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Good morning, Camden Chatters.
I hope you’re doing well. Not just today, but in life in general. I hope you’re feeling happy and fulfilled, and that you surround yourself with people you care about and who care about you.
Most of all, dear Camden Chatters, I hope you love something as much as Mike Elias loves infielders.
The Orioles’ new GM hasn’t made a ton of additions to the Orioles’ roster since taking over in November, but when he has, there’s been a distinct similarity among the players he’s acquired. Yesterday, the O’s claimed infielder Jack Reinheimer off waivers from Texas; the 26-year-old is joining his sixth organization and is 5-for-30 as a major leaguer.
Reinheimer has played 50 or more games apiece at shortstop, second base, and third base in his minor league career. He’s now the fifth infielder Elias has added to the 40-man this winter, joining Rio Ruiz, Richie Martin, Drew Jackson, and Hanser Alberto. In fact, the O’s don’t have any new players on the 40-man who aren’t infielders (they briefly added pitcher Austin Brice, but he was designated for assignment yesterday to make room for Reinheimer).
It’s understandable that Elias wants to add infield depth. Renato Nunez hasn’t played a full season in the bigs yet, and Jonathan Villar is not allowed to start at both second base and shortstop simultaneously (I checked). There’s nothing wrong with bringing in new guys for some healthy competition. Still, the O’s are rife with holes nearly everywhere on the roster. Perhaps it’s time to shift the focus to another part of the field.
Links
Top 32 Prospects: Baltimore Orioles | FanGraphs Baseball
FanGraphs unveils its top 32 Orioles prospects, complete with bios of each. I can’t say I agree with all the rankings -- c’mon, Alex Wells can’t even make the top 32? -- but this is a must-read if you have any interest at all in the O’s minor league system.
Getting to know the new coaching staff - School of Roch
Roch Kubatko has quotes aplenty from the Orioles' new coaching staff at FanFest. For some of these guys, it might be the last time we hear from them in a while. Do you ever see in-season interviews with, say, the assistant hitting coach?
Myriad Orioles Thoughts: Buying into the plan; the analytics equation; hiring Brocail; missing Jones – The Athletic
Dan Connolly checks in with his thoughts from FanFest, including the surprising optimism coming from Orioles fans fresh off a 115-loss season. FanFest does tend to be an optimistic affair. I mean, it’s not called CynicFest.
Brocail faces challenge in constructing Orioles pitching staff - BaltimoreBaseball.com
In case you were wondering, the Orioles’ new pitching coach is on board the analytics train. As if there were any doubt.
With renewed confidence, Chance Sisco is ready to attack 2019 - Steve Melewski
I’ll admit, with all the changes that have been going on with the Orioles, I kind of forgot that Chance Sisco was a thing. He went from top prospect to big league dud in the span of a year. But he’s still just 23, so let’s not write him off yet.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your only O’s birthday buddies are 2013 two-gamer Jair Jurrjens (33) and 1985-88 righty John Habyan (55).
On this day in 2002, the Orioles made one of their classic “let’s trade prospects for mediocre veterans so we can finish in a solid fourth place” trades, dealing 23-year-old Willie Harris for 29-year-old Chris Singleton. Singleton lasted just one year with the Birds, while Harris hung around the majors for 12 years as a utility guy.