Wondering about Dodgers, Santander and Pérez

Questions and curiosities. The offseason is full of them.

Some recent examples include how we’ve pondered whether Zach Eflin or Grayson Rodriguez would be the No. 1 starter as the roster’s currently set, who’s the No. 5 starter, the chances that Jackson Holliday platoons, how much Heston Kjerstad plays, whether the Orioles trade for Luis Castillo, if the Orioles are done making moves for position players, whether Nick Gordon will make the team, whether Albert Suárez should start or relieve, who’s a dark horse candidate, how Tomoyuki Sugano will adapt, which starters go to the bullpen, whether the Orioles can count on Jorge Mateo on Opening Day, whether the Orioles would trade Ryan Mountcastle, and how good the Orioles’ bullpen is.

Let’s do some quick hits as we plow through another week of the offseason. It’s more of a light dusting compared to the heavier accumulations.

Are the Dodgers good for the Orioles?

Probably not if there’s a rematch of the 1966 World Series, but Juan Soto seems like the only huge free agent fish who wiggled away from this juggernaut. The rich get obscenely richer.

The Dodgers are preventing stars from shining in the American League East, the list including Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki and former Orioles reliever Tanner Scott. The Blue Jays in particular are linked to many of them, only to be left scrambling again. The Yankees and Red Sox also have been runners-up.

The Orioles host the Dodgers in a Sept. 5-7 weekend series. Otherwise, they’re someone else’s problem.

How much will the Orioles miss Anthony Santander?

Maybe a little, maybe a lot.

Maybe not at all.

Much of it falls upon new right fielder Tyler O’Neill, who signed a three-year, $49.5 million deal while Santander waited for the right offer from another team. Santander is joining the Blue Jays – yeah, they finally got one - on a five-year pact, taking a bat that produced 44 home runs north of the border. O’Neill hit 31 last season with the Red Sox and offers a higher on-base percentage. He also calculates better defensively.

The responsibility of replacing Santander’s power isn’t entirely on O’Neill’s shoulders.

Does Cionel Pérez extend his homerless streak through another season?

It’s built quietly, generating little to no buzz.

Pérez, one of the club’s left-handed, high-leverage relievers, logged 62 appearances and 53 2/3 innings without surrendering a home run. No hitter has taken him deep since the Guardians’ Josh Naylor and Josh Bell on May 31, 2023 at Camden Yards. Nothing over the next 41 games.

Add in the 62 last summer and his streak has reached 103.

The last non-Josh to homer was the Rays’ Christian Bethancourt on July 15, 2022. Pérez allowed only two in his first season with the Orioles. He surrendered five in 25 games with the Reds in 2021, one more than his Orioles total in 193.

Pérez also has another goal. He made one appearance in 2024, went on the injured list with a right oblique strain and missed a month. He’d like to avoid an abrupt and prolonged departure.

Feel free to share your responses.