The O’s will again take part in a series of fan events across the region to hype up the 2024 season.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
We’re still in the middle of a dead zone of MLB’s offseason, where winter doesn’t feel particularly close to being over and the Orioles don’t feel particularly close to making any significant roster moves. But if you’re looking to get hyped for the upcoming season, perhaps the Birdland Caravan later this month will whet your appetite until actual baseball begins.
The O’s announced their plans yesterday for their weekend of fan rallies in various Maryland cities from Jan. 25-27. Manager Brandon Hyde, general manager Mike Elias, and nearly 30 players and coaches will take part in the festivities, which include bowling, golf, meet-and-greets, and more (including a happy hour event in which Jackson Holliday — who is still not old enough to legally drink — will be guest bartending). The full details of all events are available on the Orioles’ web site.
This is the third time the O’s have embarked on the Birdland Caravan, with the first occurring in February 2020 — about a month before the pandemic shut down the world — and the second last February. It essentially replaced Orioles FanFest, the annual winter fan event in Baltimore that the O’s discontinued in 2019.
I don’t have any particularly strong opinions on whether the Birdland Caravan is an improvement or a step down from FanFest, but I know many fans do. A point in favor of the Birdland Caravan is the convenience of being able to attend an O’s event in your own town or a nearby one instead of schlepping to the Baltimore Convention Center. Others prefer the more active scene that was FanFest, which included many more activities and events all in one place over the course of one day.
What say you, Camden Chatters?
Links
This, that and the other – School of Roch
Roch Kubatko wonders if a possible Orioles signing of Ryan Brasier would allow the O’s to move Tyler Wells back to the rotation and just skip signing a starting pitcher. Because nothing bolsters the starting staff more than a 36-year-old reliever.
The decision to trade prospects is always challenging – Steve Melewski
Melewski discusses the calculus that goes into deciding whether to trade top prospects for veterans. I say if you don’t have room for all your prospects in the majors — and the O’s seemingly don’t — then you might as well trade a few. Otherwise, what are we doing?
Adley Rutschman, James McCann steady Orioles 2024 roster – MLB.com
There will be a few O’s positions with roster spots up for grabs in spring training. Catcher, as Jake Rill points out, will not be one of them.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Not a single person born on Jan. 9 has ever played a major league game with the Orioles. The best I can offer is right-hander Jay Powell, the Orioles’ first round pick in 1993, whom they traded to the Marlins (for Bret Barberie) before he began his 11-year big league career. Powell turns 52 today.
On this date in 2015, the Orioles re-signed Delmon Young, their reigning postseason hero, to a one-year deal. Unfortunately, Young’s encore season with the Birds was a far cry from his first, as he posted just a .628 OPS and two home runs in 52 games and was released in July, ending his MLB career at age 29.