orioles and the Winter Meetings: Who Knows?

By Randy Buchman

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Dec 8, 2014; San Deigo, CA, USA; Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter speaks to the media about former Orioles public relation director Monica Barlow at MLB Winter Meetings at Manchester Grand Hyatt. Barlow passed away in February due to lung cancer. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Is there anything much more frustrating than the annual MLB Winter Meetings? Who really knows what is going on there with the Baltimore Orioles? It is a rumormonger’s convention dream come true.

Multiple times a day I find myself checking various Orioles sources and Twitter to see if there is any news of substance. At this point there is very little, though the atmosphere is one where there is an anticipation of something happening at any moment … but it really doesn’t seem to transpire.

Every year we get this …

Would you bet on that really happening?

As possible names for possible deals come and go, I find myself reacting to them in one of three categories:

  1. That would be a good deal if done at a good price.

Delmon Young – I think the man has earned a two-year deal with the Orioles, unless he is asking for a ridiculous price. The details have been written here and on other blogs over and over. He is younger than you realize, and even though he is not a defensive asset, the downside of his play in left field was overblown in my estimation. Young can hit; there is no question about that. He could be a very effective DH for the Orioles.

Mike Morse – Not everyone will agree with me here, but a one-year deal with Morse could be a good option for the Orioles. He had a good season in 2014 after the disastrous end to the year before. Along with Young, De Aza, and Lough, they could bridge the gap until Dariel Alvarez and one or two other rising players are fully developed.

Justin Upton – This would be a serious upgrade, as his numbers and talents exceed all others we’ll mention on this page. But the devil is in the details. What would need to be given, and what would be the possibility of an arrangement beyond one year?

  1. That is intriguing, let me go look up the statistics.

Marlon Byrd – My first take on this was not a positive one, I’ll admit that. But looking up the numbers, one has to like that at age 37 for the Phillies he hit 28 doubles and 25 homers on a .264 average.

Craig Breslow – Are you talking about the 2013 version (1.81 ERA) or the 2014 version (5.96 ERA)?

  1. Oh please God, no, don’t let that happen!

Jonny Gomes – This is a .244 career hitter — .234 in 2014. Somehow his OBP is decent with a career average of .335 (.376 against left-handers). But the power is largely gone, as he hit six home runs in 321 plate appearances this past year. To put that into perspective, David Lough had four in 197 and Ryan Flaherty hit seven in 312.

But my biggest problem with him is his helmet readjustment fetish. Yes, this is a big issue with me and is a disqualifying nervous habit in any ballplayer – an issue I’ve always had with Arrieta in the past and to some extent currently with Matusz. It just screams to me something like, “I’m so scared that terrible things are going to happen here on this next pitch!”

Gomes’ entire approach to the game just seems so grungy and so … so “Boston.”  Let it alone.

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The Challenge – It is good in the final analysis to see Duquette unwilling to part with presumed key pieces of the Orioles’ future – Dylan Bundy, Hunter Harvey, Chance Sisco, etc. I am hoping the O’s will be able to get at least Delmon Young or perhaps Melky Cabrera as pieces to bridge them through a year or two. But even if not, Showalter is correct in reminding the beat writers tonight that, “The biggest reason we made a leap last year was our pitching, and other than Andrew Miller we really haven’t lost anything there.”

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