Wednesday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are making moves already

Good morning, Birdland!

Look, this is gonna be kind of a boring offseason for the Orioles from a major league perspective. They may sign a free agent, but it may not be a name you recognize. They make a trade, but it will almost certainly involve the Orioles getting the prospects rather than the established veteran. But rest assured that they will be busy.

Just yesterday, the O’s added a pitcher to the 40-man roster and they hired another minor league coach that is versed in modern methodologies. These are the types of moves you can expect.

For most of you that frequent this site, you are probably well aware of the reality of the Orioles situation. This is the kind of offseason they need to be having. They remain miles away from competing in the AL East, and while the minor league pitching took a significant step forward in 2019, there is some room for improvement for the hitters.

Until he proves otherwise, Mike Elias is someone we can trust. He hasn’t let us down yet!

Links & Notes

Orioles Claim Cole Sulser - MLB Trade Rumors
The Orioles offseason has only just started, and Cole Susler is the type of player that may always find himself on the fringes of a 40-man roster, so it remains to be seen if he will even make it to spring training with the club. But he also struck out 98 batters in 73.1 innings between Triple-A and MLB, so there is something intriguing there.

Which Orioles Showed Enough To Earn Longer Look In 2020? - Press Box
Honestly, there were more positives in this season than I expected there to be. The Orioles improved in 2019 and are on track to do so again in 2020.

Elias’ first year with Orioles is a qualified success - Baltimore Baseball
Agreed. Elias did almost exactly what he set out to do in his first season at the helm. The major league team was bad, but featured some inspiring performances, while the minor leagues are much more talented and saw substantial improvements across the board.

Five things we learned about the Orioles’ rebuild in 2019, and what they mean for the offseason and beyond - Baltimore Sun
I think the biggest thing I took away from this season is that we all need to be patient with this process. Minor league players are going to be going through every step of development. Chris Davis is probably going to get more at bats than you would like. We are going to suffer through watching a lot of waiver wire claims in the big leagues. We all still have another few seasons of bad baseball ahead of us. Prepare yourself.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

Victor Santos, a right-handed pitcher for the Orioles in four games during the 2007 season, is 43 years old today. Jose Morban, an Orioles infielder for 61 games back in 2003, is 40.

2014 - The Orioles win Game 1 of the ALDS, beating Max Scherzer and the Tigers 12-3.

2016 - The O’s become the first team of the day to clinch a playoff spot after beating the Yankees 5-2 thanks to Matt Wieters’s two-home run game.