To make matters worse, the announcers will be in Baltimore calling the games
Hello, friends.
There are now 42 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. In the baseball world, this is a number that now means only Jackie Robinson. For my fellow nerds out there, it’s the answer to life, the universe, and everything from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Combined with pitchers and catchers reporting yesterday, it points to real baseball not being far off.
It’s another four days before the position players are required to report, with the first full squad workout a day after that. We aren’t quite there yet. Exhibition games start in another nine days, and once those begin, it’ll be the near-daily spring game ritual – the vast majority of which are not televised by MASN, thanks for that – until the roster is set and the team packs up and heads north to begin its season in Baltimore.
The network announced its pathetic spring schedule yesterday. All of seven Orioles spring training games will be broadcast. Additionally, a dozen games will be broadcast on the Orioles Radio Network, with three games overlapping with the television schedule. In all, fewer than half of O’s spring training games will get local TV or radio broadcasts. What’s more, the broadcasters are going to be calling these spring games from back in Baltimore. Give me a freaking break!
In addition to that broadcast schedule, the Orioles threw a little bit of news at us as pitchers and catchers were reporting on Wednesday, making another low-cost acquisition on the fringe of the roster. The team acquired outfielder Peyton Burdick from the Miami Marlins for cash considerations. Burdick had been designated for assignment by the Marlins, so the almost-27-year-old had essentially no value to the team. Burdick has hit .200/.281/.368 in 139 plate appearances over the last two seasons, with a strikeout rate of an almost unbelievable 38.1%.
Looking at that stat line, it’s hard to guess why the Orioles have bothered. Looking a bit beyond it, the guess is easier, in the sense that Burdick hit 23 homers for Double-A in 2021. There’s some useful power there if he drastically cuts the strikeout rate, which he probably never will but it costs the O’s little to find out if he can. Burdick does have minor league options remaining, so unlike other fringe outfielders on the O’s 40-man – namely Sam Hilliard and Ryan McKenna – he can be sent to the minors if he doesn’t make the team at the end of spring training. As with other unexciting O’s acquisitions lately, things will have gone either very well for him or very horribly for the Orioles for us to see him.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the team placed Félix Bautista on the 60-day injured list. Yesterday was the first day that the Orioles were allowed to utilize the 60-day IL and they struck right away. We already knew Bautista wasn’t going to pitch this year, but it’s still a little bummer to get the reminder.
In addition to this move, the Orioles also settled on a 2024 contract with Ryan O’Hearn, their last outstanding possible arbitration case. The O’s once again seized on the “it doesn’t count as file-and-trial if we negotiate a club option for next year” loophole that they deployed with Danny Coulombe and Cionel Pérez. Perhaps the team was less gung-ho about another hearing after they lost cases to Austin Hays and Jacob Webb. Whatever the case, the O’s and O’Hearn settled at the midpoint of $3.5 million.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported that the Orioles option for 2025 is valued at $7.5 million, with escalators increasing that by $500,000 if O’Hearn hits 120 games played, and another $500,000 for 150 games played. O’Hearn appeared in 112 games for the Orioles last year. If he performs around the same level as last year, he’ll probably hit that 120 game incentive.
What’s interesting about the club option is that O’Hearn could have become a free agent after this season, so he’s given the O’s the chance to buy out his first free agent year. Just between you and me, O’Hearn is high on my list of “This guy’s not gonna be as good this year” concerns and I’ll be surprised if things get to the point where the option is exercised. If O’Hearn earns it, that’ll be good for the 2024 Orioles, for him, and really for next year’s Orioles having an experienced lefty bat around too.
Be on the lookout today for the first possible signs of “best shape of my/his life” from Orioles players or from manager Brandon Hyde. There was no media availability as players reported yesterday, but there should be some during or after the first formal day of pitcher and catcher workouts today.
Around the blogO’sphere
Three key Orioles spring training storylines (Orioles.com)
Beat writer Jake Rill and I have the same #1, which you probably do too: Will Jackson Holliday make the Opening Day roster?
A trio of MASN-related stories from The Baltimore Banner, whose reporters/editors are putting everybody else on the beat to shame:
With Orioles sale moving rapidly, what’s next for MASN?
The Banner’s Danielle Allentuck spoke with a few experts whose conclusion is that MASN may essentially be worth no money now, and that this may have impacted the sale price of the team.
MASN broadcast crew to return, including Kevin Brown on final year of contract
My honorary cousin is back. Yay! His contract expires after this season. No! The Banner’s Andy Kostka reports that decisions at the network are on hold until the ownership transfer. Let’s hope David Rubenstein or whoever he brings in for the television network understands the importance of retaining quality talent.
MASN contract with Comcast set to expire at the end of February
The network and the cable company Comcast are in a conflict over the carriage fee, and if it isn’t resolved over the course of March, it could mean that fans who use Comcast won’t get Orioles games until they figure it out. I think MASN is the party with more to lose here.
Ranking Orioles international prospects – part 2, 11-20 (Steve Melewski)
The Orioles have some more interesting international prospects now. Do they have 20 interesting ones? I’m not so sure. But for anyone who wants to go really, really deep into the system, here’s the second half of a list for you.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 2018, the Orioles announced the signing of Andrew Cashner to a two-year contract. Dan Duquette’s belief that Cashner might help the rotation was skewered by Cashner’s 5.29 ERA and 5.32 FIP over that 2018 season.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 1997 reliever Brian Williams, 1991-93 outfielder Luis Mercedes, and 1960-64 pitcher Chuck Estrada. Today is Estrada’s 86th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564), Declaration of Independence signer Abraham Clark (1725), philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748), jeweler Charles Louis Tiffany (1812), Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton (1874), actress Jane Seymour (1951), The Simpsons creator Matt Groening (1954), and rapper Megan Thee Stallion (1995).
On this day in history…
In 1493, Christopher Columbus wrote a letter that was distributed upon his return to Portugal, detailing findings of his expedition across the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1898, the battleship USS Maine blew up in the harbor of Havana, killing about three-quarters of the crew. Infamously, newspapers at the time used the incident to blame the explosion on Spain, helping to lead to the Spanish-American War. Some contemporaneous accounts and a later investigation pointed to a spontaneous coal fire.
In 1965, Canada’s current maple leaf flag was adopted. Its prior flag made large use of the British Red Ensign and Union Jack.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on February 15. Have a safe Thursday.