Saturday Bird Droppings: All quiet around baseball

Good morning Birdland,

It seems that most of Major League Baseball is taking this long weekend to spend time with family and friends rather than working the phones. There has been very little news.

Honestly, I get it. Baseball’s offseason is pretty long, and the Winter Meetings are right around the corner. It’s probably tough to get a hold of everyone (players, agents, executives, etc.) this weekend, so why not wait a few days and get things sorted out in-person.

The Orioles’ needs remain what they have been:

• Starting pitching (including a “front line” arm and a depth option)

• Relief pitching (including a closer and some middle inning help).

Fortunately, that market has not changed much. The only big deals in those areas have been Dylan Cease signing with the Blue Jays and Raisel Iglesias returning to the Braves.

The Orioles were widely seen as a fit for Cease, but probably not over seven years. Elias has always spoken cautiously about signing free agent pitchers. Specifically, he has said that you can’t really know what to expect beyond their first year or two. Of course, that’s not some secret. Other teams understand the risk too. You are overpaying them to make your team better in the immediate future. For the defending AL champion Blue Jays, it made sense.

However, where there is smoke there is usually fire. Elias has made it clear that he wants to add legitimate pitching. David Rubenstein said that the ownership group is “deep-pocketed.” And the Orioles are being connected to most major pitching options available this winter. Nothing is a guarantee, but it feels like they are gonna get…someone.

Hopefully, anyway.

Links

Elias: Orioles Looking For “Experienced Ninth-Inning Guy” | MLB Trade RumorsThis is largely just a repackage of Roch’s blog yesterday, but with some added context. It does seem to be a good offseason to need a reliever. There are plenty of options. But it still won’t be cheap. Many of the biggest names are going to want multiple years and sizable money. That hasn’t always been Mike Elias’ preference.

Geoff Arnold’s Orioles departure offers bleak broadcasting business reality check | Awful AnnouncingOne aspect of this that seems worth noting is that the Orioles broadcast approach has been changing for a while now. There was a ton of overhaul going into 2020. Gary Thorne, Jim Hunter, Mike Bordick, and Rick Dempsey were either gone or limited in their role. O’s Xtra, the pre- and post-game show on MASN, became a shell of itself. A year or two later, Scott Garceau was removed from the air. And we are in the midst of the color commentary torch being passed from Jim Palmer to Ben McDonald (and occasionally Brian Roberts). Things have been pretty steady for a couple of years now, but the introduction of Ben Wagner as a play-by-play option might have been the domino that led to this latest change. It is certainly not a fair business.

Jon Meoli: Even with Taylor Ward’s ‘stability,’ the Orioles’ outfield work feels unfinished | The Baltimore BannerThis is fair. And it’s because the team still does not have the ideal center fielder to face a left-handed pitcher. Maybe Leody Taveras can become that? But it’s not a slam dunk. I would say that pitching is the higher priority at this point, and maybe they could address the outfield further with an in-season trade. But it would be cool to get it all done now!

Potential trade candidates from every club | MLB.comRyan Mountcastle could be on the move, but I’m not sure how many other teams would be willing to take on his full salary. At this point, my guess would be that the O’s hold onto him as an insurance policy going into the season.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Craig Gentry turns 42 today. He was a reserve outfielder for the Orioles in 2017 and ‘18, playing solid defense and swiping a few bases.

• Guillermo Quiroz is 44 years old. In 2008 he served as the backup catcher to Ramón Hernández for the O’s.

• Brian Holton celebrates his 66th birthday. He pitched out of the Orioles bullpen for two seasons from 1989-90.

• Joe Price turns 69. The southpaw appeared in 50 games for the Orioles during the 1990 campaign.

This day in O’s history

1975 – Brooks Robinson and Paul Blair are both named Gold Glove winners for the final time in their illustrious careers. It’s the 16th time for Robinson and the eighth for Blair.

2023 – Félix Bautista wins the Mariano Rivera Award as the best reliever in the American League. The Mountain had gone 8-2 with a 1.48 ERA and 33 saves before a UCL injury ended his season.