And still a few more highlights from 2021

And still a few more highlights from 2021
While wondering if the ball dropping on New Year's Eve impacts a team's dWAR ... Does a high-profile, highly paid player missing an entire season due to injury, surgery and an August retirement qualify as a memorable moment in 2021? Chris Davis belongs on the list, wherever he's slotted. Davis made an impact without dressing for a single game in the regular season, quitting with one year remaining on his franchise-record $161 million contract. Two at-bats in the Orioles' first spring...

Taking a quizzical look at Orioles

Taking a quizzical look at Orioles
Making it through Christmas yesterday during a cream cheese shortage goes down as another victory and proves again that nothing can stop me from living my best life. I also can't be deterred from assigning a quiz on a Sunday morning. You can treat it like the socks and underwear that someone gift-wrapped and left under the tree. Or the one chocolate candy in the sampler box that is filled with jelly. If you choose to take the quiz - and you can't spit it out - this would be a good time to get...

Almost time for Orioles to tender contracts

Almost time for Orioles to tender contracts
The last gasp from the Orioles front office before the air is potentially squeezed out of the offseason comes on Tuesday with the deadline for tendering contracts to players eligible for arbitration. The date was moved up a couple of days with the threat of a shutdown due to the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement. The Orioles had eight eligible players before outrighting catcher Pedro Severino and infielder Pat Valaika, sending them into free agency. Severino, projected by...

More on Silver Sluggers and the outrighted Orioles

More on Silver Sluggers and the outrighted Orioles
Did anyone really predict before the season that Cedric Mullins would be a finalist for a Silver Slugger Award? If you were told that one Oriole would be honored, would you have chosen Trey Mancini, Anthony Santander or Ryan Mountcastle ahead of Mullins? I don't know what's left to say about the guy who decided to bat only from the left side. Mullins was the easy choice as Most Valuable Oriole and no one in the media ventured outside the box and denied him a first-place vote. He's going to...

More on Orioles' 40-man moves, plus Stowers note

More on Orioles' 40-man moves, plus Stowers note
As the participants in the World Series begin to come into focus, the Orioles are busy doing their own heavy lifting with moves to clear room on their 40-man roster. They needed a big broom. The season concluded with a full 40-man. Putting reliever Zack Burdi on waivers, and he was claimed by the Diamondbacks, was just the first attempt. They're down to 35 after outrighting catcher Austin Wynns, infielder Pat Valaika, and pitchers Thomas Eshelman and Konner Wade. That leaves space for the five...

Orioles outright Valaika, Eshelman and Wade

Orioles outright Valaika, Eshelman and Wade
The Orioles outrighted four players off their 40-man roster yesterday to reduce the total to 35, as they continue to perform one of the more important offseason tasks leading into the Rule 5 draft in December. In addition to catcher Austin Wynns, whose disposition was reported yesterday, the Orioles also outrighted pitchers Thomas Eshelman and Konner Wade and infielder Pat Valaika, per the transactions page at MLB.com. The club hasn't announced the moves. Valaika was eligible again for...

A little more on Mateo

A little more on Mateo
No one is handing a job in 2022 to the batch of Orioles in-house infield candidates beyond first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, which pretty much makes for a typical offseason in the rebuild. I'm confident that they'll sign at least one free agent, and perhaps to a major league deal. They could make another waiver claim, as they did with second baseman Yolmer Sánchez. Perhaps this time they'll keep him beyond spring training. I've made Ramón Urías a heavy favorite to stay with the...

Orioles facing many more 40-man moves

Orioles facing many more 40-man moves
The early work on the Orioles' 40-man roster consisted of one move that probably didn't require hours of study, deliberation and angst. The team likes Travis Lakins Sr. Manager Brandon Hyde talked about the reliever's recovery from elbow surgery and the likelihood that he'd be ready for spring training. But it made no sense to move Lakins from the 60-day injured list to a 40-man roster that requires heavy cuts. A chain saw rather than a pocket knife. Teams figured to pass on Lakins after he...

Another look at arbitration-eligible Orioles

Another look at arbitration-eligible Orioles
The Orioles must tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible players by Dec. 2, assuming they can conduct business on that date. The collective bargaining agreement expires the previous day. I yearn for the days when CBA made me think "Continental Basketball Association." Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias has decisions pending on eight players - Trey Mancini, Anthony Santander, John Means, Jorge López, Pedro Severino, Pat Valaika, Paul Fry and Tanner Scott....

This, that and the other

This, that and the other
The statistics are the first points of reference when critiquing the Orioles pitching staff this season. Eyes are drawn to a 5.84 ERA that's the highest in club history, the 258 home runs allowed that also led the majors. But there's more to the story. Manager Brandon Hyde will preach the urgency to upgrade and how a team can't compete in the American League East with these deficiencies. But he also will place an asterisk beside these numbers and explain the complications in fully judging...

Because You Asked - The Return of the King

Because You Asked - The Return of the King
The first mailbag of the 2021 offseason is upon us. Keep breathing normally and suspending disbelief. Many topics are impossible to answer on this date - and some are impossible on any date - but I'm not above fudging it like a Keebler cookie. What's important is that you keep asking and I keep answering and you keep ignoring my responses and asking again and I discover a new sequel. Also important is that I remain a mailbag rebel. Let the length overflow. Let the lack of style be our...

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' late rally falls short in 6-4 loss in Toronto (updated)

Orioles' late rally falls short in 6-4 loss in Toronto (updated)
The Orioles tried to stay in spoiler mode tonight while going with a bullpen game rather than a starter equipped to provide actual length. Teams wanting the Blue Jays to implode in the weekend series and influence the wild card race could be heard cringing. Their eyes were bulging while checking the late score. Injuries have tampered with the Orioles rotation, which becomes more settled in the last two games with John Means and Bruce Zimmermann. So, manager Brandon Hyde lined up his available...

Wells rolls, Mountcastle homers again in O's 6-2 win (updated)

Wells rolls, Mountcastle homers again in O's 6-2 win (updated)
One pitch tonight from Orioles rookie Alexander Wells, and the last home game of the 2021 season felt like too many others. Wells fed leadoff hitter Kiké Hernández a fastball and it landed in the left field seats. An immediate deficit against a team in the thick of the wild card race. One bad fastball didn't spoil the whole start. Wells worked a career-high six innings, and retired 10 of 11 batters and 16 of 18. Ryan Mountcastle hit his 33rd home run of the season, a three-run shot in...

Orioles and Red Sox lineups (plus notes)

Orioles and Red Sox lineups (plus notes)
The Orioles' final home game of the 2021 season will begin with rookie Alexander Wells making his 11th major league appearance and eighth start. Wells has a 7.61 ERA and 1.745 WHIP in 36 2/3 innings. He's averaging 12.3 hits, 3.4 walks, 5.9 strikeouts and 2.2 home runs per nine innings. Wells has completed five innings in his last two starts, allowing eight runs and 11 hits. He faced the Red Sox on Sept. 19 and surrendered five runs and six hits, with J.D. Martinez hitting a solo...

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...

González on orchestrating Mullins' solo trip to center field

González on orchestrating Mullins' solo trip to center field
The idea came to Fredi González as Cedric Mullins rounded the bases and returned to the dugout. He just needed to execute it. González wanted the Orioles to stay in the dugout Friday night and allow Mullins to run onto the field alone for the top of the third inning. To let the crowd cheer him again for becoming the first player in club history with 30 home runs and 30 steals in the same season. He saw it done before in Atlanta with one of the franchise's legendary players. Mullins...

Orioles' late rally can't prevent 7-4 loss (updated)

Orioles' late rally can't prevent 7-4 loss (updated)
Anthony Santander provided the first hit for the Orioles today with a game-tying, two-run homer in the fourth inning. It wasn't supposed to take that long or stand alone until the seventh. John Means was extended to 108 pitches. They weren't supposed to be crammed into five innings. An offense that scored three runs or fewer in five of the last six games remained sluggish most of the day and the Orioles settled for a split of the series after a 7-4 loss to the Rangers before 13,495 at Camden...

Orioles and Rangers lineups (plus notes)

Orioles and Rangers lineups (plus notes)
Cedric Mullins is out of the Orioles lineup again this afternoon, though available to pinch-hit, due to a sore hamstring. Mullins should be able to return Tuesday night after Monday's off-day. Ryan McKenna is leading off and playing center field. Austin Hays, with an 11-game hitting streak, is in left field and batting third. Kelvin Gutiérrez, who homered last night, has a hit in eight of his last nine games since Sept. 17. He's 10-for-30 during that span and starting at third base again...