Rewinding an Orioles roster review

Rewinding an Orioles roster review
Among the inconveniences of baseball's lockout is the delay in attacking roster deficiencies with major league free agent signings. Get ready for the frenzy of activity after a new collective bargaining agreement is in place, with teams racing through the green light at speeds that could leave many competitors in the dust. The Orioles tossed a starting pitcher and second baseman in their cart before the market closed. Jordan Lyles isn't listed on the 40-man roster, which holds at 38, because...

Rough road trying to guess Orioles roster in December

Rough road trying to guess Orioles roster in December
Among my yearly winter endeavors, and I'm not referencing the non-baseball stuff like ingesting too much pre-workout powder and listening to my heart perform the drum solo in "Moby Dick," is offering Orioles roster suggestions to a national publication. In December. Accuracy is optional. An extremely difficult task is much more challenging in 2021 with baseball's lockout, which denies teams permission to tamper with their 40-man rosters. Holes in lineups, rotations, bullpens and benches...

Wondering whether Orioles acquire another outfielder

Wondering whether Orioles acquire another outfielder
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...

Minors matter more to Orioles during lockout

Minors matter more to Orioles during lockout
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...

Taking a last look at possible protections in Rule 5 draft

Taking a last look at possible protections in Rule 5 draft
The Orioles' 40-man roster is holding at 32 players and must be set by Friday, before a Rule 5 draft at the Winter Meetings that remains in limbo, as well as Orlando, with the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias will complete the task of protecting players, which follows the many transactions that cleared room for them. There will be the obvious calls and probably at least one that seems possible but falls a little short of a...

Can Stewart solidify his spot on 40-man roster?

Can Stewart solidify his spot on 40-man roster?
Earlier this week, I wrote about outfielder Yusniel Diaz and the importance of staying healthy in 2022 and putting up the kind of numbers that finally get him to the majors - and at least keep him on the 40-man roster. Then there's DJ Stewart, also an outfielder who brought big-time expectations into the organization. Diaz after being the central figure in the Manny Machado trade with the Dodgers. Stewart after being the 25th overall selection in the 2015 draft out of Florida State...

Gibbons on Diaz, Stowers and Neustrom

Gibbons on Diaz, Stowers and Neustrom
There are plenty of people inside the Orioles organization who are convinced that, if Yusniel Diaz could stay healthy and play in an uninterrupted stretch of games, he'd be a major league outfielder and a hitter capable of occupying a spot in the middle of the order. Diaz also has some doubters, but the argument is moot if injuries keep dragging him down. Viewed as the jewel of the 2018 Manny Machado trade with the Dodgers, Diaz left a May 9 game in Jacksonville with a right quadriceps strain...

Defense doesn't deserve diminished attention in offseason

Defense doesn't deserve diminished attention in offseason
Many of the Orioles' 2021 statistics won't be shocking when plucked from the team's season summary, but finishing with the third-highest fielding percentage in the American League at .987 and the sixth-highest in the majors is an unexpected nugget. Upgrading the defense must remain a priority, as it's been in past winters. The Orioles claimed former Gold Glove winner Yolmer Sánchez off waivers Oct. 30 to play second base, but he didn't make it out of camp and they decided to experiment...

Putting Hays in corner an appealing move for Orioles

Putting Hays in corner an appealing move for Orioles
Among the important developments for the Orioles in 2021, and it requires looking past the record, run differential, negative WARs and the rest, is the ability of Austin Hays to stay in the lineup after his return from a strained left hamstring on June 11 and play in a career-high 131 games. A mark that wasn't hard to surpass considering the previous best was 33 last summer. Hays accumulated 529 plate appearances, and he built on a reputation for finishing strong while others tend to whither....

Jays power past Means and Orioles in 10-1 win (updated)

Jays power past Means and Orioles in 10-1 win (updated)
Nothing about today's start in Toronto was capable of lowering manager Brandon Hyde's opinion of John Means. The left-hander's status as the Orioles' ace of a young pitching staff. The expectation that he'll hold the ball on opening day 2022. Hyde just hoped to get a sharper outing, for the left-hander's frame of mind heading into the offseason and his club as it tried to rattle the Blue Jays' cage. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Teoscar Hernández homered off Means in a three-run first...

Orioles and Blue Jays lineups

Orioles and Blue Jays lineups
Ryan McKenna is in left field and Nick Ciuffo is behind the plate this afternoon for the Orioles' penultimate game of the 2021 season. Pat Valaika is starting at second base again. His home run last night was his first since July 23. Austin Hays has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games against the Blue Jays, going 18-for-58 (.310) with four doubles, a triple, two home runs, eight RBIs and a .834 OPS. Hays has reached base safely in 18 straight games since Sept. 12, the longest active streak...

Orioles shut out in penultimate home game of 2021 (updated)

Orioles shut out in penultimate home game of 2021 (updated)
Zac Lowther turned to watch the ball and slapped his glove against his leg. Knowing where it would land and the implications. Perhaps also knowing that one run might be too much for the Orioles to overcome against Nathan Eovaldi. J.D. Martinez's 28th homer of the season, a solo shot to center field with one out in the second inning, was the only run surrendered by the rookie left-hander through the fifth. Plenty of hard-hit line drives, but nothing to influence the score. That happened in the...

Orioles and Red Sox lineups

Orioles and Red Sox lineups
Ryan McKenna stays in left field tonight as the Orioles continue their series with the Red Sox in the penultimate home game of 2021. Austin Hays is in right. Trey Mancini is the designated hitter. Pat Valaika is playing second base and Richie Martin is the shortstop. Catcher Pedro Severino has a seven-game hitting streak, one short of his career high in 2018. He's batting .385 (10-for-26) during the streak, with one double, one home run, five RBIs, three walks and two runs scored. Rookie...

Zimmermann stingy in return and O's rally past Red Sox (updated)

Zimmermann stingy in return and O's rally past Red Sox (updated)
Bruce Zimmermann was worth the long wait for the Orioles. The multiple injuries and more than three months between starts. The unexpected delay in his return and further rehab. This is what September is about in Baltimore. The presentation of another prospect to evaluate, and the hopes of squeezing out a few more wins and perhaps influence a pennant race. The Orioles took a poke at the Red Sox's balloon, winning 4-2 before an announced crowd of 8,098 at Camden Yards in the last home series in...

Santander and Ellis placed on injured list (and other notes)

Santander and Ellis placed on injured list (and other notes)
The Orioles placed outfielder Anthony Santander and pitcher Chris Ellis on the 10-day injured list this afternoon, bringing their seasons to a premature end. Bruce Zimmermann was activated from the 60-day injured list to make tonight's start against the Red Sox at Camden Yards. Infielder/outfielder Tyler Nevin was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. Pitcher Keegan Akin was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for Zimmermann on the 40-man roster. A sprained right knee sent Santander...

Offense showed up, Gutiérrez with big homer in win (updated)

Offense showed up, Gutiérrez with big homer in win (updated)
The zeros on the night finally ended in the Baltimore seventh. But up until then, Texas right-hander Jordan Lyles was keeping the Orioles off the board. And to that point, four O's pitchers were doing the same. Then the O's struck with the bottom of their order doing the damage as they beat Texas 3-2, and they've taken two of the first three in this four-game series. The Orioles improved to 4-2 versus Texas, 9-15 in September and 50-105 on the year. Lyles, who entered at 9-12 with a 5.36...

Akin set for surgery, Krehbiel and Ciuffo join O's roster

Akin set for surgery, Krehbiel and Ciuffo join O's roster
Orioles rookie left-hander Keegan Akin won't pitch again this season. Akin was placed on the 10-day injured list this afternoon with a left adductor strain and is set to undergo a surgical procedure. The Orioles recalled reliever Joey Krehbiel from Triple-A Norfolk and purchased the contract of catcher Nick Ciuffo from the Tides. They optioned pitcher Mike Baumann following last night's game because the rookie reached his innings limit of 80 2/3 between the majors and minors. Krehbiel, signed...

Lowther and three relievers combine on shutout (updated)

Lowther and three relievers combine on shutout (updated)
The strikeouts kept coming from Zac Lowther. For five innings before his removal from the game. Leaving him four on a chilly night to sweat out whether he'd earn his first major league win. The Orioles manufactured a run in the fourth inning, Ryan Mountcastle hit his 31st homer in the fifth and Austin Hays clubbed his 22nd in the eighth, and the bullpen protected Lowther's lead in a 3-0 victory over the Rangers before an announced crowd of 6,328 at Camden Yards. Mountcastle took over the...

Orioles and Rangers lineups

Orioles and Rangers lineups
The Orioles get a four-game break from contending opponents, facing the Rangers tonight with rookie Zac Lowther on the mound and a designated hitter back in their lineup. Trey Mancini is the cleanup hitter and DH. Anthony Santander remains out of the lineup with a sore left hamstring. Santander ran sprints earlier today and hit in the cage. Austin Hays is in left field and Ryan McKenna is in right. Jahmai Jones is the second baseman. Austin Wynns is catching. Lowther is making his ninth...

Stewart's placement on injured list latest change to outfield

Stewart's placement on injured list latest change to outfield
With so much turbulence striking the Orioles roster this summer, there was no reason to believe that the outfield would be unaffected. And that the depth so fiercely advertised throughout the winter and spring would protect it. DJ Stewart is done for the last two weeks of the season and primed to undergo surgery on his right knee. A procedure to correct an "osteochondral defect," which also is known as "osteochondritis dissecans," which brings no clarity. Basically, it's damage to the...