Early offseason decisions on the Orioles bullpen seem to point to another move coming later on.
Hello, friends.
There are now four months and three days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2025. The next consequential date on the baseball calendar is a bit more than two weeks away, with the winter meetings starting on December 9.
It’s not guaranteed that the winter meetings will result in anything of significance for the Orioles or for any other team. A year ago, the biggest move out of the meetings was the O’s signing Craig Kimbrel, which wouldn’t have been all that big even if it had worked out. Things could also happen at any time before that. With the qualifying offer period passed, the Rule 5 draft protection decisions made, and the non-tender deadline in the rear view mirror, teams know where there rosters are and they can start making moves for next year.
In Birdland, one thing that it seems like we can guess from the early decisions made by the Orioles is that Mike Elias will be looking to improve the bullpen from the outside. The decision not to pick up Danny Coulombe’s contract option as well as the decision not to tender Jacob Webb for 2025 have removed one decent and one good reliever from the mix. It would be wise not to have jabroni-level players replacing these guys.
There are other relievers who were non-tendered by their teams on Friday. The Orioles under Elias are fond of other teams castoffs when it comes to building their bullpen, with even the recent teams that went on to the postseason making in-season additions off the scrap heap for the bullpen. Coulombe and Webb were added in that fashion during 2023. Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto weren’t exactly off the scrap heap, but they were cast off by a first place team as the Orioles added them.
One name who some people in my social media sphere immediately jumped to after a Friday non-tender is recent Nationals All-Star Kyle Finnegan, who just got dropped right after his All-Star season in which he finished with 38 saves. Along with that high save number – impressive for a team that won 71 games – came an unimpressive 3.68 ERA, 4.25 FIP, and 1.335 WHIP. He’s 33 years old. That’s a no thanks from me, though if Elias wants to go in this direction, I’ll try to talk myself into it.
Around the blogO’sphere
The thought process behind the Orioles non-tender decisions (Orioles.com)
Among the possibilities raised here are concerns for the arm health of Coulombe and Webb (reasonable) as well as confidence in recently-added relievers (more of a gamble).
Factors working for and against Anthony Santander re-signing with the Orioles (The Baltimore Sun)
Any team, Orioles or otherwise, who wants to think about signing Santander is going to have to make a decision about how they think he is going to age. Nelson Cruz-like outliers are possible but rare.
More on the Baysox name change, plus notes on Aberdeen and Frederick (Steve Melewski)
Included in here is a cryptic comment from the guy who owns the Keys, now an MLB Draft League team, about potentially getting the Frederick Keys back to MLB affiliate status.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1982, Cal Ripken Jr. was named as the American League Rookie of the Year after a 160-game campaign that saw him hit 28 home runs in addition to making his big move from third base to shortstop. Ripken had the edge over Kent Hrbek as well as another future Hall of Famer, Wade Boggs.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2003 pitcher Damian Moss, 1989-95 pitcher Ben McDonald, 1968-70 pitcher Fred Beene, and 1974-75 outfielder Jim Northrup. McDonald, who is a delight in the MASN booth for Orioles games, turns 57 today, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: 12th president Zachary Taylor (1784), novelist Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849), baseball Hall of Famer Joe Medwick (1911), museum enthusiast Paul Tagliabue (1940), and actress Katherine Heigl (1978).
On this day in history…
In 1221, Genghis Khan led the Mongols to victory in a battle near the Indus River in modern-day Pakistan. The Mongols defeated their foes, the Khwarazmians, and the battle is recognized as completing the conquest of Central Asia that began 12 years earlier.
In 1963, JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and killed on live television by nightclub owner Jack Ruby.
In 1971, the D.B. Cooper hijacking took place, with Cooper eventually parachuting out of an airplane with $200,000 in ransom money. His body never having been found is one of those enduring mysteries.
**
And that’s the way it is in Birdland on November 24. Have a safe Sunday.