FEB. 11, 9:37pm: Cincinnati thinks that the O’s do have the young talent needed to put together a deal for Bruce, Jon Heyman tweets. Baltimore will probably add at least one additional bat, he adds.
8:08am: At least one Orioles official prefers Fowler to Gallardo, writes Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun, but it appears that the overall consensus among Baltimore decision-makers is that a run at Fowler is contingent on first agreeing to terms with Gallardo.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post, meanwhile, tweets that the Orioles considered a combination of Alvarez and Yoenis Cespedes as a fallback to signing Chris Davis at one point, so it stands to reason that the club does still have some interest in Alvarez. Sherman also tweets that the Orioles feel that freeing Alvarez from the need to worry about his fielding could turn him into their own version of a Kendrys Morales-esque slugger at DH. (Of course, that would shift Trumbo to right field, creating some defensive issues.) Sherman tweets that the Orioles would like to add one more lefty bat to the mix, echoing reports that Alvarez, Fowler and Bruce are all in play.
FEB. 10, 5:17pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the Orioles are interested in something in the vicinity of Howie Kendrick’s two-year, $20MM with regard to Fowler (links to Twitter). He also hears that there’s been at least informal dialogue between the two sides recently.
4:29pm: The Orioles are reportedly nearing an agreement with right-hander Yovani Gallardo, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that if that deal is ultimately finalized, it might only mark the beginning of Baltimore’s late-season maneuvering (links to Twitter). Signing Gallardo would require forfeiture of the team’s No. 14 overall draft pick, and if Baltimore surrenders that pick, the team would be willing to part with the 29th overall selection (its second overall pick, received as compensation for Wei-Yin Chen signing with the Marlins) to add Fowler to the mix. The Orioles also have interest in a trade for Reds right fielder Jay Bruce and interest in free agent Pedro Alvarez, according to Rosenthal. MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko tweets that he, too, has heard that the Orioles would be willing to part with their second pick for Fowler, though not everyone in the front office is in agreement on that front.
Fowler, 29, is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, having batted .250/.346/.411 with a career-high 17 home runs and 20 stolen bases (the second-highest single-season total of his career). The Orioles have a notable need in the outfield, as mainstay Adam Jones is the only surefire source of production in the current group. Korean slugger Hyun-Soo Kim has the upside to be an everyday left fielder, based on his track record in the KBO, but he’s untested in Major League waters. The right field picture is even murkier, with Nolan Reimold, Ryan Flaherty and Mark Trumbo as 40-man options and non-roster invitees L.J. Hoes, Xavier Avery and Alfredo Marte also in the mix. Trumbo, though, profiles more as a designated hitter and has traditionally been a defensive liability in the outfield.
Trumbo may, in fact, have to play in the outfield were the Orioles to sign Alvarez and give him a regular role, as he’d be limited to DH, leaving Trumbo and Chris Davis as options at first base and in right field. Alvarez could, in theory, be a platoon option at DH, with Trumbo handling right field against right-handed pitchers and slotting in at designated hitter with a lefty on the mound.
Bruce, 29 in April, is coming off his second straight disappointing season after a poor finish to the 2015 campaign dragged down his numbers on the year. Bruce was batting .260/.342/.492 as of Aug. 1, but he limped to a .173/.214/.345 finish across his final 59 games, leaving him with an overall batting line of .226/.294/.434 line. Bruce did mash 26 home runs — the fifth time in the past six seasons that he’s hit 25 or more. He’s owed $12.5MM in 2016 and has a $13MM club option ($1MM buyout) for the 2017 season on his contract as well.
Adding Fowler, in particular, would make some sense for the Orioles, as he’d be a defensive and offensive upgrade over their current options in right field. The fit between the two sides has been addressed in multiple editions of the MLBTR Podcast and once again this week in the MLBTR Mailbag, when I opined that Fowler represents an even more substantial upgrade to the Orioles’ internal options than does Gallardo. The downside, of course, is that the Orioles already possess one of baseball’s weakest farm systems (indeed, Rosenthal notes that Baltimore may not even have enough prospect capital to entice the Reds to part with Bruce). Parting with the top two picks in their 2016 draft would only further deplete the team’s chances of re-stocking the farm and could prove costly as the rest of the roster ages. Then again, the Orioles could potentially recoup draft picks in the event that they make qualifying offers to Gallardo and/or Fowler, should either perform well and be eligible to enter the open market again next winter (either via one-year contract or an opt-out clause, as is reportedly being discussed with Gallardo).
Heck, lets just sign everybody
They “have interest” in everyone but will sign none…haha
Is the Orioles 2nd draft pick a typo? this article has them picking at 29th in the 1st round. i figured they would probably be in the mid to late 30s for the 2nd round pick.
It’s their compensation for Chen signing with Miami…
Ohh! Gotcha thanks. I’m a white sox fan so no complaints if the sox get get to shift up a pick.
29th pick is for losing Wei-Yin Chen. Their 2nd round pick is #54.
Nah, its their Comp pick from Chen, who signed with the Marlins.
As others have said, it’s the Chen compensation pick, but I’ll clarify in the post since, yeah, I can see where that’s confusing. Thanks.
Wow Steve. If the O’s do lose the #14 by signing Gallardo, Duquette may want to salvage something out of the draft and he could have just signed Chris Young a couple months back and gotten the same thing, plus not worried about any pick.
Signing 2 iffy guys like Fowler and Gallardo, then tossing away picks sounds like pure trouble to me for a franchise that needs prospects as badly as this team does. No way do they lose them both if they’re smart.
Giving up the #14….that’s rough. Gallardo is not worth the pick and MORE importantly…the pool $.
Another dogfight for the AL East is in order, should be fun. But go Sox.
If true, and they sign gallardo and fowler, I’d be wowd. Saying you won’t get rid of a draft pick and lose 2 picks
The Orioles have decided to suck this year and for the next 10.
baltimore is better off rebuilding
Outside of can’t miss prospects like Wieters and Machado, which of the O’s prospects have met expectations? Schoop is the only one I can think of. Britton, Matusz, Arrietta all have underperformed, and Bundy, who was also can’t miss can’t get on the field. Jury still out on Gausman. I don’t trust our system to turn these draft picks into anything, so I’d rather take the immediate talent. Just wish we gave up our picks for someone like Upton instead of Fowler.
I see your point but Britton has developed into a top 3 closer, Matusz is very good against lefties, and Arrieta just won a cy young albeit with another team.
All of those guys were considered to be top SP prospects at AA or higher. The fact that they ended up as a closer, left specialist, and off the team shows that the Orioles have an awful track record of transitioning guys to the majors. We are seeing the same thing now with Gausman, although I still have high hopes for him.
Bundy is still a top 100 prospect and very young. His only problem was how hyped he was before all the injuries and now people think he’s over but he’s too young to think about him like that. I still firmly believe Dylan Bundy and Jurickson Profar will be at minimum, everyday regulars in their career for several years.
Bundy is probably headed to a pen role. His projection was based upon his potential to start. It would be hard to think Bundy gets transitioned back due to his arm troubles. It would be a sticky situation if he shows he’s not ready to be on the big league roster, because he is out of options. Harvey would be the wild card that might be able to change his fortunes around.
As the above poster mentioned, he’s out of options, so it’s all about the here and now. Doesn’t matter how young he is if he is pitching terribly at the ML level and we have to expose him to waivers.
I agree with that though, they should have grabbed Upton. Fowler’s a big upgrade though. I believe he’d replace either the rule V guy or Reimold on the 25 man, and it pushes Trumbo to DH. Both an offense and defensive upgrade. Huge.
Britton wasn’t projected to be anything special. Most experts thought he was a C prospect, backend rotation guy. He’s turns into an excellent closer with a record groundball rate.
Not the case, and it only took a 2 second Google search to confirm. States specifically that there are scouts who believe he has true star potential. Sickles also had him as a B prospect that year. All of these comments were in advance of the 2010 season when he established himself even further, splitting time at Bowie and Norfolk.
baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9752
Britton peaked as the #28 overall prospect by BA and #17 by BP. Those are guys that are projected to be special.
Loving this for the Orioles, they’re looking like genuine contenders if they add Gallardo and Fowler, not in how good those two actually are, but just how much better they are than the players they are replacing.
O’s will be in the running to win the division. Most fans don’t realize Baltimore is the winningest team in the AL East over the past four seasons.
Average wins per year:
Baltimore-89
New York-88
Tampa Bay-85
Toronto-80
Boston-79.
average WS Series wins over the last four years:
Baltimore – 0
New York – 0
Tampa Bay – 0
Toronto – 0
Boston – 0.25
Otherwise, your list above has the division prediction upside down from where it will end up in 2016
Um. Specious stat. In the last four years 26 teams would average 0 WS wins.
Actually 27 because the Giants won twice
Just a Sox fan having a bit of fun. God only knows what the team will do this year. As they have shown, they could easily finish last. I the pitching staff (other than Price) doesn’t perform, if Panda doesn’t bounce back, if Hanley is as bad at first as he was in left, then they could finish last. If Hanley is passable at first, if Panda bounces back, if the pitching staff comes anywhere near what they are capable of, then they should be first. Either way, it will be a fun ride. Making the playoffs is good. Getting a protected draft pick is good. Anything in between is disappointing.
baltimore wont be contending besides adding trumbo the O’s have done nothing and will do nothing else besides adding a declining gallardo
Actually they have done far more than any other team in this division, hands down. Besides the Sox adding Price what has any other team in the east done? I’ll wait.
Not sure about most of the AL East. But the Blue Jays have done a lot.
Signed Estrada, Happ and Floyd. Traded for Jesse Chavez, signed/claimed a bunch of players with invites like Lake.
Signed Darwin Barney, traded Revere for Storen. There might be more that I missed, but that is quite a lot.
Maybe instead of asking others to inform you about division rivals, you should do the research yourself.
Lots of quantity there in Toronto, but the quality is very arguable, especially when you mention guys like Floyd, Lake, and Barney. It’s not like they went out and signed Heyward, Zobrist, and Lackey.
I can post pointless stats too. Average playoff wins per season last 4 years:
Baltimore – 1
New York – 0.75
Tampa Bay – 0.5
Toronto – 1.25
Boston – 2.75
Baltimore has 6 playoff wins in the last 4 years, not 4. 3 in 2012 and 3 in 2014 so your stats really are pointless since they aren’t correct.
Bruce slide the last 2 months of last year came after the trade deadline. Extreme disappointment he was not traded, or was that knee bothering him?
I’d rather give up a supplementary draft pick for Fowler than actual prospects for Bruce.
Orioles could be a dark horse with Gallardo and Fowler or Bruce. They are just 1 year removed from being a 97 W team, albeit without Cruz and Chen
I doubt Bruce would demand much in return. For what the Reds could get back for Bruce, the only justification I see of them moving him is an all-in commitment to flipping the roster
Bruce is an interesting case….prior to his slide the Reds were asking quite a bit for him. After the slide…I’m not sure they can ask much. They’ll have to let him play and rebuild value. He still can hit, but the $ will limit the talent return. If the Reds eat some money AND he hits well…then he could bring back an interesting piece and lottery ticket.
Darkhorse if Boston, New York and Toronto join the National League
That’s why they are the dark horse. Would be the FAVORITE if the scenario you made up was true.
Gallardo doesn’t do much to upgrade the staff which is the worst in the division. No reason to give up a valuable pick for an innings-eater like him. Should have grabbed Fister on a 1 year deal like Houston did – or pay for a pitcher who would really make a difference.
id take bruce on the southside. rf or dh for laroche. and schoop had something like 3 walks and 79 strikeouts last year, ’14 was even worse. swings at everything. great to watch.
And where would Cincinnati play LaRoche?
3rd base/left field
You’re suggesting Cincinnati trade a young, declining OF for an old even more declining 1B/DH who is blocked at 1B by one of the best hitters in the National League? Why on Earth would they do that?
That trade makes little to no sense for Cincinnati. They’d be giving up a younger outfielder on the decline for an old overpaid player on the decline. I could see if the Reds were trying to get rid of salary, they would make this trade but that is not the case here.
Not sure what it is with White Sox fans and thinking they can actually get some talent for Laroche. I once saw a Laroche for Prince Fielder trade idea comment on here…
Get gallardo and fowler or alvarez and let trumbo play left the offense would be one of the best in baseball and if a few of our pitchers step up we can make a run at things
sorry for the confusion. i meant bruce could play rf or dh instead of laroche.
It’s funny! Every year you can count on two things. The farmers almanac will say you are getting a bunch of snow and fans of other AL East teams predict the O’s will finish last. If you say it every year you’re bound to be right every now and then. Now what team is the AL leader in wins over the past 3 seasons again?
Sure the O’s starting pitching is suspect. I’m sure most are counting on Tillman and Gonzalez to not bounce back after a bad season. But the rest of the team is fairly solid. Good defense, bullpen, and bench. The offense lacks obp but the addition of Kim and potentially Fowler could boost it fairly adequately.
I’ll take my chances with this team.
They should go after Gallardo, Fowler, Bruce and Alvarez! ALL. OF. THEM.
CF Fowler
3B Machado
1B Davis
RF Bruce
C Wieters
LF Kim
DH Trumbo
2B Schoop
SS Hardy
Bench: Alvarez, Joseph, Paredes, Flaherty
SP: Jimenez-Gallardo-Tillman-Gausman-Gonzalez
RP: Britton-O’Day-Brach-Givens-Bundy-Matusz-Worley
That my friends, is a very serious squad.
I hope you made the mistake of excluding Adam Jones and that wasn’t an intentional move
It was. I guess Bruce is the LF/DH, Fowler is the RF and Paredes is in the minors or gone to Cincy.
@Just Another Fan Where is Adam Jones in your lineup?
You excluded Adam Jones, how on earth do you forget him? How?
Chaz roe as well
That was a fair statement made in a moronic way. Point being, the O’s don’t look better or worse than any other AL East team with the addition of a decent SP and a decent OF. An addition of a OF with 15 HR potential would get them back to the point when they were consistently succeeding, a major point of which was very well spread out mixes of power and contact throughout the lineup.
Rebounds from Wieters, Hardy and Tillman will really be paramount to this team’s success though.
Hey thanks for all 10000 of you who took time out of their day to repeat other posters that I accidentally left Adam Jones out of a lineup.
But sure, IM the “moron”….christ…
You left Jones out.
Forgetting that Adam Jones is our center fielder dude? Fowler slots in as rf in this lineup. With the addition of Gallardo (innings eater, which is exactly what we need contrary to what some mope up here said^) our staff becomes 1-2 in the division. Nobody else in this division has a strong starting staff. Sox got Price, who else? Keep bagging on the O’s, I love it when kooks come to the realization that they know next to nothing about their favorite topic to spout off at the mouth over.
Giving a guaranteed 3 year contract at $40 million+ AND giving up a high draft pick for an innings-eater is a bad move. There are plenty of guys like that they could have had for a lot less. And if you are going to pay that much they should have gone after Kazmir and not lost the pick. No way this staff is 1-2 in the division even with Gallardo – and this is coming from an O’s fan.
Umm … the Rays? Also, the Yankees rotation is excellent if it can stay healthy. Sox have more than Price. I’d call the O’s — with our without Gallardo — about tied for last with the Jays.. And the Jays have the best offense in baseball.
The Yankees bullpen compares to the Orioles with similar team eras. Now Sabathia is back and his 5.00 era how long hasnit been since he has been an effective starter. Orioles lost Chen who won 11 games and allowed team high 28 hrs he also did not have the stamina to last a whole season. The Yankees lost key bullpen pieces to Detroit and Cubs. We will see how their aging stars who are heir best hitters…Beltron, Arod and Teixiera do.
Yankees have arguably the best bullpen in baseball and I’m a red sox fan saying that so come on man. Chapman, Betances, and Miller? No one in your pen comes close to those 3 except for Britton. I’m sorry but the Orioles are not one Gallardo away from winning the division. Just to point out the fact Sox also have Bucholz and E-Rod in the rotation equates to far more potential than the O’s rotation. A rotation of 3-5 starters is not great
ODay also belongs in the group you mentioned, but your point remains the same – NY bullpen is better than ours. 3 stud RPs vs. 2
Betances, Chapman and Miller all have bouts with wildness. Miller a few tears back was walking almost 6 per 9 innings. Yankees have Sabathia and Eocaldi who give up way too many hits. Eovaldi 35 more hits than innings pitched and they do not hace Chris Miller and Adam Warren to dall back on. REd Sox favorites every year and they end up last. Outide and Mookie Betts and big poppi no real power on the team and corner outfielders need to get in a full season and first and third base. Well better you han me.
I’m not a huge believer in the Orioles this year, but the one area that you can’t question is their bullpen. They’re not quite at the level of the Yankees, but they’re probably not too far away. Britton is a top-notch closer, O’Day is an elite set-up man, and Brach and Givens look like very good middle relief pieces. They may have the most underrated bullpen in the AL. It’s the rotation and, to a lesser extent, the offense that would concern me if I were an O’s fan
I find it hilarious that people think the Jays will do bad in this division. Can’t wait until they prove all you doubters wrong =)
Every staff in this division either needs to make solid progress or have an extremely unlikely rebound from a terrible year last season. The Yankees have Pineda 1/2 a sabathia, tanaka who has torn ligaments and will be lucky to make 20 starts at 60% and 2 guys who need to step up. The Sox have price, 1/2 a buch and erod who needs to step up. The rays have 5 guys who need to step up etc. Adding a gallardo puts our 5 right there with everybody else and adding a fowler puts our 9 right there with the Jays.
Morales as a comparison for Alvarez? Kendrys can hit for average, can knock doubles into the gap and is a very effective switch hitter. Alvarez can do exactly one thing – run into the occasional mistake.
Not that he couldn’t be a contributor as a platoon DH or bench bat – but the Morales comparison is a reach.
Not that he couldn’t
Exactly. I couldn’t see the comparison either.
why do they always say that trumbo slots in right field, why not davis
I would sign Fowler and Alvarez
then have Alvarez DH vs righties with trumbo at first and davis in left. Then vs l;efties put reimold in left with davis at first and trumbo DH. essentially platooning Alveraz and Reimold
Seriously, what can Cinncy expect for him after his last 2 seasons and with that salary? They would be lucky to have someone take him off their hands. The O’s have no need for him – they need someone to get on base.
Ya I don’t understand how Bruce’s name keeps coming up in trades. Who would really want him with that salary? You could get Khris Davis from the Brewers who is probably a better player and making pennies compared to Bruce for the next three years
I think a Jay Bruce for Dylan Bundy+ deal would immensely help both teams. I believe Bruce is a front runner, meaning he only performs well on teams that are winning. When the Reds were good, he was one of the better hitters in the game and is still only 28. Bundy is out of options and not nearly proven enough to take up a year long spot in the bullpen for a contender. Pitching for a team like the Reds with low expectations could potentially save his career. I put Bundy plus because as much potential as Bundy has, he is currently a broken prospect. He is more likely to be Mark Prior without the two great seasons than a star right now. The Orioles need to put every spot on the 25 man roster to good use. I remember when Milwaukee was a surprise contender and still wasted a 25 man spot on Rule 5 pick Wei-Chung Wang even though he had no business in the majors. Their bullpen faded in midseason and they blew a huge division lead because they were basically down a man all season.
Why are you referencing Milwaukee in your article if you are talking about the Orioles and reds
You are absolutely wrong if you think 1+option year of Bruce = Dylan Bundy, or even a top 100 prospect. Bruce doesn’t have -that- much value.
Bundy doesn’t have a ton of “value”. He is out of options. He will need a spot on the 25 man roster. Giving bundy a spot is a huge gamble for the o’s. Especially bc they are trying to be competitive in the al east.
Bundy could have tremendous talent. It’s just as likely that he could toss 50 innings and re injure his shoulder and be done.
I’d rather sign Fowler and lose the pick rather than trade an established prospect away for Bruce who isn’t as good of a fit for what the orioles’ offense needs.