To Dye for
A report from FOXSports.com that free-agent outfielder Jermaine Dye is willing to play first base next season, and how he could be "a right-handed hitting alternative at first for several clubs, including the Braves, Mets, Giants and Orioles," has stirred up some readers.
It's important to stress that the report doesn't state that the Orioles are interested. They're just tossed into the mix because they need a first baseman and a right-handed bat for the middle of their lineup.
Back on Nov. 7, I wrote about being intrigued by Dye, but more so as a designated hitter and a short-term solution. Allow me to quote myself:
Could Jermaine Dye, at the right cost, provide that right-handed power bat for the middle of the order that manager Dave Trembley places high on his wish list? Dye has averaged 33 home runs over the past five seasons, though he's batted .254 and .250 in two of the last three. He could serve as the designated hitter, though he might prefer to play right field (and for a contender, of course).
The Orioles aren't likely to trade for Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla because they're not convinced that he can play third, and they would rather go with somebody who's proven at the position. They could make the same argument about Dye and first base, where he's made one career appearance in the majors.
They're willing to experiment with their own players at first - Javy Lopez and Luke Scott, to name two - but I'm not sure they'd sign Dye with the idea that he'd start there on Opening Day. They might be more inclined to give Nolan Reimold a mitt and hit him ground balls in spring training if they can acquire a left fielder.
To me, Dye would interest them only as a DH who might be able to play a little first base on occasion. I'll wait to be proven wrong. It's happened a few times.
Meanwhile, Twins catcher Joe Mauer was a near-unanimous winner of the AL's Most Valuable Player award.
Absolutely no argument here.
Mauer received 27 of a possible 28 first-place votes. The Tigers' Miguel Cabrera received the other vote, but he finished fourth.
I'd like to know who chose Cabrera over Mauer.
Mark Teixera placed second, followed by Derek Jeter. Kendry Morales was fifth.
So would you rather have Mauer or Matt Wieters?
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
Weiters. A switch hitter and alot further away from Free Agency.
Tough call on Mauer v. Wieters. Mauer is and probably always will be a better hitter. But Wieters has the potential to be a better power guy.
As for Dye, let's not get our hopes up folks. Somehow I think our GM's idea of being more proactive this offseason is to get the O's mentioned in numerous free agent discussions.
He'll mull over Dye for a month or two, and then the guy will sign somewhere else and we'll be told " He wasn't going to come here anyways." Or: "He didn't want to play first base."
I think signing Dye to play first would give the appearance to fans that not much has changed. Signing a washed up (but used to be incredible) player would be nothing anybody would get excited for.
I was reading that the Red Sox are willing to take on 1/2 of Lowell's salary in a trade so they can move Youkillis over to third to make room for an Adrian Gonzalez trade. That's just another rumor obviously, but look at the difference in the quality of rumors. We have glaring holes and we are included in Dye rumors.
The solution to one of our glaring holes (Gonzalez) and we aren't even a footnote.
These are the kind of moves the Red Sox are planning to do. They try to get rid of their washed up players (Lowell) for younger, more productive parts. We go after the retreads and expect the fans to get excited. And we are fed the not going to trade top prospects for one of the top players in the game. So not willing to risk 1-2 non-established players (in a 4-5 player package) for an elite, established, and injury free one. Oh and he's cheap for two years allowing us to save up to extend him to a massive contract.
Man I look forward to the day when our rumors aren't jokes.
With all the young talent on this team if we only had a monster legit clean up hitter. A real one from this year not 5 years ago. We'd have one scary line up.
Wiets
NO to Dye....Aubrey is going to be a fine First baseman...Dye cant play first, and is too old, get a good 3rd sacker until Bell is ready.
next season? Mauer, no question. He is as polish a player as they come, and can pretty much do it all
Beyond next season, Wieters, no question. He's Mauer with more potential for power. It might not be to long when we are actually caring about who wins the MVP because Wieters might garner some attention.
hey Rock, any hint on the orioles try to trade for blanks
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I haven't heard any specifics on deals. I'll write whatever I know. - Roch
Right now? Mauer
Over the next 10 years? Wieters
I would take Wieters because Mauer has one year before he becomes unaffordable as a free agent.
Javy Lopez at first?
Am I missing something here? Is this the same O's catcher from 2006? I thought he's retired...
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They tried him at first base a few years ago. - Roch
No on Dye. I'd much rather see Adam LaRoche signed. I wouldn't be that upset with getting LaRouche, maybe Troy Glaus for a one year plus and option; Edwin Jackson for the rotation; Mike Gonzalez for the pen; even resigning Erik Bedard, but only for an heavily incentive laced contract. Guess that would all be asking too much eh?
As far as Mauer or Weiters; tough call. Mauer is a proven talent; Wieters so far isn't. Wieters being a switch hitter is a plus.
Brummie,
Come on, seriously, you can do better than whine about not signing a washed up Dye. That's what previous regimes would have presented us with. My god, I've had enough of that garbage!
Jedd,
One very big difference between us and Boston. And no it's not just about dollars. They have established pitching, and a well stocked farm system. Like them or not, Boston puts a lot of focus on draft & develop. Can you say Lester, Ellsbury, Pedoria, & even Hanley Ramierez. So now after a couple of solid years, you want to put a serious dent in the system for a bat. Because that deal is probably going to cost Tillman, Arrieta/Erbe, maybe even Reimold. Trust me, San Diego is in a position of not having to trade the guy. They will call the shots on a steep asking price, and well they should.
The one true axiom on baseball that proves true time and again, is you never have enough pitching.
I'll take my chances finding a bat in FA. We are really looking for RH power. I'd settle on a 2-3 yr deal on Vlad as a DH, spend some money on a closer, maybe Wagner, and find a serviceable middle of rotation arm. A Randy Wolf, Braden Looper or perhaps Doug Davis. If we need someone to hold down 3rd, I'd even take a flyer on Joe Crede (incentive laden 2 yr deal tops).
And let's not forget that Ramon Hernandez also got some limited time at 1B.
Heard something that Dye is supposedly done, the he seemed to just lose it very quickly and all at once. Bat speed gone, range gone, speed gone. He's not a 20-30HR hitter anymore.
His declining stats should prove that he's definitely on the verge of being terrible and I would hate for the Orioles to sign him and think he's the middle of the order answer.
At this point you'd have to take Mauer over Wieters. We don't know what Wieters is capable of yet, but Mauer has proven himself to be one of MLB's best hitters for years now.
In a couple more seasons the argument might be different.
That sports writer that chose Cabrera over Mauer needs to have his votings rights revoked. I heard he's from Detroit and picks Detroit players over the clear deserving winner. Hope someone does something about him.
I'd have to go with Mauer until I actually see what Wieters is all about.
So Jedd - Are you suggesting that we (a REBUILDING team) dump all of our young talent to get just ONE Gonzo back in return?
Some people amaze me.
Please join me in welcoming my first born to Orioles nation. Camden Miller O'Reilly was born this past Saturday. Roch please don't hesistate to mention his name to the MASN brass when they are thinking of the '10 commercials!
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Many, many congratulations! All the best to you and your family. Did you consider "Eutaw" for a middle name? - Roch
Roch,
Mark Zinno reported that the one dissenting vote came from a writer in Detroit who voted for Miguel Cabrera. Anyway, while Mauer is a monster player, I'll be happy to have Matt W behind the plate for us, particularly over the next three years. By then I'd expect big things as he fills out and matures in the knowledge of the game. He's an impressive player. Let's hope he plays here for many years to come.
Jim
All arb. years and dollars aside, Mauer. He is the Unanimous AL MVP and if he stays healthy, a future Hall of Famer. Weiters showed great improvement and he's made the transition from prospect status to a legitmate major league catcher, but he has a ways to go before he reaches the level of Joe Mauer.
Roch,
Maybe Laroche at first is a good idea. He's left-handed, but he's a well known second half hitter, something the Os desperately need. Hitting is contagious. Would he be willing to come here is the question.
What do you think? Also, what's his defense like?
Baldy
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I have to assume if the money was right, he'd be interested. But I can't give you a firm answer on that. Doubt if he's ever been asked about the Orioles. I read a few reports that say he's got a great glove. Another one referred to him as a "decent" first baseman. I guess it depends who you ask. - Roch
I think Capella said it best. I love Wieters, I was a catcher all growing up and hes my favorite Oriole, but you cant argue with Mauer's hitting ability. He is truly special. Hopefully both of their faces will be brozed and put in the hall one day!
Roch
Big Fan of the Blog! Do not post too often, but have two comments:
1) Why do you say "at the right cost"?? Plenty of other teams are overspending on certain players. Angelos can as well.
2) You say you will post what you know, but you continue to "sit" on the Mora/Pie story from earlier in the year?
Have a Good Turkey Day!
Mike
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I don't have any stories about Mora. The one about Pie that I assume you're referring to doesn't involve him. And that's different from me posting any news that I have. That story isn't news. - Roch
Dude, Brummie, Die SLUMPED horribly at the end of the year. I can attest to this as he was on my fantasy squad's bench the whole time. He's what YOU would call a retread so just stop right there. He was pretty much just like a right handed version of Luke Scott, had a killer 1st half and then....nothing.
If we could get him strictly as a DH and perhaps platoon guy with Luke (also strictly DH) I'd say go for it.
No way on Dye at 1st, that would be a waste of money. I'd rather see Aubrey there. We should look at Glaus(if healthy), or Beltre, and maybe Vlad to DH for 1 or 2 years. I wouldn't mind going with Wiggington/Scott/Aubrey at 1st, but we can't start the season with Wiggington as our starting 3rd baseman. Would also go for Bay, and use Reimold as DH or trade him, but I guess that is out of the question, how sad. I'd give up tillman, Reimold and a couple mid-level prospects not name Arrittia, Britton or Erbe, for AG, if we get an extention. I wouldn't trade Matusz, period! That would give us:
Roberts 2B
Jones CF
Markakis RF
Adrain Gonzales 1B
Bay LF
Glaus/Beltre 3B
Vlad DH
Wieters C
Isturz SS
Tell me we couldn't win with that line up. And don't tell me its not doable, its not we can't do it, we just won't do it. Like I said, how sad! One thing I can tell you is we will never win as long as we keep letting NY and Boston grab up all the good players.
Wieters or Mauer? Right now Mauer, but ask me again at the end of next season.
Ummmmm, Guys. Mauer has freakin power. Wieters' power may show sooner and all things considered, yes I'd take Matt at this point strictly because, ummmm well he won't be a free agent next year or occupy 30+% of our payroll for the next 6 years or so.
It'd be a darn shame if the Twins can't sign Morneau and keep the M & M bros. together, just saying...
Mauer, it isnt even a contest. Dye is desperate, his career is over. Why havent the Orioles jumped into free agency with both feet ? I hate the passive approach. The O's should take the lead and show people like Lackey and Figgons they are serious about winning. Waiting on Bell and Snyder is a bad idea. Thought we were grading on wins and losses ?
Roch
Have you heard any stories about Adam Jones being on the Ravens sideline in a Unitas jersey yesterday, being asked to remove it, and him then leaving? Thanks.
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Didn't hear that. Sounds fishy. Can't imagine the Ravens would be offended that he was wearing a Unitas jersey. You might want to check with Dan Kolko, since he writes about the Ravens and was at the stadium yesterday. - Roch
Roch,
I think you have answered this before but the search function cannot find it. Is your blog RSS feed-abled and if so how do I subscribe?
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Hi Pat, On Roch's blog page (this one, not his 'archive': http://www.masnsports.com/index_blog_roch.html), just below the list of his most recent entries, there's a line that reads "Archives: Orioles | Ravens | All | RSS". If you click on the 'RSS' you'll be taken right to the feed and you'll also see the option to subscribe. Let us know if you have any trouble. -MASN Staff
Weiters. As good as Mauer is, Weiters just might be better. I will go with the bird in the hand, espcially the Orioles bird in the hand:)
God bless,
M.T.P.
Northern VA Orioles Fan
I just saw that Marc Bulger will be out 3-6 weeks with a broken leg. How is that even remotely possible? It's not his pinky or his pinky toe. Does this mean that Bergesen is the slowest healer on Earth (something I highly doubt) because he "maybe" had a hairline fracture and still isn't 100%? Sorry, I know these are silly questions, but I don't understand how a quarterback misses 3-6 weeks with a freakin broken leg.
"They might be more inclined to give Nolan Reimold a mitt and hit him ground balls in spring training if they can acquire a left fielder."
If they put Reimold at 1B, it would make more sense to put Jones in LF and Pie in CF rather than aquiring a LF. We also still have Scott who is able to play LF.
Mauer or Wieters?
Mauer. He is a proven talent. He has proven he can do it day in and day out. He won the MVP this year, he's been an MVP year in and year out. He's carried the Twins and is all out awesome.
That being said I like Matt Wieters, tremendous upside, but Mauer is REALLY good.
That's like asking Josh Bell or Alex Rodriguez.
Roch,
Since you're dying to know, the writer who voted for Miggy was Keizo Konishi of Kyodo News. If this pharmacy thing at UNC doesn't work out, maybe I can find work at MASN...
If I could have either catcher for just 2010 and 2011, I'd go with Mauer. If I had to have one to build a team around for the next decade I'd take my chances with Matt.
Just think ahead to November 2012 when FA Joe Mauer declares he'd be willing to play C,1B,3B,and DH on a pennant winning team like the Orioles. Man, won't that be something to give thanks for.
I second what jedd said.... i understand that they probably won't be able to trade for a gonzalez or a fielder. I would just like to aquire a bat that has some upside and is in the prime of their career. We need to focus on power, on base percentage and defense. Blalock, Beltre, Dye are either on the wrong side of 35, their OBP is too low, or they are hurt too often. Let's get someone in here that will really make a difference.
we have money to spend and if we get creative (3 way trade ideas) we might have the prospects to pull this off as well.
Roch- do you think we have enough inventory to get a quality cleanup hitter like joey votto from the reds? Can you think of some other guys that would fit this mold?
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It always comes down to whether the other team wants the top young pitchers in the system, which MacPhail won't surrender. I'm not convinced that the Reds will trade Votto, and I certainly don't think they'd accept second-tier pitching in return. - Roch
Personally, I'd like to see the Orioles pursue Branyan. He would be a cheap option at first base. Seriously, look what he did in that mammoth of a ballpark in Seattle.
To answer your question, I'd rather have Wieters. The only things that are making me choose him over Mauer are age and the ability to switch hit.
Roch,
I originally was pushing for Uggla to play third but now I’m thinking I would rather have him at DH and, eventually, the role that Wiggington (sp?) did a poor job of this year. That would allow for a solid glove at the corners with Aubrey at first. I think he might surprise some people if he gets a chance to play.
I know that we Luke but Uggla is a more consistent hitter with solid RBI numbers.
Of the RH legitimate clean up hitters that we have an HONEST chance to obtain this year whom would you prefer?
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We'd first have to define "honest chance." And it's hard to say when we don't know what other clubs are asking for in a trade. I'm not all that excited about the corner infielders on the free-agent market. - Roch
On Joey Votto -
Somewhere on a Reds message board, someone is wondering what it would take to pry Adam Jones or Matt Wieters from Baltimore.
Mauer. Sorry friends, but Mauer is an MVP. Wieters is a tremendous potential player, but hes still a ways away. Its not even a close question, and 2 years from now it might be different.
Thanks! Eutaw might not have gone over too well with the Mrs.
BMS: So we are talking again? LOL
I never said I wanted Dye on the team. I just said that people should not get their hopes up over him signing here or our fearless GM making an honest effort to sign him.
Pat...yep, there's an RSS feed here...I have it on my BlackBerry and I can't remember how to set these up...but the address is imperative I guess..
http://masnsports.com/rss_kubatko.xml
As usual, any time that I can be of little or no help at all...lemme know!
TX O's Fan & steve in phx
Let's start with TX - A Tillman, Arrieta, + Others packageis fine with me. Possibly even with Reimold.
Tillman will be great (probably) - Gonzalez IS great - definitely. So I'll take certainty. And pitchers get injured way more than position players. Fact. So no "Bedard" trade comparisons. Bedard had an unreliable health history before that trade. And if you have to put Reimold in a trade - it's a tough loss, but he has a Bedard level of health in my opinion. Like Bedard he's incredible. I love Reimold's heart and the skill he has. But he's not that much younger than Gonzalez if memory serves me. Maybe 1-2 years. And that's a "trading from strength" position since we have Pie to replace him in the outfield.
Steve in Phx - It's not "Depleting the farm system." By trading 2 top tier (major league ready) prospects and 2 lower farm system ones. If that's "Depleting" the farm system then we need to be ridiculing our farm system a bit more. I think our farm system is fine. It's what we are actually improving at. International and free agent signings are pathetic. No possible argument can be made there. This was a STRONG year for international players and we got basically nothing from it.
And the "2 year rental" argument which I'm not sure if anybody's made yet as I didn't go through all the comments. It's only a "2 year rental" if the O's don't give him a top 5-10 contract extension offer. Now with a payroll at $40 million next year (anybody offended by that?) I think we can afford a top 5-10 contract on our food stamp level payroll.
I was reading that each team got around $80 million in rev shares last year. I believe it was in the NY Times. So we got an $80 million MLB welfare check on top of the profits we made off of MASN, Tickets, Concessions, Parking etc. So if it's the same or more next year. O's will be in the World Series of profits for a few years in a row now as they spend nothing on top free agents and international players.
Be excited about that when our big FA signings are washed up multiple choice: Beltre, Delgado, Dye, fill in the blank while the Red Sox get better by going after Adrian Gonzalez while the Yankees somehow sign Lackey and or trade for Roy Halladay. If you are rebuilding while everybody else is restocking you are going to lose everytime.
Roch,
Would definitely take Mauer as of right now but over the next 5 years I'd probably go with Wieters. He doesn't have some of the nagging injuries that Mauer is starting to get which will force him to probably move over to 1st Base.
I believe it was Keith Law (a baseball writer for ESPN) who was a guest on the Anita Marks show sometime last week, and they were talking about Dye. He was saying that he believes Dye is done, at least no longer capable of playing every day. He noted that his bat has slowed down, and when he watched Dye play in August, he was obviously exhausted. I'd be very disappointed...VERY disappointed...if Dye becomes a "solution" for the O's next year.
You gotta take Mauer and there just isn't a question. He was the MVP and he's willing to sign an extension. Wieters has that potential, but is farther from FA. Let's just say potential and youth balance out and you call it a wash, you still have the fact that Mauer seems to want to be the Cal Ripken of the twins and Wieters, unless he fires Boras, wants $$$.
Roch,
I think you have answered this before but the search function cannot find it. Is your blog RSS feed-abled and if so how do I subscribe?
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Here's the answer I received from someone at the web studio: On your landing page, right below the list of your most recent entries, there's a line that reads "Archives: Orioles | Ravens | All | RSS". There's also a little symbol beside RSS that's sort of like the universal symbol for an RSS feed. All readers have to do is click on the RSS and they'll be taken right to the feed and given the option to subscribe. - Roch