Sunday Bird Droppings: Wondering if there are any moves left in the Orioles offseason

Jan 22, 2023 - 1:00 PM

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Hello, friends.

There are now two months and eight days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. That is 67 days to go, a number used by Beau Sulser on the 2022 O’s. It’s only 24 days to go until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota and spring training officially begins.

The biggest remaining question to be answered before the season is whether the apparent Orioles of right now end up being the Orioles of March 30. From what little hits the rumor mill, it has seemed like the O’s have at least kept free agent Michael Wacha on their radar. Until he signs somewhere else, it’s going to feel like at least a little possibility that the Orioles will bring him into the mix.

Minnesota and Miami’s recent trade that sent Pablo López and two prospects to the Twins for 2022 All-Star and AL batting average leader Luis Arraez is a reminder that trades are still a possibility as well. All it takes is one series of texts where two GMs agree on a deal.

Is there a match to be found between the Orioles and some other team for a starting pitcher? That will probably depend on either or both of whether the Orioles are willing to trade an infielder from last year’s MLB team - Jorge Mateo or Ramón Urías - and whether some other team is interested in one of the O’s high-minors infield prospects - Jordan Westburg, Joey Ortiz, and Connor Norby. The O’s also have to be willing to trade one of those guys, too.

Time’s running out to either sign somebody or swing such a trade before the start of spring training. We saw in the Dan Duquette years that signing pitchers after spring training began didn’t go too well. If there’s someone the Orioles like, they should pay the price and get them on board so they can start lining that guy up for the regular season as soon as camp opens up.

Around the blogO’sphere

Will O’s hurlers smoothly adapt to pitch clock? (Steve Melewski)
It’s interesting to see here who the slowest workers were. No starting pitchers were slow with the bases empty, but once there was at least one man on, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells really ground closer to a halt.

Orioles CEO John Angelos says ‘this job stinks with low payrolls,’ is hopeful club’s will increase (The Baltimore Sun)
Orioles CEO John Angelos should really take this complaint up with Orioles CEO John Angelos, the person who bears the single most responsibility right now for the state of the Orioles MLB-level payroll.

Infield coach Tony Mansolino thinks Orioles will benefit from shift ban (Baltimore Baseball)
Mansolino believes that the Orioles having athletic infielders will help them more relative to some other teams as the shift ban goes into place. I hope he’s right.

Key contract extension candidates to watch before Opening Day (The Athletic)
Jim Bowden suggests for Adley Rutschman a similar guaranteed extension as was given to Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez. This suggestion seems to neglect to consider the three year age gap between Rutschman and Rodríguez, which really changes the incentives around.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 2006, the Orioles traded Jorge Julio and John Maine to the Mets for Kris Benson. They would have been better off keeping Maine, though it wasn’t such a poor trade to rank among the most infamous in franchise history.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2014-17 pitcher Ubaldo Jiménez, 2004-05 reliever Aaron Rakers, and Maryland-born 1954-55 infielder Bobby Young.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: philosopher Francis Bacon (1561), poet John Donne (1573), poet Lord Byron (1788), pepper spiciness tester Wilbur Scoville (1865), disc jockey DJ Jazzy Jeff (1965), TV chef Guy Fieri (1968), and rapper Logic (1990).

On this day in history...

In 1517, the Ottoman Empire defeated the Mamluk Sultanate in the Battle of Ridanya, leading to the capture of what is today Egypt into the Ottoman territory. The sultanate had ruled the area since 1250.

In 1689, England’s Parliament met in a special session (the Convention Parliament) that was to answer the question of whether James II/VII’s disappearance to France after the Glorious Revolution meant that he had vacated the thrones of England and Ireland. After about three weeks of debate, they decided that he had, and the new monarchs were acclaimed to be William III and Mary II.

In 1901, Queen Victoria died after a reign of 63 years. Her eldest son became King Edward VII. Edward’s reign lasted nine years. He is the great-great grandfather of current king Charles III.

In 1984, the now-famous Super Bowl commercial that introduced Apple’s Macintosh computer to the world aired. As for the game itself, the then-Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington then-Redskins, 38-9. The fate of the Mac doesn’t seem to have been hindered by the blowout.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on January 22. Have a safe Sunday.