Baltimore Orioles Thanksgiving Table Talk

Jun 27, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros left fielder L.J. Hoes (0) gets a single during the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

For avid Baltimore Orioles fans sitting around the Thanksgiving table, there is much to talk about, including the signing of L.J. Hoes and reported interest in Yovani Gallardo.

The news broke yesterday afternoon that L.J. Hoes will be returning to the Orioles upon cash considerations with the Houston Astros. Room on the 40-man roster was made possible by designating Andy Wilkins for assignment.

While certainly a really fine person and well-liked personality by many in the Orioles’ clubhouse and organization, can the former O’s third-rounder contribute for the team?

I think the answer is yes. As Duquette pointed out in his remarks, Hoes’ on base percentage at AAA is rather phenomenal, and he still is age 25. To put a perspective on that, consider that this makes him four years younger than Caleb Joseph, Ryan Flaherty and Steve Clevenger.

Over his occasional stints with the Orioles and Astros in the past four years, he has played in 112 games and batted .237.  But in 315 games at the AAA level, he has a .299 average and .388 OBP.  He also stole 26 bases in 99 games this past season. He’s athletic. How can this not translate eventually into something positive?

An article on MLBTR speaks of the Orioles having very preliminary interest in free agent right-hander Yovani Gallardo. This is not going to eventuate into anything while you’re inhaling copious quantities of turkey and stuffing. But it is interesting to talk about, as he is one of those second-tier pitching free agents.

Gallardo is a pretty decent innings-eater, averaging about 190 per season in recent years. His career ERA is a good 3.66, and it was 3.42 in Texas in 2015 while he posted a 13-11 record. Sounds good, right? But a couple other stats jump out at me as of concern. His WHIP number of 1.416 was the highest of his career, while the SO/9 and SO/W ratio was the lowest. The issue would come down to costs, but, buyer beware.

It was also reported yesterday that Bud Norris was signed to a contract by the Atlanta Braves — a team that has been doing some very strange things in recent weeks. He will get $2.5 million in 2016.

I will make a bold statement here that Bud Norris will have a good season and be among the comeback players of the year. I say this because I had the exact same illness that Norris suffered early in the season when I was a collegiate pitcher, and it took a full year to come back to form. Norris is a good guy, and it would be great to see it happen for him.

Also on MLBTR is a profile article on Wei-Yin Chen. His market is really growing and he is going to get a great deal, maybe even for five years. This was a fantastic, cost-effective move of the Orioles to have had him for four years. I always thought he was one of the more athletic guys on the team, and fielded his position well.

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It never really did look to me that Chen was ever completely comfortable in Baltimore. It is difficult to know how much of this relates to cultural challenges. He apparently speaks English reasonably well, as evidenced by his many conversations with everyone in the dugout and the comments of Showalter that he spoke well. Yet Chen used a translator consistently. Maybe he’s a bit sensitive?

Much has been made of how Wei-Yin was offended by the temporary optioning to the minors last year for one game in order to address a roster problem. Again, it might be some cultural issue involving shame or something of that sort, but good night, deal with it. He frequently looked offended as well when Showalter would take him out of a game, as if he was regularly thinking that he was being victimized by an early hook.

Next: So many middle and utility infielders

In any event, he ain’t coming back to Baltimore, but glad we had him for a while.

Have a good Thanksgiving Day, being thankful for the past four years of baseball in Baltimore, while petitioning also for a good offseason and success in 2016.