Wednesday Bird Droppings: Orioles announce 2022 coaching staff

Good morning, Birdland!

Normally, the formal announcement of a coaching staff that was already known would not pass as “news,” but we are in the midst of a lockout, so we take what we can get.

The Orioles released the names of their entire coaching staff for 2022 on Tuesday morning. Brandon Hyde’s supporting cast will be nine strong. Highlights include Fredi González moving into the bench coach role, a minor promotion from being “major league coach” a season ago. Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte will be the new co-hitting coaches, as reported several weeks ago. And every casual fan’s favorite punching bag, Chris Holt, will stay on as pitching coach and director of pitching, as expected.

There isn’t much to react to here. González is now in pole position to become the team’s manager if a mid-season firing of Hyde is put on the table, although that seems unlikely given that not much will be expected from this squad in 2022. If Hyde does go, it is likely that a slew of new faces will be in order for the dugout by Opening Day of 2023.

Much of the evaluation here comes down to how the coaching staff gels with the prospects that are likely to make the jump to the big league. That’s a group that will be led by Adley Rutschman but could also include D.L. Hall, Grayson Rodriguez, and Gunnar Henderson depending upon how things go in the season to come.

Links

What Are Teams Paying Per WAR in Free Agency? | FanGraphs
Prior to the lockout, it felt like teams were spending more in free agency. In fact, they were, but it was still less per WAR than they were spending prior to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

4 x 20: Orioles’ 1971 Season Is One for the Books, Title or Not | Orioles.com
The 1971 World Series was well before my time, but I know that my father has never cared much for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and I believe this series is one of two reasons why. The other being 1979, of course.

O’s Chris Holt on pitchers using performance centers in winter | Steve Melewski
Holt catches a lot of grief because the Orioles’ big league pitching staff has been bad for a while, and that feels like a direct reflection of him. But clearly he has done some impressive things to provide the boost to the club’s minor league arms, and we should start to see that show up in Baltimore shortly.

Love Locked Out (Ep 85) | The Warehouse Podcast
It’s mid-December. You don’t need to do anymore work this year. Allow me and my pals to kill an hour for you with this essential podcast for Orioles fans.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Ryan Eades turns 30 today. The right-handed pitcher appeared in six games for the 2019 Orioles, allowing three runs over 7.2 total innings. He spent part of the 2021 season in the Astros organization.
• Luis Montañez celebrates his 40th birthday. He appeared in three different seasons for the Orioles between 2008 and 2010, never playing more than 38 games in one year. The outfielder has been out of affiliated baseball since 2013.
• Rick Helling is 51 years old. A former Rangers first-round pick out of Stanford, the right-handed pitcher had a 12-season career that included 24 starts for the 2003 Orioles.
• The late Eddie Robinson (d. 2021) was born on this day in 1920. A big league first baseman from 1942 through 1957, Robinson wrapped up his career with a four-game cameo on the ‘57 O’s.

This weekend in O’s history

1962 - The Orioles acquire pitchers Stu Miller and Mike McCormick as well as catcher Johnny Orsino from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitchers Jack Fisher and Billy Hoeft plus backstop Jim Coker.