Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski

O's fans again hit with realization that looking to future is not easy

O's fans again hit with realization that looking to future is not easy
The phrase "No pain, no gain" is one that Orioles fans can relate to this week. They clearly didn't feel physical pain, but there was some distress over the trade of José Iglesias. As there was over trades of Jonathan Villar and Dylan Bundy last December and others during the 2020 season when bullpen vets like Mychal Givens, Miguel Castro and Richard Bleier were dealt. Orioles fans came to know and like these players. They became attached to them, which is normal for passionate fans. The...
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Steve Melewski

Still in talent-addition mode, O's part with popular shortstop

Still in talent-addition mode, O's part with popular shortstop
The rebuilding of the Orioles was always going to be hard for fans. The non-tender deadline for two straight years has been hard on fans. The trades last year of right-hander Dylan Bundy and infielder Jonathan Villar. The trade last night of shortstop José Iglesias. For a few hours yesterday - after news of an agreement with Yolmer Sánchez - some fans wondered about the possibility of a strong up-the-middle defense of Iglesias and Sánchez. Then the Orioles, as they did with those deals...
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Steve Melewski

Taking a look at the Pedro Severino agreement

Taking a look at the Pedro Severino agreement
The Orioles provided a vote of confidence yesterday in 27-year-old catcher Pedro Severino. A potential non-tender candidate when the deadline hits tonight, the Orioles made a pre-emptive move to retain a player that has played in 144 games for the club over the last two seasons. The O's agreed to $1.825 million deal with Severino to avoid a possible arbitration hearing and keep him with the club that claimed him off waivers from the Washington Nationals on March 23, 2019. The agreement was...
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Steve Melewski

The non-tender date approaches for the Orioles

The non-tender date approaches for the Orioles
The deadline for teams to offer arbitration eligible players contracts for 2021 is tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The Orioles have some decisions to make with seven remaining arbitration-eligible players. Let's take a look at them in alphabetical order and list the three projected salaries that MLBTradeRumors.com has listed after the shortened 60-game 2020 season. They came to the three figures this way: The first model dealt only with the stats from the 60-game season. The second...
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Steve Melewski

A few questions for O's fans

A few questions for O's fans
Today we throw a few questions your way. We didn't make it to 10, but that was because we're looking at a few recent blog entries and topics here and revisiting them. Then we'll ponder a few questions. * We recently wondered if an O's streak that started in 2006 will end soon. The Orioles have made at least one Rule 5 pick in every such draft dating to 2005. The was the last year the Orioles did not select in that draft. As noted in this entry, that was the year that the movie "Fever...
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Steve Melewski

Will 2021 see O's top prospect in Baltimore?

Will 2021 see O's top prospect in Baltimore?
It is not a pressing question, but rather an intriguing one for the Orioles: Will catcher Adley Rutschman make his major league debut in 2021? That might seem quite unlikely for a player with just 130 professional at-bats and 12 games of full-season ball - and that at low Single-A - on his resume. But of all the prospects that were fortunate enough to play at alternate camps this year with no minor league season, he may have gained among the most. It's pretty clear that Rutschman got in...
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Steve Melewski

O's free agent pitching additions could have familiar look

O's free agent pitching additions could have familiar look
When he spoke to reporters early this month, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said the club would pursue signing starting pitching this winter and heading into the 2021 season. They could add major or minor league free agents. The Orioles rotation ended last season in a pretty good spot after Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer made their major league debuts. Jorge López had some nice moments as well, while John Means and Alex Cobb were both pitching well at the end of...
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Steve Melewski

When signing international amateurs, your mileage may vary

When signing international amateurs, your mileage may vary
How much would a big league team pay to sign an amateur who becomes a future Most Valuable Player candidate? Many millions, no doubt. But when you sign a young talent, no one can know for sure what will happen many years later. When signing teenagers out of high school and international amateurs at 16 and 17, teams have to project down the road. How big will that player grow to be physically? Does he have the work ethic needed to become a big league regular? Will injuries cause issues? For the...
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Steve Melewski

A trade O's fans may eventually be quite thankful for

A trade O's fans may eventually be quite thankful for
Happy Thanksgiving, Birdland! I hope everyone gets to be with their family today, but we know that in 2020, that is probably not happening for everyone. Let this be the last Thanksgiving like this one. But here is a wish for all of Birdland to be healthy and happy on this holiday. I'm thankful for the wonderful community of Orioles fans that frequent this blog daily. As it relates to the Orioles, the club may be very thankful at some point for the return they got in the Manny Machado trade....
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Steve Melewski

Checking in with another Orioles Q&A

Checking in with another Orioles Q&A
It's been a while since we have done this here, so away we go. Time for another day when the readers bring up the topics, and we all dive in with opinions and try to answers any and all questions about the Orioles. Readers, please ask questions in the comments section and I'll do my best to provide answers. As always, others are most welcome to add their thoughts. Some recent topics written about here that could be part of the discussion include the 40-man roster and the recent addition of...
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Steve Melewski

Now on the 40-man, Rylan Bannon readies for run at the roster

Now on the 40-man, Rylan Bannon readies for run at the roster
When his cell phone rang Friday, infielder Rylan Bannon was outside doing work around the house. He didn't see a name listed, so it was not one of his usual friends or contacts calling. But this was a call he was going to answer. "It was a random number, it said Baltimore, so I knew I had to answer that one," Bannon said in a Zoom interview yesterday. That was a good move, as the Orioles were calling to tell him he had made their 40-man roster. That is a big deal for any player and a nice...
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Steve Melewski

Talking O's farm with MLBPipeline.com's Jonathan Mayo

Talking O's farm with MLBPipeline.com's Jonathan Mayo
The Orioles organization is "on the move." That was the conclusion of MLBPipeline.com when the outlet recently published an article about the state of the O's farm system. Jonathan Mayo wrote that article and joined me recently for a Zoom interview to talk about the Orioles minor leagues. The O's are now No. 8, up from No. 13, in the latest MLBPipeline.com organizational rankings. That bodes well as the Orioles look to turn their rebuilding efforts into more wins on the field. "There is a...
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Steve Melewski

An O's streak could end in a few weeks

An O's streak could end in a few weeks
It was a year when National Football League teams in Indianapolis and Dallas opened new stadiums. The movie "Fever Pitch" debuted at the box office. The Chicago White Sox won their first World Series since 1917. The Tampa Bay baseball team was still named the Devil Rays. The year was 2005, and that was the last time the Orioles did not make a pick in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft. In fact, in three of the last four drafts, the Orioles have taken more than one player. In 2016 they...
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Steve Melewski

O's farm has improved and six 40-man adds is latest example

O's farm has improved and six 40-man adds is latest example
The Orioles made a nice statement Friday about their improving farm system. A farm system that has risen to No. 8 in the game in the MLBPipeline.com organizational rankings. They protected six players from that farm from being taken in next month's Rule 5 draft. They added all six last night to their 40-man roster. They added pitchers Michael Baumann, Alexander Wells, Zac Lowther and Isaac Mattson, outfielder Yusniel Diaz and infielder Rylan Bannon. Some in the game speculate that after not...
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Steve Melewski

Talking about creating more action in the game

Talking about creating more action in the game
As he left his job running the Chicago Cubs baseball operations this week, Theo Epstein addressed what he sees as issues in baseball. Issues that he believes he helped create and now wonders if the game will fix them. The issues involve a lack of action in the sport. There are too many strikeouts, too much swing and miss. Strikeouts are fun if you're the pitcher, but they are piling up more and more each year. More whiffs and fewer balls in play. Fewer chances for plays at the plate and great...
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Steve Melewski

A former farmhand with thoughts on O's prospects

A former farmhand with thoughts on O's prospects
He's not a scout, a pitching coach or someone that works in a baseball front office. But he's got an interesting perspective and I've known that since the first time I interviewed left-hander Brian Gonzalez, which was probably not long after the Orioles drafted him in 2014. After seven seasons in Birdland, Gonzalez left the flock recently to sign a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies. He said it was very hard to leave the Orioles, the only pro team he ever knew. And make no...
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Steve Melewski

Rule 5 protection date approaches for the Orioles

Rule 5 protection date approaches for the Orioles
So a decision day is coming for the Orioles on Friday, unless they make some announcements before that. They have to decide which players to add to their 40-man roster to protect them from the December Rule 5 draft. They have five openings on their 40-man roster. That certainly does not guarantee they protect five players. They can protect as few as they want or as many as five, unless they clear any more roster spots before Friday, which seems unlikely. In looking back at previous...
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Steve Melewski

Is a frigid free agent season looming?

Is a frigid free agent season looming?
After a season of uncertainty - no one knew in July if the year would be played to the finish - baseball now faces more uncertainty. This one involves not games, but salaries and free agency. Will it be a chilly winter - and we are not talking about air temperatures? It could wind up downright frosty and we're not talking about precipitation. There is a feeling around the game that the top free agents this winter may still get their money, but after that elite group, the dollars won't be...
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Steve Melewski

A look at one absolute roller coaster of a season

A look at one absolute roller coaster of a season
When the music stops at the beginning of or during the 2021 season, will DJ Stewart have a chair? After his own crazy season inside baseball's own crazy 2020 season, will Stewart's brief but remarkable offensive display last summer carry him back to the roster next season? In an outfield that includes Anthony Santander, Austin Hays, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, a returning Trey Mancini (who could be at first base) and is awaiting the arrival of Yusniel Diaz, will Stewart find a...
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Steve Melewski

Is this player a free agent match for the Orioles?

Is this player a free agent match for the Orioles?
It seems very unlikely to happen to me, but when an online sportsbook placed odds of big league teams signing specific free agents, the Orioles got on the list with one player. It was a player that has yet to play in the majors. And the Orioles were not listed as one of the favorites to sign infielder Ha-Seong Kim of the Korea Baseball Organization. In fact they are the seventh-betting favorite. Here is how BetOnline.ag lists the current contenders: 4/1 - Los Angeles Angels 17/4 - Toronto Blue...
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