Wednesday’s Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles might hire you

Good morning, Birdland!

I played a lot of baseball video games back in the day. MVP Baseball 2005 was my jam. Sure, doing the actual pitching and hitting was fun, but making fictional trades and signing massive free agent deals might have been even better. The Orioles are now offering you the chance to make that fantasy into a reality...sort of.

You won’t get to complete trades or contracts but you might have a tiny role in helping Mike Elias and company make those decisions. You can get all of the details in the first link down below. And if you do hit the big time, don’t forget about us little people in the blogO’sphere.

Links

Orioles looking everywhere for analytical talent - Baltimore Baseball
If you have ever wanted to work in the O’s front office, now is your opportunity. You need to be familiar with SQL and R. If you are, then it’s likely that you are also well acquainted with data and how to analyze it. That’s gonna be important. Here is the actual job listing on Indeed.

There’s still time for Orioles prospect Hunter Harvey to make his mark - The Athletic
At this point, it feels like whatever the O’s can get out of Harvey is a bonus, but he remains a highly-regarded prospect due to his raw ability alone. This is a case where development does not seem to be the issue, but the player’s ability to stay healthy continues to be worrisome.

Rajsich won’t return to Orioles in 2019 - MASN Sports
With a new GM in place that has a background in scouting, it’s no surprise that Elias decided against renewing Gary Rajsich’s contract. Rajsich had been the club’s director of scouting since November of 2011. It may have been a mixed bag of results for Rajsich’s tenure, but it’s impossible to truly judge his performance prior to the arrival of players like Ryan Mountcastle, DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez at the big league level.

A look at a few possible Rule 5 targets for the Orioles - MASN Sports
There are enough gaps on this team’s roster that making a selection in the Rule 5 draft makes sense. The possible non-tendering of Tim Beckham increases the likelihood that they will select someone and that this someone will be an infielder.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is it your birthday? Happy Birthday!

Current Orioles swingman Yefry Ramirez is 25 years old. He struggled during his first big league season in 2018, and his role for 2019 remains undetermined. Also celebrating a birthday is Maryland’s own Jim Fuller. The Bethesda-born outfielder spent 73 games in Birdland between 1973 and ‘74, compiling a .209/.251/.386 slash line. He turns 68 today.

1973 - O’s centerfielder Al Bumbry is named AL Rookie of the Year. The 26-year-old batted .337/.398/.500 with seven home runs and a league-leading 11 triples.

1978 - Right-handed pitcher Steve Stone signs with the O’s. He would go on to play three seasons in Baltimore, win the 1980 Cy Young award and produce 4.6 total bWAR.

2005 - Former Orioles closer B.J. Ryan inks a 5-year, $47 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, the biggest deal ever given to a relief pitcher at the time.