Baltimore Orioles: The Necessity of Bounce-Back Seasons in 2016

Jun 5, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Chris Tillman (30) pitches during the fifth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

There is no successful path forward for the Baltimore Orioles in 2016 that does not involve the necessity of bounce-back seasons from players like Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez.

This is the brutal truth. As has been written here previously and in other Orioles columns, there is no way for the O’s to buy their way to a championship team effort. Even simply replacing the players of the 81-81 team of 2015 is far beyond the financial reach of the franchise.

A series of dominos has to fall to understand how the Baltimore Orioles can construct their 2016 roster. The first of those was the qualifying offer acceptance of Matt Wieters for $15.8 million. Though the public face of the O’s — particularly Buck Showalter — says they are pleased this has happened, it does cramp the available funds to construct beyond him. If the Birds are unable to fill the holes because of this, and Wieters has a less than excellent campaign, he may be long remembered for whatever demise follows. There is a lot of pressure on him from a number of angles.

The next big domino to have to fall is Chris Davis. The Orioles certainly sound serious in seeking to re-sign him, with Angeles being involved in the process … even as some have rightly said that no player of this contract caliber is signed without the ownership being personally involved. Crush’s likely annual salary in the mid-20s range does not allow for much else to be accomplished.

But let’s postulate a couple of scenarios … first with Davis having re-signed.

There is no doubt the Orioles need some starting pitching help. To get someone rather known to be dependable, along the order of the second-tiered free agent pitchers like Scott Kazmir for example, would cost about another $13 million. And this does nothing to address the corner outfield or bullpen situations beyond names currently on the roster.

Another scenario — that is, without Chris Davis signing — allows the Orioles to sign more players. Perhaps they can get Kazmir, along with Justin Morneau and a corner outfielder like Nori Aoki or re-signing Gerardo Parra. This fills more holes, but more yet remain.

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All of this is to say that, in any event or scenario, the Orioles need some bounce-back from a number of players. Even if they get a decent starter, all he does is essentially replace the loss of Wei-Yin Chen. Tillman and Gonzalez need to look more like the players they were in 2012-2014. Kevin Gausman needs to step up to fulfill his potential, and Ubaldo Jimenez must not revert back to 2014 form.

But it is more than just starting pitchers. The Orioles also need to get more offensive bang for the buck from J.J. Hardy. Again, Wieters needs to make more noise from the plate. And hopefully a fully healthy Adam Jones will see his numbers ratchet back up to historic levels. Guessing also that Steve Pearce somehow ends up back with his buddy Buck Showalter, the O’s will need something looking like 2014 from him.

And all of this scenario-ing also requires Manny Machado to repeat his awesomeness, with Jonathan Schoop building on his rising stature. Role players need to … well … play their roles! The Orioles are going to need long relievers to come through and back-end bullpen arms to replace O’Day. Somebody has to be the primary designated hitter, and we can’t even see “there” from “here.”

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Again, it will be great to see a couple of big free agent signings in this offseason, but alone, two or three of them are not enough to put the team on top without the lesser-known and unheralded players coming through at a significant contributory level. Not wanting to be negative, but being honest, it is a lot to hope will go right.

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