You hear all sorts of things as the trade deadline approaches. Yesterday, shortly after the Cleveland Indians traded RHP Justin Masterson to the Cardinals (therefore making THIS post completely obsolete after being on the internet for 9 hours), there was word that the Orioles were interested in Chicago Cubs second baseman Emilio Bonifacio. If this is true, I’m not sure why they would be interested. And since this is my third straight post in as many days, I’m going to be lazy and explain why by inserting some of my own tweets from yesterday. Continue reading
Archive for July, 2014
Should the Orioles be Interested in Emilio Bonifacio?
Posted in Offense, Trades with tags 2014 Trade Deadline, Emilio Bonifacio on July 31, 2014 by oriolesprovinggroundOrioles Should Try to Acquire Justin Masterson
Posted in Pitching, Trades with tags 2014 Trade Deadline, Camden Depot, Justin Masterson on July 30, 2014 by oriolesprovinggroundIt’s July 30, and that means more trade talk. Despite being in the playoff hunt, the Cleveland Indians have not only made Justin Masterson available, but they seem “very willing” to deal him. Even though he’s having the worst season of his career and is currently on the disabled list (right knee inflammation), I think he would be an excellent fit for the Baltimore Orioles to try and acquire before the trade deadline. So head over to ESPN Sweetspot Network Orioles blog, Camden Depot and find out why.
Direct Link to Article –> Orioles Should Try to Acquire Justin Masterson
Minor League Recap: July 21-July 27
Posted in Minor Leagues, Offense, Pitching, Prospects with tags Brady Wager, Branden Kline, Brock Huntzinger, Clay Rapada, Dariel Alvarez, Dylan Bundy, Ivan De Jesus, Jason Esposito, Lucas Herbst, Michael Ohlman, Mike Yastrzemski, Minor League Recap, Mychal Givens, Tyler Wilson, Zach Davies on July 29, 2014 by oriolesprovinggroundThe Norfolk Tides are the talk of baseball!
Tides win! Christian Walker’s 9th inning solo homer is the difference as Norfolk wins at Columbus 6-5. Tides have now won 15 of last 18!
— Norfolk Tides (@NorfolkTides) July 28, 2014
Ok, they aren’t really, but the exclamation points make you think they are. Actually, going 15-3 over an 18 game stretch is pretty impressive, and that hot streak has now brought them up to 8 games below .500, 7.5 games behind the division leading Durham Bulls. Wait, 8 games BELOW .500? After going 15-3 over their last 18 games? Yeah, they’re not a good team. Considering they’re 10 games out of the wild card as well, I’d hold off on printing those playoff tickets.
In “you can stop panicking” news, Dylan Bundy threw 6 scoreless innings last week to bring his ERA at Frederick DOWN to 6.11. He gave up 3 hits and walked to in his outing, but he only struck out one batter (if that actually made you panic more, then…sorry). Continue reading
Zach Britton on Pace to (Probably) Make History
Posted in Pitching with tags Brad Bergesen, Brandon Erbe, Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, Zach Britton on July 25, 2014 by oriolesprovinggroundOrioles closer Zach Britton was once part of the team’s “cavalry” of starting pitching prospects that included Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, and to a lesser extent Brandon Erbe and Brad Bergesen. #Blessed with an above average sinking fastball and slider (along with an average change-up), Britton was generally considered the 2nd or 3rd best prospect of the group, depending on who was asked, and he topped out as Keith Law’s #11 overall prospect in his 2011 rankings for ESPN (ESPN Insider required and recommended). Here’s a snippet of what Law had to say:
“There’s at least strong No. 2 starter potential here, but better command would give him more ceiling than that.”
Minor League Recap: July 14-July 20
Posted in Minor Leagues, Offense, Pitching with tags Buck Britton, Cord Phelps, Dennis Torres, Dylan Bundy, Eduardo Rodriguez, Jason Gurka, Michael Burgess, Michael Ohlman, Mike Wright, Mike Yastrzemski, Minor League Recap, Nick Additon, Trey Mancini on July 23, 2014 by oriolesprovinggroundIt’s been a while since the last minor league recap (almost two months!), but I can promise you that I have some really good excuses. The first excuse is that I was out of country on my honeymoon. Yes, it’s true that I have been married for a little while now (apologies to all of those single ladies who read this blog on a regular basis, I know there are a lot of you), but we hadn’t had the opportunity to go on one until this past June. I was then tied up with my actual job that pays me way more money than I get for operating this site, so, you know, priorities. I had thought about doing one giant minor league update, but quickly reconsidered when I realized just how much work that would entail. So I decided it was best just to not cover the last 6 weeks of Orioles minor league baseball. Let’s face it, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter.
In actual Orioles minor league baseball news, the big story of last week was the promotions of 1B Christian Walker and recent Futures Game representative OF Dariel Alvarez to AAA, as well as the promotion of OF Mike Yastrzemski to AA. That’s great news for them, as they’re one step closer to their major league dreams. But don’t go thinking that they’re actual prospects all of a sudden. With the respective All-Star games last week, it was a short one, so let’s get on to the recap… Continue reading
A Trade for Martin Prado Solves a Present and Future Problem
Posted in Offense, Trades with tags 2014 Trade Deadline, Camden Depot, Jonathan Schoop, Josh Hart, Martin Prado, Mike Wright, Ryan Flaherty, Tim Berry, Zach Davies on July 21, 2014 by oriolesprovinggroundTrade season is heating up and like most contenders, the Baltimore Orioles find themselves only a few weeks away from the trade deadline with areas for improvement. Second base happens to be one of those areas. With talented rookie Jonathan Schoop struggling offensively, the team could use an upgrade to increase their chances of a playoff run in 2014. Today over at ESPN Sweetspot Network Oriols blog Camden Depot, I explain why acquiring Martin Prado solves their issue at second base in 2014, but also takes care of potential roster problems in the future.
Direct Link to Article –> A Trade for Martin Prado Solves a Present and Future Problem
Orioles Starting Rotation (Still) Needs Improvement
Posted in Pitching, Trades with tags A.J. Burnett, Brandon McCarthy, Bud Norris, Camden Depot, Chris Tillman, Dylan Bundy, Jason Hammel, Kevin Gausman, Mike Wright, Tim Berry, Ubaldo Jimenez, Zach Davies on July 1, 2014 by oriolesprovinggroundAfter a long vacation that didn’t involve any baseball, I’m back with my first post since early June. Today at ESPN Sweetspot Network Orioles blog Camden Depot, I take a look at a very familiar topic that has seemed to pop up during the trade deadline and the offseason ever since I started writing about the team. Writing about upgrading Baltimore’s starting rotation is quickly becoming a bi-annual tradition, where the names change, but the statistics stay the same. Take a look at the article to see who I suggest they go after this time.
Direct Link to Article –> Orioles Starting Rotation (Still) Needs Improvement
Orioles Proving Ground 