The Orioles impressive season ended with an ALDS Game Five loss to the Yankees yesterday, but the team improved so much that a pair of impending free agents told MLB.com's Adam Rosenbloom that they would like to return to the club next year.
"I'd definitely like to come back," said Mark Reynolds. "This is the most fun I've ever had playing baseball, this group of guys. There's a bunch of ballplayers in this room. No prima donnas, nobody for themselves. Just ballplayers who pull for each other, and who wouldn't want to be in that environment?"
The 29-year-old Reynolds hit .221/.335/.429 with 23 homers in 538 plate appearances this year, making the transition from third base over to first base full-time. The club holds an $11MM option for his services next year, but even if they decline it they would still control his rights as an arbitration-eligible player. Baltimore could turn down the option and try to re-sign him at a lower salary without having to worry about a bidding war on the open market.
Nate McLouth, 30, also indicated a willingness to return to the Orioles next season, telling Rosenbloom that he "couldn't have had a better time in the time" with the team. He signed a minor league contract with Baltimore at midseason before taking over their left field and leadoff hitter jobs full-time in the second half. McLouth was their best hitter in the ALDS and produced a .268/.342/.435 batting line 236 regular season plate appearances with the team.
With Nick Markakis and Nolan Reimold expected to be healthy in time for next season, plus 33-homer guy Chris Davis' ability to play first base or right field, the Orioles may not have spots for Reynolds and/or McLouth next year. McLouth in particular figures to look to parlay his strong finish into a full-time job somewhere.
Chris Davis can’t play right field. He owns an outfielders glove and Buck has written RF next to his name on the lineup card, but he can’t play right field.
For me to think that RF was Chris Davis’s best position. What makes you say that CD can’t play RF?
Davis’ best position is DH.
He can play. Just not to the level Baltimore is used to. He’s sort of an emergency guy. Emergency OF, 3B, 1B, and RP 😉 HIs range at any of those spots isnt the greatest but he wont embarrass himself. That’s not the worst thing to have.
Chris Davis can’t play any position, and we’ll need a DH next year. However, hes not a bad emergency option at the corners.
Yes, he is an awful emergency option at the corners. He’s not a bad emergency option at RF. Under no circumstances should Davis play 1B or 3B.
Of course McLouth wants to come back. He was released by the Pirates! He would probably be happy to be anywhere.
Not necessarily since his stock has increased significantly after his exceptional Division series performance.
He DID do a great job in the post-season, but he’d be basing a big money day on one week of his career. I imagine he WILL get some calls, though.
Ignore the past few months while you are at it.
As an Oriole fan, I’m not counting on Nolan Reimold, and to me, McLouth at this point would be harder to see go than Reynolds. In my perfect world scenario, the lineup goes like this in 2013: McLouth LF, Markakis RF, Davis DH, Jones CF, Wieters C, Reynolds 1B, Machado 3B, Hardy SS, and Flaherty 2B. Also, not counting on Brian Roberts either.
Can I ask why you’re handing second base to Flaherty? He’s a former Cubs farmhand so I’m somewhat interested in him, but I can’t find anything at all in his stats that suggests he is even a major league player, much less a starter in a perfect world scenario. I understand you’re not counting on Roberts but you don’t have any interest in any of the free agent options out there? Or are you assuming there’s no money left over when you bring McClouth and Reynolds back?
I am confident the Orioles will ignore the FA market on 2B’s since they will be paying Roberts $13 million whether he plays or not. I just can’t believe they’d pump more money into that 1 position, and I do see Ryan Flaherty as someone who, despite some weak overall statistics, had a nice September going 7 for 22 and driving in 8 in some big games and was one of the better O’s hitters in the postseason. He has some real power potential, and he didn’t give too many at bats away so my take is that if he obtains more playing time, he could be a 20 HR type. That compliments the lineup in place.
Flaherty isn’t being handed anything. They are going to bring someone in to compete for the position, probably a few people, just like they did last year with left field.
No way Machado will the playing 3B.He will be the SS and Hrady will either have to move to 3B or get traded
I believe you will find yourself mistaken here! Hardy will remain at SS and Manny will continue to learn at 3B.
Why would Hardy be moved to 3B when he was one of the top defensive SS in baseball this year? And why not keep Machado at 3B since he played outstanding defense there? He’ll eventually grow into a 3B body anyway, so I don’t see why they’d feel the need to play him at SS. Just let him be a ML 3B.
No way Machado will be the 3B.Watch you will see
Reynolds played good defense throughout the playoffs and really since he was put back to 1st he was good! It’s his footwork that concerns me. However, after watching Reynolds bat during the playoffs and swinging at ball four several times, it was no wonder that CC pitched a complete game last night. I am on the fence as a fan as to whether I would want Reynolds back. He likes to get his uniform dirty and will run the brick walls to get the job done, but his strike-outs at the worst possible times drive me crazy!
As for McLouth, I think he made a home in Baltimore. If it were up to me I would trade Reimold and keep McLouth. However, there’s a lot of O’s fans (bloggers) that seem to have a sworn allegiance to him (Reimold), that I just don’t get. He has power, but he can’t field!
What the Orioles do need is a bonafide #1 pitcher. Greinke would be the only one I would consider, but he too has his quirks. That and Angelos might not open up his wallet combined with “The Duke” said they aren’t adding to the budget in 2013, so the O’s might have to develop one (Bundy, Gausman, Britton…)
Last thing, I suggested this last night and he said he wouldn’t do it, but I would consider letting Reynolds test free agency and I would try and sign Swisher to a 3 yr deal if the Yankees decide to let him test free agency as well. Make Swisher the O’s 1st baseman.
If nate mclouth doesnt come back, i will be an extremely sad o’s fan…. LETS GO O’s
I think McClouth is more a lock than Nolan is at this point. His onbase, speed, and leadoff abilities push down Markakis and friedns down the order. Though I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nolan stay on the bench. BTW Davis is not really an option at 1B. Reynolds eventually improved to play at or near GG caliber play at 1B. Yes, that good.
Especially given that Reimold has never played more than 104 big league games in a season, and averages only 61.5 per season. No reason to trust that he can stay healthy. Would rather have him as the 4th outfielder than the primary option in LF. Even more so when you factor in McLouth’s defense.
If I’m Reynolds I hope the O’s pass on me. The buyout plus whatever he’ll get from another team will be more.
He’ll never get more than 11 million elsewhere.
I’m happy neither of you are Reynolds.
I’f I’m Reynolds I hope the O’s take the option and trade me mid-season where I could renegotiate a bigger deal than what Baltimore would offer long term.
That is nonsense.
I think the possible drop in this list may be Reimold. He CANNOT stay health. This seasons performance alone has McLouth owning left field unelss in srping training he falls flat. First Base should be your monster hitter. BUT TOO remember the defense. Reynolds right now is among the premir first basement on defense in mlb (at least in top 5). No I do not like his streakiness and be that sucker on the outside and low pitch. He has an $11 mil salary IF we keep him. Masybe we should do the buyout and try to sign for $7-8 mil. But he is more difficult to let go the Reimold.
BUT let us not for get to be spending time remembering these players for raising the flag of Baseball IS Back in Baltimore.
Next years Motto comes from Peter Angelos- To the MLB and especially the Eastern Division ” We’re Back!” Move out of the way Buck and Dan are going to put a monster together for next year.
Nothing against Reynolds, but premier defensive 1b in MLB?? The same Reynolds with a -1.7 dWAR?
Reynolds played Gold Glove defense at 1B in 2012. His bad defensive numbers come from the fact that he played terrible defense at third for a good part of the year.
100% of which comes from his utterly atrocious 3rd base play. Calling him a 3rd baseman is almost as bad as calling Barry Bonds the all-time home run leader.
I love how 2 weeks of decent baseball from a guy suddenly makes him a conversation piece. This guy was horrendous in ATL and even worse in his second stint with the Bucs.
Let’s Go Yanks!
He played 55 games with the Orioles and had an ops + of 111. But since you are a Yanks fan I understand since they don’t watch baseball unless it’s a playoff elimination game.
I think that McLouth and Reynolds both have value to the Orioles for 2013. I don’t think that Reimold can be relied upon to be anything more than a 4th OF, given his injury history and his continued recovery from neck vertebrae fusion surgery. If McLouth can do for a whole season what he did in the second half, batting either leadoff or second, then I’d be quite happy to have him. Reynolds on base ability, power, and unbelievably fantastic defense at first make him an asset to the team. I don’t think he’s an $11M player, but $8MM? Perhaps so. I would expect that Thome would be gone, and that Davis would become the full time DH.
100 percent agreed
Decline Reynolds option….try to resign for much less….he’s either hot or cold, not much in between. Bring McClouth back as lefty /righty platoon. with Reimold. Reimold needs to prove he can stay healthy and be productive.
Would consider offers for Hardy and Matusz, Arrieta, and Britton for second baseman, third baseman, or number one starter.
There is no way McClouth is going to beat out Reimold for LF next year. He had a great run and he is a solid 4th OF but Reimold was our best hitter all through Spring training and the first month of the season. He is injury prone, so we keep McClouth as well.
I would like to see the Orioles shift Hardy to second, Machado to SS and get a 3b. Whether they sign Youk, trade for Headley, etc. We have enough pitching to make a trade happen. Flaherty and Andino are good backups but not starters.
I think that Jones, Wieters, Davis and Reynolds have a troublesome attribute of their batting statistics in common – a low on-base percentage. Look for the Orioles to trade for, or otherwise to acquire, a high-OBP option at 2nd base, 3rd base or left field. Reynolds would remain my 1st baseman and McLouth would remain on the team as a reserve outfielder. The batting order also needs a #3 hitter, with a high average and OBP, which it does not have.
For giggles, let’s say that player is Robinson Cano. I do not really expect Cano to come, but someone with some of his qualities could make the Roberts-less lineup look something like this:
McLouth (or acquired speedy left-fielder) Avery?
Markakis
Cano or acquired power-hitting 2B, 3B, or DH
Jones
Wieters
Davis (as DH)
Reynolds
Machado
Hardy, Flaherty or acquired 2B or 3B if Hardy is traded
Orioles should bring back both guys. Why mess up a good thing they have going for them.
But what the Orioles really need is another ace pitcher. Bundy could be that, but that was what was said for Britton, Arrieta, Matusz, ect. Sign Greinke (preventing Boston or Toronto from doing so) and then boast a strong front 3 of Greinke, Hammel, Chen, with Gonzalez, Bundy, Matusz, and Britton fighting for the last two spots.
Yes, yes, and we hear Edwin Jackson would like to stay with the Nationals. Memo to sports writers; if you ask a thousand ball players if they’d like to stay with their current team, 999 of them will say some variation of the following: “yes, we have a good group of guys here, the fans have been wonderful, I like the direction this team is headed, I want to be a part of bringing a championship to (your team here) and the great fans of (your city here)” even as their agent is working feverishly to get them hence. Even Cubs, who play on a disastrous team with a dismal near term future, have regularly been heard to utter these lines. Can you please stop asking this meaningless marshmallow of a question?
We could have sent about 6 fans to do same job are core players did that being said still immensely happy with this year.One would hope these were “rookie” jitters most team had.As they say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it bring Mark back at lower play with lot’s of incentives and give Nate huge raise and try and get front line pitcher with Nolan