The latest from Baltimore….
- Fredi Gonzalez has been hired to join the Orioles’ coaching staff, the Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli reports. Gonzalez will work in the general role of Major League coach; as Meoli puts it, “González will influence several areas of the Orioles while sharing some responsibilities with major league field coordinator/catching instructor Tim Cossins, who did those jobs last year while serving as [Brandon] Hyde’s de-facto bench coach.” Best known for his time as the manager of the Marlins (2007-10) and Braves (2011-16), Gonzalez spent the last three seasons back in Miami as the Marlins’ third base coach.
- The Orioles have “definite interest” in Adeiny Hechavarria, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports. The veteran hit .241/.299/.443 over 221 combined plate appearances between the Mets and Braves in 2019, with the bulk of that offense (1.039 OPS over 70 PA) coming after Atlanta signed Hechavarria as extra depth during the late-season stretch run. Of course, Hechavarria is far better known for his glovework than his bat, with +20 Defensive Runs Saved and a + 2.5 UZR/150 over 6761 career innings at shortstop. The 30-year-old was available on a minor league contract for the Mets last winter, and could likely be signed for a similar non-guaranteed deal this offseason.
- Hechavarria would help address Baltimore’s middle infield situation, which GM Mike Elias described (along with back-of-the-rotation pitching) as offseason “priorities” when talking to reporters earlier this week. Since the rebuilding O’s aren’t going to break the bank for veteran help, Kubatko lists a few lower-cost veterans that might potentially fit what the team is looking for, though he notes that even moderately-priced options like free agent Brock Holt or the recently non-tendered Yolmer Sanchez could be too pricey for the Orioles. Jose Iglesias doesn’t appear to be on the Orioles’ radar, as Kubatko writes that “a poor off-the-field reputation…persuaded the Orioles and some other teams to stay away” from the former Reds and Tigers shortstop in the past. The O’s did make an infield signing earlier today by adding Dilson Herrera on a minors contract.
“Too expensive.” Ha.
Middle infield is a priority so jettison your best middle infielder to pay all minimum contracts, boycott the orioles
i dont see why people are bothered when rebuilding teams dont spend. what is the value in spending if you’re a team like the Orioles? will any players that actually have an impact be willing to join your team? if the players really arent big difference makers, then they could very well be taking up space and blocking prospects, which is one of the last things you want in a rebuild.
I guess the complaint would be that there shouldn’t be any rebuilding teams. MLB should be structured and approached so that every team is trying to compete every year. All these tanking and otherwise not trying teams is a drag for everyone but especially the fans in those markets.
They might never win in that ballpark. No front line starter will take their money.
exactly
@ Mo4ever;
Recent example – Royals and Indians going to the WS a few years ago.
Those 2 teams went through years of a rebuild to develop young player in the minors, call up, and work with those players to adjust to MLB competition. Both of which took years. Money they saved in salaries those years were rolled over and used when they started to compete to bring in veteran help in trades that they could never have afforded if they hadn’t had a reservoir of funds.
If every team had to compete each year full out, then at least half of MLB teams located in small and mid-sized markets would never be realistic contenders. Ever. And how would their fans feel then?
–
And look what happened to the Royals and Indians since then. After winning they couldn’t afford to pay their better players, with the Indians taking steps back, and the Royals having the bottom fall out.
–
Succeeding with an MLB franchise is not like driving up to the window of a fast-food restaurant, ordering, and drving away with what you want. That’s why fantasy leagues are called Rotisserie Leagues. Human Beings competing are difficult.
Or those teams that cannot compete due to small market could just manage themselves well as Rays and As do and compete.
You’re an idiot. They’ve won before and will again. Guaranteed contracts (especially bad ones – Chris Davis) can kill a team for years. Hopefully they are ditching enough salaries to eat his contract and send him packing. They finally doing what should have been done years ago.
@DarkSide830
What prospect was Villar blocking?
It’s okay to be bothered…
There will never be a small or even middle market team that consistently competes year in and year out unless and until there is a salary cap, which MLBPA will *never* agree to. IMHO of course. Teams will be competitive for a bit, maybe even over a 3-4 year stretch, but will always fade away for a time while restocking the team.
The notifications still aren’t working.
Unless Brock Holt or Yolmer know how to play SS that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Iglesias is the smartest fit. I don’t know what the off field issues are but from a pure ability standpoint he’s the guy. If they aren’t interested in doing that; I guess Hech is a poor mans Iglesias.
@ jbigz12;
I was found the comment about Iglesias in the article interesting.
He is simply a joy to watch on the field. He stabilized the Reds infield defense in 2019, and along with the new pitching coach helped turn around the Reds pitching staff. He also led the team in hitting – as if that matters anymore.
There is no logical reason he was overlooked in free agency in 2018-19, and no logical reason the Reds would be looking elsewhere for a SS when he staffs that position at a ridiculously low salary.
Something is up. Maybe what’s in the article is correct, maybe it’s something else. Iggy is easily one of the top 5 defensive SS’s in MLB. The fact that a veteran SS played for the Reds last year for $2.5m is absolutely ridiculous. It seems if they could get him for even double that salary in 2020 they could use the savings to acquire help in other areas.
Yeah why keep Villar when you can get Hechavarria?
Hech can stick it as good as anyone with the glove Dave, but that bat of his is just plain awful. I remember when he came up with the Fish and how great he was supposed to be.. It never materialized, except the glove part, Iglesias super lite.
Hech had over a 1000 ops for Atlanta so it could just be that the hitting coaches he’s had in the past sucked compared to Seitzer which is pretty likely. It was rumored Monday that the Braves were interested in signing him again
I thought he was a lock after Charlie was non-tendered.
I wouldn’t put much stock in 61 at-bats.
all you Guys talkin about Heck I see Nothing wrong with his Bat when he came to the Yankees a Few years ago his Glove was spectacular His Bat was solid too The Orioles are Terrible they have no light at the end of the Tunnel who knows if Heck would even wanna play for a Team that’s at Single A Level just my opinion
$10 million less spent on a team that is going nowhere regardless.
Darkside is correct. $10 million to Villar or $10 million to 5-10 players that hopefully can bring back prospects at the deadline.
I guess Hechavarria won’t sign with the Mets, but I could see him get a big league deal in the low millions as a bench piece for some teams
I’d think he would want to get a contract with an NL East team so he can keep hitting against the Mets on a regular basis. I wonder what his numbers were like with the Mets games removed? Although if he gets a decent contract out of those few games, it will have been worth it for him.
What is the problem with Jose Iglesias? Anyone know?
Have no clue, except that I have heard that a bit for the past few months in discussion.
I never heard any scuttlebutt like that here in Cincy, quite the opposite actually
I’d still like to see Richie Martin be the starting SS. He improved in the second half. Why not see if he can continue to get better?
Agreed. not like the O’s are gonna be competing. Let him sink or swim
I agree 100%. Martin showed continuous improvement and is very teachable. I believe he will be our starting SS.
Martin improvement in the second half also coincided with him playing less frequently. Alberto and Villar took over most MIF duties after the AS break. If he flat out beats Hech or someone else in camp, then let him be our starting SS. If not, let Hechavarria come in and hold it down. Martin is still raw; it may be easier for him to first work out some of his issues against AAA guys first.
Either way we need to bring a major league capable SS. If Martin fails or gets hurt there’s really no one in the organization currently that is ready to be a big league SS. I think Martin could learn a lot from a real major league SS. Villar wasn’t that guy last year. I see value in bringing a defensive minded SS either way.
Fredi Gonzales will do a great job of showing the Orioles how to lose.
Oh wait, they already have that skill down.
Never mind…
Fredi sucked with the Braves
Addison Russell!!! It’s so simple
nope, if Iglesias off the field problems scared them no way they sign Russell who was accused of boxing with his wife
That does not scare away anyone in Baltimore. We are the murder capital of the country.
I remember when Freddie Gonzales was considered one of the “bright guys”, back in the days when very few Hispanics were called “bright”. He could help.
Hechy? Ya, he’s the bomb. Great glove, excellent in game skills. The bat will kill ya, but I can see him on the O’s. And there’s always a contending team looking for a SS at the trading deadline. I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Gotta love how you have to spin, when you’re in the position Elias is in. Ya, you need back of the rotation pieces. To go along with front of the rotation pieces, middle of the rotation pieces….etc. It ain’t easy.
Fredi is a good hire. Smart baseball man. Not all managers can be WS champs. There has to be losses to have wins. You can look up the W/L record’s of HOF managers yourselves.
It would definitely help their pitchers if they could snag Yolmer to play 2nd and one of Russell, Iglesias, or Hechavarria to play shortstop. The offense would be terrible, but not much would get by.
If you could squeeze two of the shortstops he have a good utility guy to fill in.
Richie Martin probably spends the year at AAA getting a full season worth of ABs.
Hiring Fredi Gonzalez to be anything other than manager is good for any team. Never has had any business whatsoever being a manager. He stunk as the Braves guy and ultimately lost the team with his stupid decisions. David Carpenter instead of Kimbrel? Yeah classic Fredi.