Friday Bird Droppings: Wondering if any more Orioles moves are in store

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

The Orioles ticked another item off their offseason shopping list with their acquisition of catcher James McCann from the Mets late Wednesday night, giving them a veteran backup to Adley Rutschman. They’ve also made modest upgrades in other areas of need this winter, signing veteran Kyle Gibson to join the starting rotation, Adam Frazier to add a versatile lefty bat, and Mychal Givens to bolster the bullpen.

It’s not exactly the most exciting group of acquisitions, to be sure. And it’s certainly not the caliber of players that Orioles fans hoped the team would pursue coming off an exciting, surprisingly competitive season. But the O’s clearly seem unwilling to shell out money for top-tier or even mid-tier free agents this winter, whether it’s a calculated decision by the front office or a budget-oriented directive by ownership.

So is this essentially the roster with which the Orioles will head into the 2023 season? The club could be competitive as it stands now — any team that boasts a roster with Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, and Grayson Rodriguez is at a pretty good starting point — but there’s certainly room for improvement as well. Another established starter would be great, preferably one better than Gibson. And the lineup would benefit from another bat, perhaps one who hits well against lefties, at which both Rutschman and Henderson struggled this year.

With the free agent market all but dried up, Mike Elias’s best bet to fill either of those holes is through a trade. And with the start of the 2023 season more than three months away, there’s still time to do so.

Assuming Elias doesn’t pull off a major deal this offseason, though, are you comfortable going into next season with the roster as is?

Links

Why the Orioles traded for James McCann — and why it made sense for the Mets - The Athletic
Dan Connolly breaks down the McCann acquisition. In summary: he should be a pretty decent backup catcher at a pretty low cost. (McCann, not Connolly.)

Givens grateful for another opportunity with Orioles - BaltimoreBaseball.com
How times have changed. Mychal Givens was once the bright-eyed youngster learning from veteran relievers like Darren O’Day and Brad Brach. Now he’s the grizzled veteran, hoping to impart his wisdom on the Birds’ relatively inexperienced bullpen.

A few minor league O’s that can fly under the radar - Steve Melewski
Melewski takes a closer look at a few of the unheralded, fringe prospects in the O’s system. Will one of them make it to the majors? Or, more likely, will one of them end up as the player to be named later in the McCann trade?

Two more questions for the front office - School of Roch
My answers to Roch Kubatko’s questions: 1. Yes, because no pitchers still available are clear upgrades; and 2. Sure, for the right price.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! One player in O’s history was born on this day: outfielder Dave May (b. 1943, d. 2012).

On this day in 1980, the Orioles signed journeyman outfielder Jim Dwyer, who’d had an unremarkable career with five teams to that point. He went on to spend nearly a decade in Baltimore as a useful bench player, hitting a homer for the Orioles’ first run of the 1983 World Series against the Phillies.

And on this date in 1994, the O’s re-signed Hall of Famer Harold Baines, who had spent two productive years with the Birds. His 1995 campaign would prove to be his best yet in Baltimore, with an outstanding .403 OBP, 24 homers, and .943 OPS. He later returned for two more stints with the Orioles.