Monday Bird Droppings: December in Birdland

Happy Monday, Camden Chatters, and welcome to December!

The Orioles made a splash over the holiday weekend by signing a new closer. Ryan Helsley got a two-year deal from the Orioles with a player opt-out after year one. Helsley had three outstanding seasons with St. Louis before falling apart with the Mets after the trade deadline last year. He claims he was tipping pitches with the Mets, so let’s hope that’s all it is.

I like the signing. It addresses one of the team’s major needs with a player who has a track record of success. Helsley plus Andrew Kittredge makes for a solid back end of the rotation. Of course, I’m an Orioles fan so I am also like 70% positive that we’ll get the Mets version of Helsley next year, because that’s how things go for me. It makes me especially nervous when I read MLB Trade Rumor’s assessment of Helsley before the mid-season trade:

His strikeout rate dipped to 26.1%. His fastball, while still a blistering 99.3 mph on average, was down about a half mile per hour from its peak. Opponents were hitting him considerably harder than in prior seasons.

That’s just great. But I’ll try to remain positive.

Now that we’re in December, we can look forward to the winter meetings. They will take place from December 7 to 10 in Orlando and are known for kicking off the busiest period of the offseason. Mike Elias hasn’t waited for the meetings to kick things off, but maybe it’ll be there that he acquires the first of what I hope will be multiple starting pitchers.

Links

Taking another look at Helsley and the Orioles’ bullpen – MASN SportsRoch Kubatko examines the current state of the team’s bullpen now that Kittredge and Ryan Helsley have been signed. Do you think they’ll add any other relief pitchers?

Notes on Helsley, Shildt, Hyde, Cease and the pursuit of free agent pitchers – Steve MelewskiMelewski runs down recent moves and what could be coming next.

Kyle Tucker and 4 more free-agent outfielders the Orioles could sign – The Baltimore BannerPaul Mancano doesn’t think the Orioles are finished signing outfielders. Or he already planned this story before the Taylor Ward trade.

Birthdays and History

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have two Orioles birthday buddies. Dan Straily (37) ended his eight-year career with 14 games with the Orioles in 2019. And Jeff Tackett (60) had a four-year Major League career as a backup catcher with the Orioles from 1991-94.

On this day in 1970, the Orioles traded four players, including Baltimorean Tom Phoebus, to the San Diego Padres for Pat Dobson and Tom Dukes. Dobson won 20 games for the Orioles in 1971 with a 2.90 ERA. He made his only All-Star appearance in 1972.

In 1998, they signed Albert Belle to a five-year, $65 million contract. Belle had an outstanding 1999 season with the team but had to retire after two seasons due to a degenerative hip condition.

Also in 1998, they traded Armando Benítez to the Mets for catcher Charles Johnson. Johnson played in Baltimore for 1.5 seasons while Benítez spent five years as a mainstay in the Mets bullpen.

In 2002, former Oriole Dave McNally passed away from lung cancer. McNally pitched for the Orioles from 1962-1974. He won 20+ games three times and made 14 postseason appearances with the team. He also made history in 1975 when he challenged the MLB Reserve Clause along with Andy Messersmith. The arbitrator sided with McNally and Messersmith and free agency was born.