As Baltimore enters the off-season on the heels of their best season since 2016, the areas they’ll be looking to upgrade in are becoming clearer. Roch Kubatko of MASN writes that Baltimore is already active in the starting pitching market, while left-handed hitting is their focus on the offensive side of things.
Kubatko reports that Baltimore is already talking to multiple representatives of free agent pitchers, but notes that they aren’t likely to be spending at the top of the starting pitching market. Instead, that could mean targeting the numerous second tier arms available including the likes of Jameson Taillon, Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker and more.
Currently, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells, Austin Voth and Kyle Bradish are penciled into the Orioles’ rotation but none are necessarily locks. Kremer and Voth were the only two to post sub-4 ERAs last season, but they both benefited a bit from a low opponent BABIP and a high strand rate. In any event, some combination of those four and one or two outside additions could form Baltimore’s rotation to start the 2023. John Means would also figure to be a part of the rotation, but it’s unclear when he’ll return from April Tommy John surgery.
That group would lack a clear ace, but the team does have top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez on the cusp of the majors, and he could feature on opening day, or at least early in the season. While a young pitcher is far from a sure thing – even one as impressive as Rodriguez – the Orioles are certainly hoping he can blossom into a frontline starter just as their contention window begins to open. DL Hall struggled in a handful of relief options this year, but he’s the fourth best prospect according to Baseball America and could well be a rotation option in 2023 as well.
On the hitting side of things, Kubatko’s report says the Orioles will target corner outfield, first base and designated hitter as areas to upgrade, with a specific focus on left-handed hitters. He speculates that Michael Brantley, the recently non-tendered former NL MVP Cody Bellinger, or Brandon Belt could be options there. Indeed, there’s a number of candidates that fit the bill, and the likes of Andrew Benintendi, Josh Bell and Michael Conforto could also make sense for Baltimore.
The Orioles currently have Anthony Santander and Austin Hays penciled into the corner spots, with Ryan Mountcastle at first base. All three have been solid contributors for the Orioles, but for a team that’s looking to take the next towards contention, it wouldn’t hurt to see that group upgraded or reshuffled to make room for an outside addition, particularly given the team has no locked in DH for 2023. Santander, for instance, is projected to make $7.5MM in arbitration and not likely to lose much playing time, but could see more time at DH given his limited defensive appeal with a new corner outfielder coming. Similarly, Mountcastle could spend more time at DH if the team brings in a new first baseman.
“Mountcastle” is such a winning name.
Yeah I get you Trumbo. It’s like Welcome, Lord Mountcastle, I am your loyal subject or some s**t like that ha.
Lord Mountcastle sounds like a character from Monty Python….
That’s exactly what I was thinking about, I swear Clipper.
Me three, thou bless thy holy hand grenade
Book of Armaments, Chapter 2
The Orioles don’t need Conforto
I am hoping for JBJ (RF), Bellinger (CF), and Gallo (LF) to be signed and revamp the outfield, but most O’s fans think I am nuts
And if the Orioles resolve their infield, that is where their offense will come from
Sign a pitcher of some note for the starting rotation
Badda-Beep Badda-Bap Badda-Boop Badda-Beep Badda-Bing!
The Orioles are legit playoff contenders!!!
The issue lefty is that the outfield you propose is a downgrade offensively and defensively (overall). I get taking a flier on Bellinger though. So unless you can turn santander into a top pitcher through trade I don’t see the overall benefit.
See, i don’t buy that
Mullins has no arm
Hays was awful the last two months last season
It would be a video game outfield, but a lot of Orioles fans like the outfield as it is, but I don’t
Signing washed up big names like Bellinger and Gallo on the cheap and hoping for a miracle turnaround is something the old Orioles under Peter’s control would have done. No thanks.
Out of all the tools arm is the least valuable one. Those players could bounce back but I wouldn’t bet on it. Signing all 3 or even 2 is a reckless awful idea. Bellinger has the most upside by far and the highest floor so that would be the one. With so many free agents available still go with a safer bet.
Hays was hurt mid season and never returned to form. I think he’s most likely to go. They have Cowser and Stowers in the wings for regular playing time also.
Mullins arm is much improved.
You DON’T want Joey Gallo. The inly wind blowing out to right field will be the one he creates when he swings and misses. And it’s a steady wind when he’s at bat.
ergo Dan Duquette.
Where does Mullins play in this scenario?
Part of the issue that I see with your proposed OF (as someone who has watched Gallo much, much more than I ever needed to) is that *if* Bellinger doesn’t recover, you have an OF between the three that will kill your offensive rallies and are the worst with RISP. Gallo hit his FIRST sac fly ever(!) with the Yankees, and only had, like, two total. Bellinger had something like a 30% SO ratio w/only a 7% BB (Gallo’s is near 40% SO).
So it wouldn’t matter if you had bases loaded, second & third, whatever…. Any one of those three come up, you’re done.
The Orioles do not need any outfielders. They have a solid trio already in Mullins, Hays and Santander, and have several top prospects who should be ready sometime in 2023 (Stowers, Cowser, perhaps Kjerstad). They are absolutely loaded on position player prospects that should be ready soon. They need to sign an ace above all else. With the amount of talent on the way next season, it is their only clear need in my opinion.
Agreed. No real ace since Mussina left in 2001. So pathetic
Agreed. No real ace since Mussina left in 2001.
Chris Tillman had a nice little run with Baltimore
i must agree, pitching is 1st priority.the guy who suggested three washed up outfielders must be a jays or yanks fan.ellias isnt going to do somthing absurd like that.
Erik Bedard was an ace and was traded for a big hall. But after him no real ace really.
Remember kids, it’s okay to celebrate, but celebrate to hard like Cody Bellinger and you’ll end up living in a van down by the river
Liked “van down by the river”. RIP CF
JBJ shouldn’t even be in the league. Conforto is a better hitter then all of your options.
Then all of their options what?
If the O’s starting outfield is Bellinger, Gallo and Bradley Jr, then Elias is going against everything they’ve been building. Bradley is no more than a defensive replacement at this point. Gallo and Bellinger have had multiple years of poor production and the money it would cost to take a flier on them is better spent on pitching. An outfield with Hays and Mullins is solid defensively, they don’t need outfielders. Barring trades, I would have Hays, Mullins and Stowers in the OF, with Santander at DH. Cowser, Kjerstad and Beavers are all on the way. I still think they’re a sleeper for one of the SS, Correa in particular.
i agree with you my friend. let the yanks or cubs sign gallo.let the red sox or jays sign bradley jr.and let the dodgers or giants sign bellinger.the baltimore orioles dont want or need has beens.
Stupid.
Yea, that’s dumber than hell
Awful.
Damn that’s awful.
Are you okay?
If the O’s are truly looking to boost the offense coming from the outfield, bringing JBJ makes absolutely zero sense. In addition, crossing your fingers and hoping Bellinger turns his career around would be quite the risk in your scenario when you combine Bellinger with the non-existent offense of Bradley.
Why would anyone want Jbj?
One of Benintendi, Brantley, Conforto and two of the best starting pitchers not attached to QOs. Plus I like Matt Carpenter here
another has been.i might give carpenter a minor league contract.thats about all.you are definently smoking some good stuff.
Sounds like bad stuff
You are NUTS about JBJ and Bellinger. JBJ isn’t even as good as Hayes and could never hit. Bellinger would rather get high than play baseball. Pass. Gallo I could see. He can play all 3 of positions and should hit well at OPACY. But, even he is just a short stopgap.
Oh that is wonderful because I want to sign everyone to a one year deal
sorry man, I don’t like the idea. But we agree that the O’s outfield as it stands is not good. An addition is needed. Maybe a 2 year deal just in case nons of our young of’ers are ready in 2024.
Yeah, spend $30Million to sign JBJ, Gallo and Cody become the worst hitting outfield in the Modern Era..Worst idea I have ever .heard. Huge step backwards for the team.
There’s not an elite free agent on the planet that would want to sign with a team that has that starting rotation unless they’re paid extremely more money. It’s pretty obvious the Orioles need to use their crazy amount of talented young position prospects/players to acquire some high end starters/pitching. Orioles – Marlins trade???
I don’t see a trade bring beneficial unless Elias knows something I don’t, which he might.
Still though, I gotta believe someone of note will sign with us
Of course someone would sign with the Orioles, that guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Real baseball people know the Orioles will be a threat for years to come the way Elias has built that organization. They are in a position my Jays were a few years ago, if anything they’re positioned even better imo, because the O’s farm was deeper then ours was at that time.
The benefit of a trade would not only be the player(s) the Orioles receive, but also opening a spot for one of our well-regarded, MLB-ready prospects to take over, i.e. we trade Ramon Urias to Seattle for Chris Flexen and a pitching prospect, and now we have an upgraded rotation and an open spot in the infield for Jordan Westburg, who put up 20+ HRs and 100+ RBIs in the high minors last year.
I’m sure Elias knows a lot more than you.;)
I still don’t take his phone calls though,…. well that often
You two are only slightly more bearable here than on MASN….
Just for instance
Santander, Westburg, and Hall for Burnes or even Woodruff would be huge for us.
they get a big league of and major league ready infielder and a lefty they could turn into the next Hader.
That definitely isn’t enough for Burnes or Woodruff, plus they probably wouldn’t want Santander anyway since they would be trying to cut payroll if they trade one of their aces and he is going to cost $7-8 million next year.
Yet TWO elite FA signed with Texas last year. So…you obviously have no idea what is going on
Well the op did say more money. I thought Texas paid max amount for those guys. If all things are equal I am going to give preference to a proven contender (if it’s a iconic franchise even better), taxes, location preference of family weather etc. I think Baltimore would have to pay more to most free agents regardless of their pitching.
Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Jon Gray all signed with Texas last year and their rotation was even more underwhelming at the time.
Have u been to Dallas or traveled through out America ? Do u understand taxes and quality of life ? There’s a reason that they all signed w Texas instead of let’s say…Detroit.
Baltimore is better than Detroit, but then you are on the worst franchise in AL east. Baltimore is an after thought for 90% of FA’s.
So Dallas is a cultural and climate temperate garden of Eden?
Everything is bigger in Dallas
Javier Baez, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Andrew Chafin all signed with Detroit, so…
@bigwhiffa
Obviously, you like to rip cities you don’t live in and haven’t been to. I’m guessing the reason they signed in Texas was the money. They can’t sign with a team that wasn’t dumb enough to offer those contracts.
Only Texas was dumb enough to offer Seager and Semien those contracts
under your philosphy,i must ask why did seager sign wth texas?why did corea sign with the twins?and why did story sign with boston?they are all loosing teams.theres no guarentee your team will win 100 games.if offerd enough money a player will sign anywhere….
Hoping they bring Lyles back, probably for less than 10 Mil. He was an excellent influence on the young pitchers.
Hoping Santander is mostly DH, and they allow Stowers to play full time RF. Stowers may hit lefthanded, but his numbers show he’s actually better vs. Lefty pitching. What’s the big hang up – play him full time and reap the benefits.
It’d be great to sign one pretty decent FA starter, but I’m not betting on it.
Mountcastle needs to step it up or I’m gonna start hoping they aquire a lefty-hitting vet 1B.
Hays. Needs to step it up big time. When I found out he was proud for playing all season, but wasn’t healed from his spiked hand injury…with guys in the wings who could easily do better for the team than he was doing, just passed me off. And THEN, to find out he doesn’t use batting gloves, except for the one like 10 day period after his spiking, (during which time he did very well)…well, I think maybe the Orioles are wasting their time with this genius.
So I don’t mind if they replace him now.
2B to Westburg.
So Happy with Henderson, Mateo, Rutchman and the young pitching. Things are looking up.
Lyles served his purpose admirably last year as a below average but stable innings eater, the goal this year needs to be getting better production from those innings if we are going to contend for a playoff spot.
I think Rodon would be worth the years and cost for the Orioles.
Same thought. They need a legit ace to head their young/uncertain rotation, and Rodon won’t cost as much as Verlander or deGrom, although he’ll require at least a five year commitment. I think it’s worth it, a true ace might be the only thing holding them back from being a legit contender in 2023.
Agreed. No real ace since Mussina left in 2001. So pathetic
Repeating your comment frequently does not make more accurate.
Erik Bedard was excellent, an ace, in 2006 and 2007.
There were others who had ace like seasons between 2001-2022. Give the “so pathetic” a rest please!
You’re pathetic.
No I have to agree with tcaldwell
Mussina was an ace for sure
Bedard – except for one season in 2007 – would not be an ace. In 2007 he was 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA over 182 innings. There would probably be 10-15 pitchers I would have taken over him without an afterthought. But he missed a few starts (only had 28) too. In 2006 he was very good but not great. In 2004-05 he was average.
Tillman? Had 3 solid, above average seasons 2013-16 with one dud mixed in. Was probably better in 2012 than any of those but only over half a season.
Who else would we be calling an ace in that period for the Orioles? Ubaldo? Kris Benson? Trachsel? Sidney Ponson? Daniel Cabrera?
Calling Bedard an ace is a bit of a stretch. Over his 2 best seasons, for the Orioles, 2006 and 2007, he pitched to a 3.47 ERA/3.40 FIP/132 ERA+ and averaged around 6 innings per start, which is very good but not exactly elite.
Thankfully for the Orioles though, Seattle was willing to value him as an ace in trade negotiations 😉
Jumping on this Rodon wagon — the O’s are in the rare (for them at any rate) position of not having too many holes to fill, so its a matter of quality not quantity. Pair that with basically no financial commitments beyond some modest arbitration raises and the O’s have some flexibility. I have been toying with a crazy idea that might suit them — overpay a talent like Rodon with higher than expected AAV for less years — something like 33/3 so as to get his peak value before aging, still allow him one more decent contract, and gets money off the books when you have to start paying Adley and Gunnar the big bucks to lock them down.
The kind of contracts that seem to really be albatrosses are long contracts (6+ years) where the play might meet or exceed value for the first couple of years but usually doesn’t for the second half. This leads mid to lower end market teams to the constant boom bust cycle. I’d rather overpay now while have few commitments for 2-3 years on a player, and then have that money off the books so as to either make another signing or extend– all about opportunity cost.
of those 3 i agree go for rodon.degrom will spend half the year in a wheel chair.i dont remember his last full healthy season.and i dont count 2020.let the mets keep degrom.hes a liability.verlander would be a nice sign ,but i hear he wants 5 years.i would only give him 2. if degrom thinks hes that good then he should be offerd 1.5 million per start.if he makes 30 starts he gets 45 million.but he will only make 10-15 starts and he knlows it.
Orioles are building that organization so well.. It’s amazing how far they’ve come the last few years. All the young talent they have, a fantastic farm system, they’ve fixed the payroll. If I’m them, I don’t spend all that much and take it very carefully. Careless spending is never a good thing.. maybe give it another year or two, before they start throwing real dollars around imo.
John Means is a very solid pitcher, that’s an acquisition itself when he comes back healthy if they need some help in the rotation. I’m sure they have pitching prospects as well who might be ready next year to show what they have. I love my Blue Jays and have for a long time, but if I had to pick a second favourite team it would probably be the Orioles.
Can’t say enough great things about Mike Elias, and what he’s built in Baltimore coming from Houston. What an organization he has built. If they don’t spend carelessly, they may become a power house in the near future. That’s why I say, be very frugal with that payroll.
Why shouldn’t they spend money for two years? They don’t need to sign any long term deals but why not fill in their holes with nice players on no long term deals.How would bringing in Verlander on a two year deal change their future spending?
Yeah, Grayson is the key here. If he can hit the ground running they have a chance.
The orioles want LH hitting?
Doesn’t sound like the truth. They’re imbalanced that way already.
No sir, the O’s are not imbalanced with too many quality left handed hitters.
In 2022, the O’s had 28% plate appearances by left handed batters, with an average OPS 0.663. Right handed batters had an average OPS of 0.709.
I wonder if the orioles would be willing to take Marcell Ozuna off the braves hands if they included Ian Anderson and Mike Soroka in the process. One dud of a contract packaged with 2 high potential bounce back pitchers.
Why on earth would the braves do that? Gms don’t trade away great assets to get rid of bad contracts, they just release the player. Everyone always suggests these terrible trade solutions, the solution is to not sign free agents and if you do you certainly don’t trade away great young players to get rid of albatross contracts.
Give me something like Taijuan Walker and Noah Syndergaard for the rotation, JD Martinez to serve as an almost everyday DH, a reunion with Zack Britton to add another lefty to the pen, and Jorge Alfaro to back up Adley and start against tougher lefty SPs, and I’ll consider this offseason a smashing success.
Pass on Taijuan. Maybe Elias can unlock something out of Thor. But I believe we could get DeaN kremer/Voth et. Al to pitch like Walker for Pennies.
I’d rather bring Mancini back than JD also. let the young guys play IMO.
Some of the “under the hood” numbers for Kremer make me skeptical of him repeating his 2022 performance and Voth could easily revert to his pre-Orioles form, and Wells, Hall, and Bradish all have question marks as well. Adding 2 reliable SPs via trade or free agency so that only 2 of Hall, Kremer, Bradish, Voth, and Wells need to be counted on in the rotation to start the season would not only improve the rotation but also give us some pretty solid to depth to get through 162 games.
You didn’t share the under the hood numbers, tsk tsk.
Here are some for Kremer:
Exit velocity 2021: 93.1 | 2022: 88.4
Walk % 2021: 10.2 | 2022: 6.6
Hard hit % 2021: 45.3 | 2022: 39.2
xERA 2021: 6.43 | 2022: 4.46
GB % 2021: 30.2 | 2022: 40.3
Barrell % 2021: 14.0 | 2022: 7.3
You sound so wise until the stats are presented…
Your stats showed he improved from 2021. But right in the stats you listed is his expected era, which is higher than his actual era. Throw in his low babip and high strand rate and it does not seem like he’ll repeat his 2022. He could continue to improve an repeat his 2022, but it doesn’t seem likely.
Yes, Kremer improved dramatically this year from his absolutely putrid 2021, but is it sustainable? His 2022 Hard Hit%, Whiff%, and Barrel% all range from below average to significantly below average and his expected ERA, batting average, and SLG are all in the 25th percentile or lower.
That doesn’t exactly scream “reliable long-term starting pitcher in the AL East.”
I read this as he was a little lucky and an exact repeat of this could end up in a far different (worse) result.
But I also read it that if he builds/improves he does have some potential.
JD might be done but Mancini is toast. If you want an over-the-hill hitter, maybe Brantley.
Walker would be a nice piece. Thor lost to much on his fastball. The Orioles need to sign a quality veteran to influence their young guys.
Rather have Taillon
Taillon is a slightly better, way more expensive 2022 Jordan Lyles. 4.08 ERA/100 ERA+ over the last 2 years vs. 4.42 ERA/91 ERA+. I think Walker and Syndergaard can be more than that.
Hard pass on Thor and Britton. Not really interested in JD either for what it will cost (i.e. I’d rather use that money toward a TOR SP).
They aren’t going to sign any top shelf FA pitchers so mid-tier guys with upside is the best you can reasonably hope for.
crazy, Stowers could and should get a crack at an everyday role in the corner OF
Maybe some DH and 1B at bats, too. Stowers looks subpar in the outfield.
Miami wants trade one of their starters (Pablo Lopez) and Baltimore desperately needs a starter. Baltimore has enough offensive depth to strike a deal with Miami for Lopez. If Baltimore can land him and also sign another SP in free agency, their Rotation is going to look so much better.
This ain’t bad at all if you ask me..
Pablo Lopez
John means
Grayson Rodriguez
(Free agent SP)
Dean Kemer
Depends on who the O’s give up in the trade.
Lopez and then Tallinn or walker would be a great get for Os ! Then if they get a RP and either bell/belt. That would be a solid offseason and about as much as an O fan could reasonably hope for.
What Os really need to do though is lock up their talent. Give all that money they are bragging about to mullins and then rutschman and then even younger sure fire talent.
I really thought the article was going to be two words. WAIVER CLAIMS.
Trade Urias for Flexen. Henderson to 3b, sign Segura to play 2b
Hall had a rough first game and third game, but after that he threw 8.2 IP over his last 8 games and had a 1.04 ERA, 11K VS 2 BB and a 1.27 FIP. Small sample size, but saying he had a rough go of it isn’t exactly accurate.
Yeah another MASN poster. The quote is “DL Hall struggled in a handful of relief options this year” DL Hall let up runs in three relief appearances, that’s a handful. His MLB stats over all 11 appearance – 5.93 ERA and 1.683 – aren’t good. But since you like Hall, we should only count the good stretches? Got it!
Just sign a top pitcher FA we have a good offense with many top prospects on the cusp to improve the hitting at 2nd move Santander to DH and let Stowers have an every day roll. I’m worried this team won’t prioritize pitching the way the last regime did from 2012-2016. Don’t make the same mistake twice!
To be fair, the last regime’s idea of prioritizing pitching was signing free agent leftovers like Ubaldo, Gallardo, and Cobb to disastrous contracts.
O’s have done a great job rebuilding, they had great relief pitching last year which won a lot of games for them. Rutschman is a super star, they need to keep filling the holes in their line-up and add pitching. They need solid starters who give them innings and post like most teams. Pitching wins, just look at the Astros!
The O’s current rebuild has lasted at least 1 year longer than successful rebuilds.
AssumesFactNotInEvidence;
You’re counting 2020 as a full year.
In 2022 Mr. Elias said they came together a year earlier than he expected.
The Astros came out of theirs in 2015, and have been contenders the 8 years since – winning multiple payoff series and 2 WS. The Orioles are pretty much the Astros 2.0. Similar construction of the team. Similar accent on fundamental play and the coaching staff continuously making the players under contract better.
Rebuilds are not “One Size Fits All.”
Let Westburg man 2nd. Gunnar 3rd. Give Mateo another shot. If you can trade an outfielder for a good SP then do that. Let Grayson and DL pitch. Sign another veteran innings eater for the year. Let what you have develop. Last season was fun but was a bit of magic. SP’s had a lot of good luck. We are on the right course. Let it play out. In no world is this the year to put all your chips in.
This really isn’t MLBTR worthy news for the O’s. Roch hasn’t been able to get any insights into Elias’ front office any more than the next guy because the O’s have been one of the tightest lipped organizations under Elias that I can recall. Nobody had any real inclination that Elias would go Jackson Holliday over Druw Jones at 1-1 nor did anyone really know that Kjerstad was a possibility at #2 in 2020 till Manfred announced the pick. It seems line info about the O’s comes from the agent network quicker than it comes from the Org itself.
I think Roch is better at guessing and understanding the organization’s philosophy better than most but that has to be taken with a grain of salt since we have no idea how Mike Elias builds a contender at the MLB level. I think Roch’s expectation is more so understanding what the payroll limits are likely to be this season and speculating Elias esque targets under those restraints.
It seems to me in the article that the Brantley/Bellinger speculations are personal targets from Rochs mind than anything coming from the O’s front office, And expectation the O’s are chasing the pitching 2nd tier seems to be as well.
CHS O’sFan;
I don’t get MASN, so consequently never heard of Roch Kubatko.
The article made next to no sense to me after watching maybe 80-90 Orioles games this year. None of he players mention as possibilities to acquire are any better than what they already have….and are cheaper. What they need is a back-up catcher.
The Orioles have so many good young position players that it’s going to be difficult to cut them down to 13, and of those 13 I doubt that more than 4 or 5 will be semi-regulars. The Orioles starting line-up will vary game by game with some players coming in mid-game.
The Orioles didn’t draft many pitchers yet they had one of the best bullpens in MLB, and their starting staff was decent. As the Astros do (where Mike Elias and Sig Mejdal came from), the Orioles develop and maintain their own pitchers. The bullpen was good all year. Pitchers on the starting staff in general got better as the year went on. This is essential to a contending team as even if they buy pitchers, they have to tune them as the year goes on. Both Means and Rodriguez look like they can become TOR pitchers. If so, getting 4 or 5 other starters brought up to speed to eat innings should be workable. And keep in mind that they have younger pitchers that haven’t been publicized that they’re working with.
The O’s really don’t need much going into 2023. They’re still sorting through what they have, and giving players opportunities to both develop and establish themselves. No doubt quite a few are going to be top-tier MLB players. So 2023 will simply be a year to begin contention (I do think they can get a playoff spot). Lots will happen throughout the year, and I suspect there will be some in-season trades. The big push should come in 2024.
I upvoted you – you are right about Roch.
I was certain they were going to take Holliday over Jones and was talking it up as done for three weeks prior to the draft. And Kjerstad was in the rumor mill for the Orioles for about a week before the draft, so he was not a big surprise.
If they can’t get a Lopez of the Fish in a trade, sign a RSP like a Walker and a LSP like a Smiley (SP?) or Manea (sp?). A couple of 3/4s that are 1/2s until Rodriguez is ready and Means is healthy.
Wells/Bradish/Voth/Kremer is your 5 group, long relief and subs/placeholders to the top 4.
Short relief is Baker, Cilone (sp?), Tate,
Bautista.
Wild card: Hall