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Morning, Birdland!
It is the weekend and this Orioles club has me excited again. They scored a bunch of runs last night in a 15-5 drubbing of the Tampa Bay Rays that Stacey recapped for us. That was fun, but it’s more about what is happening off of the big league field.
The Orioles are trying to sign international free agents. Who knows how successful they will be, but there does seem to be an obvious effort there, and it’s appreciated.
On top of that, they don’t seem completely content with the work they have done so far this month in the trade market. They remain in talks with a few clubs around the league, which is exactly what they need to do. Burn it down and then build it back up. It’s like they are a real major league organization, and it is awesome!
Links
Brewers, Orioles Holding “Serious Discussions” - MLB Trade Rumors
The Brewers were active on Friday night. They have officially traded for Royals infielder Mike Moustakas, which could potentially be a band aid for their second base issues. That assumes Moustakas will play third base and Travis Shaw will move to second. If that is the case, Jonathan Schoop doesn’t have a clear suitor at the moment, although Kevin Gausman could still be on the table for Milwaukee.
Orioles pursuing Cuban outfielder Victor Victor Mesa - Camden Chat
A tweet from Emily Waldon of The Athletic indicated that the O’s were closing in on the international market’s best available player, outfielder Victor Victor Mesa. Since then, other journalists have walked that back to say that the team is interested and will watch his upcoming showcase. However, it should be noted that Baltimore has the most international slot money to spend. If they want him, and money is a driving factor, then they will have him.
Brad and Jenae Brach discuss life and stresses at the trade deadline - The Athletic
I’m guilty of forgetting this quite often, but it’s important to remember that these are people. It’s easy to distance ourselves from these guys because so often we only see them through out television screens, but trades have real world effects on people, children, families. We can still want a certain player to be traded, but don’t be a jerk about it.
Manny Machado says goodbye to Orioles and looks ahead - Baltimore Sun
If you wanna be sad about Manny again for a second, here you go!
Dillon Tate feels ‘slow, but sure’ progress puts him on track for success - Baltimore Sun
Dillon Tate immediately became one of the Orioles top pitching prospects following the Zach Britton trade with the Yankees. In all of the interviews I have seen with him, he seems like a pretty cool character. Nothing really bothers him. Let’s hope that leads to success on the mound.
Jonathan Schoop is surging. What should the Orioles do with him? - The Athletic
Are you team “trade Schoop” or team “extend Schoop”? For me, I am on the side of trading him, but only because I don’t see him as a second baseman long term. He would likely need to move to third or one of the corner spots. At that point, his bat doesn’t play up as much as it does in the middle of the infield.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is it your birthday? Happy Birthday!
For this part of the Droppings I usually look to Baseball Reference’s list of professional baseball players born on this day. Unfortunately, it was giving me a “502 - Bad Gateway” error. Sorry!
Other notable birthdays: Garfield creator Jim Davis (1945), comical musician Stephen Lynch (1971), hockey player Zach Parise (1984), rapper Soulja Boy (1990) and soccer player Harry Kan (1993).
1971 - Brooks Robinson commits three errors in one game, but the Orioles win anyway on Frank Robinson’s walk-off three run homer off of Rollie Fingers. Brooks went on to win his 12th career Gold Glove that season...and then four more after that.
1995 - Bobby Bonilla is traded to the Orioles. In exchange, the Mets acquire Alex Ochoa and Baltimore’s own Damon Buford.
2000 - Mike Bordick is traded from the Orioles to the Mets in exchange for Melvin Mora, Mike Kinkade, Lesli Brea and Pat Gorman. New York went on to lose that year’s World Series and Bordick returned to Baltimore in the offseason. Mora had an outstanding career as a late-bloomer that would go on to make two All-Star Games and win a Silver Slugger award over a decade with the O’s.
2001 - This is a special date for Mora. His wife, Gisel, gives birth to quintuplets, three boys and two girls. All of the babies end up healthy despite weighing under two-and-a-half pounds at birth.
2017 - The Orioles acquire Jeremy Hellickson from the Phillies in exchange for Hyun Soo Kim and left-handed pitching prospect Garrett Cleavinger. Hellickson is now with the Nationals, Kim has returned to the Korean Baseball Organization and Cleavinger is scuffling in Double-A.