Baltimore Orioles: Top Five Priorities for the Offseason
Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
It was a good season for the Baltimore Orioles in 2016. The team returned to the postseason after not making the tournament last season, even though it was a short appearance. But the question still remains, what can the O’s do this winter to help them get further in 2017?
A season that saw the Baltimore Orioles prove the critics wrong yet again ended on a sour note with the team losing to the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL wild card elimination game. The win or go home contest was defined by a lack of offense and an incredibly questionable decision from Buck Showalter to keep Zach Britton in the bullpen, even with the game going into the 12th inning.
Nevertheless, Orioles fans should be pleased because it was another successful season that saw Manny Machado continue to solidify his place among the best in the game and Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy make noticeable leaps into becoming top of the rotation starters that many people thought he could be when they were pitching gems in the minor leagues. Not to mention that Zach Britton was not human for the entirity of the 2016 season.
Still, when looking at the situation the Orioles will be facing this offseason, it brings question about how much better the team can get over the winter. Key players like Mark Trumbo and Matt Wieters are impending free agents, plus there are still multiple sizable contracts on the books for players that probably don’t deserve them. You also have to take into account that a couple more guys will be receiving decent raises through arbitration, most notably Britton, Machado, Chris Tillman and Jonathan Schoop.
While it is important to try and look ahead and attempt to sign the likes of Machado or Tillman to contract extensions, this list is going to focus on what Baltimore should do to maximize their chances of getting further in the postseason next year.
1. Let Matt Wieters Walk
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Last offseason, the Orioles front office decided to extend Matt Wieters a qualifying offer and probably much to the club’s surprise, the all star backstop decided to take it and return for one more season. General manager Dan Duquette was under the impression that with the lack of quality catchers on the free agent market last winter, he would receive draft pick compensation from the team that signed Wieters to a lucrative deal. But obviously that didn’t happen and the now 30 year-old put up his typical numbers for the Orioles again in 2016.
While it’s nice to have Wieters on the team because of his leadership and solid play, but let’s not make that same mistake again this offseason. The qualifying offer is spiking up to over $17 million in value this winter. Wieters does not deserve this much money, plain and simple. So yes, if the Orioles decline to extend their catcher a qualifying offer they will lose out on an extra draft pick, Duquette just shouldn’t take that risk again. The money he would be saving should be allocated to addressing needs elsewhere.
It’s sad that Wieters, who was one of the more hyped prospected in Orioles history, may be moving on next season, but business is business and by letting him go the Orioles can make improvements that will truly make a difference next year. I think that whatever team signs the veteran catcher will seriously regret it because at this point he’s living more off his reputation than his actual performance.
2. Replace Wieters with a low cost veteran free agent
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Now that the O’s are ready to let their longtime catcher walk, he needs to be replaced with a more cost efficient option. This means that bringing in a high quality option like Wilson Ramos is unrealistic because of the numerous holes that the Orioles have to fill.
However, this doesn’t mean that the team won’t be able to find a capable backstop to pair with Caleb Joseph. Prior to this season, I was a much bigger fan of Baltimore backup catcher than I am now. He was solid defensively, but his offensive output was just miserable. The 30 year-old hit for a .174 average and didn’t collect an RBI in the 49 games that he appeared. Getting more consistent at bats should help to improve this 2016 numbers, but his slow bat and poor numbers should not give anyone in the Orioles organization confidence that he can fill the starting catching spot everyday.
In terms of potential fits available in free agency, there are a couple of names that stick out to me as being a good fit on the Baltimore roster. Colorado Rockies catcher Nick Hundley was previously with the O’s in 2014 and has been putting up solid numbers in a pseudo-starting role in Colorado the past two years. He hit for a .260 average while launching 10 home runs in just 83 games.
Chris Ianetta is another potential veteran option. He hasn’t put up as good of numbers as Hundley, but he brings some pop to the lineup and should be able to be had for a reasonable one-year contract. Kurt Suzuki is an under-the-radar option as well after he has a decent season with the Twins in 2016.
3. Make Sense of the Starting Rotation
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Things are going to get interesting for the Orioles starting rotation in 2017. As of now, there are six starters for just five spots. Three of those options are veteran pitchers that are set to make way too much money based on their performance last season. Ubaldo Jimenez, Yovani Gallardo and Wade Miley will all be making $10 million or more next year.
Jimenez will be on the last year of the four year, $50 million deal he signed with the club in 2014. His struggles have been on full display for the past three years, so he shouldn’t be guaranteed anything even the positive signs he showed in September.
Gallardo was expected to be a stable veteran presence when the O’s signed him to a two year, $22 million contract during Spring Training. However, he was anything but consistent. The veteran right hander struggled to get deep into ballgames and his stuff noticeably declined. Good moments were view and far between for the 30 year-old in 2016. I bet the Orioles wish that they hadn’t surrendered a draft pick to sign him.
A midseason trade also brought Wade Miley into the mix and he did not do anything that would make one think that he has a lock on a rotation spot heading into 2017. After not performing well with the Mariners, Dan Duquette might have thought he was getting a good buy low candidate. Instead, the left handed starter pitched his way out of the starting rotation. His lack of command and subpar pitching offerings were what did in the O’s trade deadline acquisition.
With Chris Tillman, Kevin Gausman and Dylan buddy seemingly holding down the first three spots, it’s going to be Buck Showalter’s job to figure out what he will do with his three other highly-priced starters. Will he go with a six man rotation or will he stash one of his guys in the pen. If it were up to me I would have never traded for Miley, but now that he’s here and getting paid well, the Orioles skipper is going to have to get creative in 2017.
4. Find a Suitable Replacement for Mark Trumbo in right field
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Mark Trumo was perhaps the biggest steal of the offseason, apart from the Shelby Miller–Dansby Swanson trade of course. However, his contributions probably won’t last for more than one year being that the right fielder is entering a free agent market that doesn’t have many quality players to throw money out. With the Oriols payroll already being the highest it’s ever been and with the future free agent quandaries of Tillman, Machado and others, signing Trumbo to a long term deal is probably not in the cards for Dan Duquette. This is much like the quick departure of Nelson Cruz, who signed a four year deal with the Mariners after he signed a “prove it” contract with Baltimore in 2014.
Unlike that situation the Orioles will have to do a better job in replacing their all-star slugger. The good news is that the hitting free agent market is much much better than the pitching available. Some good fits who could be had for reasonable contracts include Nori Aoki who could bring some speed to the order. Thanks to a poor second half, Michael Saunders may be in play as well. Saunders would probably be my first option for the club being that he is still in his prime and offers a good combination of both power and disciplined hitting that the O’s need.
Matt Holliday is also out there as he could split time in right field and at designated hitter. The 37 year-old was just decent for the Cardinals this past season, so St.Louis will probably decline his $17 million option. Jon Jay could be a good buy-low option too as he was in the midst of a solid year in San Diego before being struck by injury. I see Jose Bautista and Josh Reddick as being a little out of the team’s price range,, but if Peter Angelos wanted to open the checkbook those guys would be good options to replace Trumbo.
Dexter Fowler is probably the best fit for the team, but he will be heavily bid on this winter. Expect rookie Trey Mancini and another low cost left-handed hitter to take the designated hitter role, so this leaves right field as the main need that has to be addressed this offseason.
5. Improve the team’s on-base percentage
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While this doesn’t have so much to do with a single player or need if there’s one thing that the Orioles must improve upon in 2017 it has to be their ability to avoid the strikeout and get on-base. There is no doubt that the likes of Adam Jones, Jonathan Schoop, J.J. Hardy and Chris Davis are potential middle of the order hitters, the problem is that there is a clear lack of diversity and dynamic element to the Baltimore offense.
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The entire batting order pretty much does the same thing, which is to take an aggressive approach at the plate and if they don’t hit a homerun there is a high chance that they’re going to strikeout. The only player that really works that count consistently outside of Manny Machado is Hyun-soo Kim who was sort of an under-the-radar hero of the 2016 season. Kim frequently went deep into counts and made the pitcher work, which was a good change of pace to the normal Orioles routine. The former left fielder should be an everyday player for the ballclub.
Overall, there needs to be more speed and more of a consistent approach at the plate when the Orioles take a look at what players they are going to try to to bring in this offseason. Some of th options that I already mentioned will help to do that, but Buck can’t keep having to write in a lineup that will inevitably go on cold streaks because they are all aggressive hitters. This is the one area that can truly bring the Orioles further in their quest to win their first World Series since the 1980s.
What do you think the Orioles’ strategy should be this offseason? Let us know in the comment section below.
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