One of the most important tasks of the offseason is done. The Orioles set their major league coaching staff for 2022. Business that the lockout couldn't touch.
Upon review, there isn't anything unexpected in the composition beyond a new title for Fredi González, who becomes the first bench coach under manager Brandon Hyde after serving as major league coach for two seasons. There won't be a dramatic shift in his duties. He pretty much handled the responsibilities in the past.
Major league...
Tommy Wilson's interest in the Triple-A Rule 5 draft hovered at such a low level that it kept him away from the online broadcast and couldn't interrupt his daily workouts at Cal State-Fullerton.
He grabbed his phone and checked social media on a couple of occasions, wondering whether he'd leave the Mets organization. Much closer to curiosity than obsessing.
"I didn't know if I was protected or not, so I was kind of waiting to see or waiting to hear," he said. "Then I found out on...
The Orioles can be predictable in many aspects of the operation, especially after years of covering the team, but they also possess the skills to go left when I'm shaded toward the right.
Stay bent at the knees and be prepared to pivot.
I've been burned in offseason coverage a few times. Here are a half-dozen 2021 examples off the top of my head:
Pitcher Chris Ellis outrighted Pretty much every early bullpen projection for 2022 had Ellis in a bulk relief role if he wasn't starting. Which, of...
The Orioles had a quiet weekend, at least on the transactions wire. They could have been working on their minor league coaching staffs or engaging in negotiations with representatives for minor league free agents. But nothing public to digest.
Their work isn't done behind the plate, but Jacob Nottingham is a heavy favorite to make up half the catching duo on opening day because he's under contract.
It doesn't take much more than that.
The 40-man roster is lacking a backstop and that won't...
Another week has passed since my last shallow dive into my mailbag. And if anyone is well-versed in being shallow, it's this guy.
As usual, you're getting the raw and untampered version. The only editing is done if I catch the wrong punctuation in a sentence or change my mind about using profanity.
Also, my mailbag strips down to its underwear, slaps on a coat of oil and wins every posedown.
Are players chosen in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft required to stay on the team the entire...
The Orioles signed five more pitchers this week to minor league deals, according to Major League Baseball's transactions page: Right-handers Bryan Bautista, Raynel Duran, Wilton Rondon and Darwin Caballero, and left-hander Noelin Cuevas. They also signed right-hander Jarlin Guerrero on Monday, which I noted a few days later.
I didn't think the page was incorrect, but I checked anyway for confirmation. You're safe to run with it.
These are the signings that don't garner much attention....
The signing of Rougned Odor for the 2022 season fit the usual description of a placeholder for the Orioles until their top middle infield prospects are ready to hold down full-time jobs in the majors.
Until the club decides where to spread out its shortstops, including Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg.
The Orioles waited until Aug. 24 to recall Jahmai Jones from Triple-A Norfolk, after his bat had cooled and he appeared to grow a little more comfortable in his reintroduction to second base....
Areas that the Orioles must address during the offseason, when they're able to function normally again post-lockout, may or may not include the outfield.
How's that for a definitive statement?
The Orioles signed catcher Jacob Nottingham to a minor league contract last week, but they still don't have a backstop on the 40-man roster. They aren't done and could offer a major league deal after a new collective bargaining agreement allows it, along with at least one more minor league pact.
The...
The Orioles made two selections in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft to bring the roster to a full 38, again relying on analytic data to improve their relief depth.
They had the first overall pick and used it on sidearming right-hander Nolan Hoffman of the Mariners organization. They also chose right-hander Cole Uvila from the Rangers in the second round.
Hoffman, 24, was a fifth round draft pick in 2018 out of Texas A&M. He hasn't pitched above high Single-A.
Hoffman has posted a...
The Orioles will begin announcing their selections in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft today after making a much-needed move to address their catching deficiency.
Jacob Nottingham has signed a minor league deal that likely includes an invitation to spring training. The team revealed the transaction this morning, but it's listed in Baseball-Reference.com as happening on Dec. 1.
Nottingham, 26, can provide an option at a position that's lost Pedro Severino, Austin Wynns and Nick Ciuffo...
Baseball's lockout and the slamming of brakes on offseason business only impacts the major league side. The minors are proceeding as usual, with their Winter Meetings in Orlando going along uninterrupted.
And largely in silence.
If an event is held and no one is there, does it make a sound?
It used to be for the minor league people anyway. The majors crashed the party and took over, with media descending upon the hotel site and crowding the lobby area while team executives worked trades,...
The friendship began to evolve on the back fields at the spring training complex. Two first basemen taking ground balls during workouts, their careers in vastly different phases. One of them a mentor, acquired for his power at the plate and influence inside the clubhouse, the other an eager young prospect.
Mark Trumbo had joined his fourth organization since his major league debut six years earlier, with the Orioles sending catcher Steve Clevenger to the Mariners in a Dec. 2, 2015 trade. Trumbo...
My mailbag initiated negotiations with me this weekend and we reached an agreement that I'd respond to a few more questions rather than wait until it's overflowing.
I need to find something else to do in my spare time.
There's no editing for clarity, length, brevity, style or Harry Styles. We roll like the tide.
Also, my small mailbag knocks down your giant mailbag with a slingshot.
Why Jordan Lyles? I got this one a lot and tried to bounce some theories off you. I should have aimed a little...
Even when Major League Baseball was fully operational and a lockout only meant that a guard needed to open the gate to the players' lot after hours, the Orioles welcomed and encouraged the increased attention on their minor league system. The talent pumped into it via the draft and international signings, the developmental tools and personnel spliced into the organization, a modernized approach that the rest of the industry was embracing.
Can't stand the sight of the mounting losses that...
The lockout that occurred seconds after the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement could produce the largest gap between an Orioles free agent agreement and actual signing in franchise history.
Pitcher Jordan Lyles accepted the terms of his one-year, $7 million deal, which also contained an $11 million club option for 2023 and $1 million buyout. But the ink hasn't dried on the contract because a pen never touched paper.
The transaction is pending a physical that can't be done until...
The sides met multiple times again yesterday, Major League Baseball's negotiating committee and representatives for the MLB Players Association engaging in face-to-face discussions that, according to various reports, lasted about as long as it takes to get through self-checkout at the grocery store.
Negotiations were shut down by the middle of the afternoon, with the sport expected to follow after midnight.
MLB Network's Jon Heyman tweeted that owners voted unanimously to institute the...
The Orioles took a few swipes at their 40-man roster yesterday, including how they outrighted infielder Richie Martin to Triple-A Norfolk. The former Rule 5 pick couldn't decline because it was his first outright.
Martin stays in the organization and can compete for a job in spring training or provide more depth in the organization.
Injuries have messed with Martin the past few years. Who knows how badly they've hurt his development - the factures in both wrists and a broken hamate bone?
They...
While the Orioles are busy making contract decisions on their arbitration eligible players, with the deadline set at 8 p.m. tonight, they also cleared two spots on a 40-man roster that's no longer filled.
Reliever Brooks Kriske was released to pursue an international opportunity, according to the club, confirming news that appeared this morning on baseball's transactions page. And the Nationals claimed infielder Lucius Fox off waivers, ending his stay with the Orioles only two weeks after...
