They might not be the Orioles you’re most interested in receiving extensions
Hello, friends.
There are now 35 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. In uniform number terms, that’s Adley Rutschman days, much more interesting than some of the names from a month-plus ago. It’s also Hall of Famer Mike Mussina days, and honestly it should have been retired before Rutschman ever made the majors, but since he’s here, well, he can have what he wants.
Only two more days to go until the Orioles start playing spring training games. That first one on Saturday at 1:05 against the Red Sox will actually be on MASN, even if the network is not bothering to send the broadcasters to Florida and will have them calling the game from Baltimore. It’s embarrassing for MASN but they have been immune to feeling embarrassment with how they’ve handled a variety of matters for the past several years.
As of yesterday, the full Orioles squad is working out together. It’s another small marker in the journey towards regular season readiness. Or at least that’s part of the mystique, that drills done in spring training will get things in shape for the coming season. With the exhibition games starting up so soon, there’s really only a few days to do things before everything is oriented towards what’s happening in that day’s game.
According to manager Brandon Hyde, who will be the starting pitcher for that first game on Saturday will be revealed some time today. When it comes to the Opening Day starter, I think we all know that will be Corbin Burnes, but that doesn’t mean he’ll start the first spring game. It could be anybody. I’ll keep hoping it’s Burnes though, since the game is being televised and that means we could get to see him for the two innings he pitches.
There is a mini-theme in some of the stories rounded up below, which is: Multiple Orioles mentioning some interest on their part in signing some kind of contract extension with the Orioles. It’s fascinating to me to have the players quoted talking about it, even a tiny bit, because it’s been mostly fan-driven up to this point in thinking about players who the team should extend. I’m as much a part of this as anyone, because every time some other team signs a player I think again about who the Orioles could or should extend to a deal.
My question for you is: Who’s your top three hoped-for Orioles players or prospects to sign to contract extensions? Please, be a tiny bit realistic in answering. The Boras clients are not signing extensions. Whenever I think about this, I try to consider reasonably expected performance and likely cost along with the player’s current age.
If there was an opening for him on the roster right now, my #1 would be Coby Mayo, with the recent six year/$29 million guarantee for Tigers prospect Colt Keith as a blueprint. There’s not, so I look elsewhere.
- Cedric Mullins – Already 29 and with two more seasons before becoming a free agent, I wonder if the sides could agree on some kind of four-year contract (starting next year) with a vesting fifth year
- Grayson Rodriguez – There’s always risk involved in giving pitchers long contracts, but the risk is less when it covers pre-free agency years. If one year is an injured bust, there’s more of a chance to make that up later. Rodriguez flashed enough promise in the second half last year to make this interesting to consider.
- Adley Rutschman – It’s not rational. The team probably shouldn’t lock up big money for a guy who’s a catcher who won’t hit free agency until heading into his age 30 season. But Adley was the face of the Orioles turnaround and I hope he’s around for as long of the current era of good O’s baseball that can be managed.
Around the blogO’sphere
Notes about and from Rodriguez and Kimbrel from Wednesday’s live batting practice sessions (School of Roch)
February 22 is still early enough to get away with “it’s early.” The key for now remains no more unpleasant surprises about injuries, and at least so far the Orioles have avoided any new ones there since the beginning of camp.
Austin Hays knows the Orioles haven’t signed extensions. He wants to break the trend. (The Baltimore Banner)
It’s not hard to appreciate this sentiment from Hays, although it’s also kind of sad in a way because I suspect I’m not the only Orioles fan who’d rank Hays pretty far down on the list of players to give out an extension to.
John Means looking to make impact after missing time (Press Box Online)
This article also has a quote from a current Oriole who sounds amenable to a contract extension. A healthy Means is probably worth investing in for another few years, but he’s going to have to prove that he’s healthy first.
Cedric Mullins, now healthy, confident he can return to 2021 All-Star form (The Baltimore Sun)
That’s setting a high bar! I’d happily settle for Mullins returning to 2022 form (3.8 bWAR).
One area the O’s would love a repeat of 2023 – how well the year started (Steve Melewski)
A goal I had for the Orioles to improve last year was, “Don’t suck in April.” They succeeded, ending up 19-9 by the end of that month. Continuing to not suck in April will be important, especially since only six of the first 36 O’s games will come against teams that made the postseason last year.
Could Double-A prospect Seth Johnson pitch his way onto Opening Day roster? (Orioles.com)
This is a case of a headline where it’s a question and the answer is probably no. Johnson having a good showing in camp would certainly up his chances of pitching for the Orioles at some point this year, though, since he is, after all, already on the 40-man roster.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
There are a number of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2016 reliever Brian Duensing, 2014 infielder Kelly Johnson, 2005 outfielder Ramón Nivar, 2006 pitcher John Halama, Maryland-born 1960-67 pitcher Steve Barber, and 1954 one-game pitcher Ryne Duren.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: first president George Washington (1732), Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson (1934), basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving (1950), TV zoologist Steve Irwin (1962), and actress Drew Barrymore (1975).
On this day in history…
In 1797, a small force of about 1,500 Revolutionary French fighters landed in Wales as part of what was meant to be a grand operation to inspire and support revolt against Britain in Ireland. The invaders surrendered after a few days of fighting, and this Battle of Fishguard is recognized as the most recent foreign invasion of mainland Britain.
In 1819, the United States paid Spain $5 million and received Florida.
In 1909, sixteen battleships that formed President Theodore Roosevelt’s “Great White Fleet” returned to America after a 14-month voyage that stopped in 18 foreign ports, demonstrating that the US had a modern navy capable of defending its overseas possessions while paying these friendly diplomatic visits.
In 1980, the American hockey team famously defeated that of the Soviet Union during the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, a game shortened now as the “Miracle on Ice.”
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on February 22. Have a safe Thursday.