All’s quiet in Birdland as we count down the remaining days of 2024.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
The holiday season has sent MLB’s hot stove into a deep freeze. All was quiet for the Orioles yesterday, and for the entirety of baseball, unless you’re riveted by the Nippon-Ham Fighters re-signing Drew VerHagen. This lull could continue for a while, or at least until the calendar flips to 2025 next week.
For the Orioles, it’s obvious what should still be on the agenda for the rest of the winter. They’re a starting pitcher away from making O’s fans feel satisfied with this offseason, though of course that depends on the quality of said pitcher. If they re-sign Corbin Burnes or somehow land Roki Sasaki or trade for an ace, the Birds should be feeling pretty good about their chances of contention. If they end up with a lower-tier but solid hurler like, say, Nick Pivetta, fans can talk themselves into being optimistic, even if it’s not on par with how the Yankees and Red Sox upgraded their rotations this winter.
But if the O’s miss out entirely on upgrading the rotation, well, that’s going to be a tough pill to swallow, and an unacceptable offseason by any measure. Still, let’s not press the panic button yet. With about eight weeks remaining until the start of spring training, the Orioles have time to make a significant move or two, even if options aren’t quite as plentiful as they were two months ago.
Remember that the O’s didn’t pull off the Corbin Burnes trade until Feb. 1, two weeks before the club’s first 2024 spring workout. Mike Elias could have a similar last-minute, out-of-nowhere trade or signing up his sleeve this time. My personal theory is that the Orioles are still very much in the running for Burnes but that Elias has a trade for a starting pitcher already lined up in case Corbin doesn’t return.
I’ll do my best to be patient and trust the process. But check back with me in a month. I’ll be feeling awfully antsy if the Orioles are still lying dormant by then.
Links
The Great BaltimoreBaseball.com Orioles Quiz – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Every year I take Rich Dubroff’s quiz, and every year I struggle to answer even half the questions. Give it a try and let me know how you fare. (Answers are at the end of yesterday’s article.)
Weighing Orioles’ potential trade packages for two top starting pitchers – Birds Watcher
Brian Barr offers a couple of wild-guess trade suggestions for Dylan Cease and Luis Castillo. If the O’s could indeed get Cease for Dylan Beavers and Chayce McDermott, I’d make that deal every day and twice on Sunday.
Holiday mailbag leftovers for breakfast – School of Roch
Good news: Roch Kubatko hears that there will be improvements to the much-maligned Camden Yards sound system next season. I’ve always wondered how a ballpark built in 1992 ended up with, like, 1920s-era sound quality.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Two former Orioles have Dec. 27 birthdays: outfielder Michael Bourn (42) and the late right-hander Connie Johnson (b. 1922, d. 2004), a former Negro Leagues All-Star.
If history is any guide, the O’s won’t do anything of significance today. They have made only three transactions ever on Dec. 27. In 2007, they signed outfielder Luis Terrero, who went on to bat .200 in 27 games for the Birds. In 2005, they signed lefty Frank Gracesqui, who never pitched in an O’s uniform. And in 1995, they inked right-hander Keith Shepherd, who posted an 8.71 ERA in 13 games. And that’s it.